The Lost Boys lost everything and were transported to another country. All they had left of their cultures was their stories. Storytelling was a very important part of their lives. Their culture was rich in oral storytelling. That was how traditions were passed from generation to generation. The elders told the stories to the younger generations and the oral traditions lived on from generation to generation. The Lost Boys used storytelling in the United States to make their voices known. They used their storytelling to make sense of the world around them. As they settled in the United States they expanded their storytelling beyond their culture to tell their story of the oppression in their country. They used their storytelling to educate the world about the reality of the situations in Sudan. They learned how to put their oral stories into words on paper writing editorials, autobiographies, and narratives. The boys learned how to put their stories on paper and use literacy in real world situations. Through their stories both oral and written their voices were heard around the world.
The Lost Boys were also able to compare and contrast the cultures in Sudan and the United States in storytelling. In Sudan storytelling, dancing, singing and poetry were important parts of the culture. The families expressed themselves through these things in their culture. In the United States they learned how to put their oral traditions down on paper to educate outside their culture. Their stories were once only shared within their culture, but after their experiences they learned how to share their stories to educate the world. The Lost Boys wanted their stories told so that others could understand what life was like in the country. If they had chosen not to tell their story then their way of life in Sudan would have been lost and untold. We would not have an insight into what happened in the country if they had chosen to be silent. If they had chosen to be silent then their stories would not have been passed down within their group or in the world.
I spoke of oral traditions with my grandmother in my introduction of myself. She is a great storyteller and she has passed down the true stories of the great flood in the Mortimer area of the mountains, stories about her childhood, and fictional stories that were told to her by her mother and grandmother. She has shared her stories with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Her children passed the same stories down to their children, but no one can tell the stories like her. She experienced many of the stories first hand. She is 95 years old and she still remembers many of the stories and is eager to tell them to anyone who stops by. She had never written her stories down so we have preserved her stories by writing them down as she tells them and making CD’s of her telling the stories. We had to preserve that important part of our family’s history.
I tend to believe that oral storytelling is a dying art. Our generation does not place as much emphasis on oral storytelling. Instead, more of an emphasis is placed on written language.
Michelle Moffitt
Comments (4)
I like the fact that your family records your grandmother's stories on a CD. That is a really great idea and a great way to preserve the history of your family. I also think that we tend to spend so much focus on print literacy and we don't think about telling stories orally as a type of literacy. Nowadays we have so much new technology that people hide behind computers and they are not actually face to face. We have text messaging and email and the many other different ways to communicate without having to be face to face with the person. All of this technology is great and I would not want to get rid of it but it takes away from the communication that people need in order to be well-rounded.
Katy Dellinger
Posted by Katy Dellinger | June 15, 2010 9:04 AM
Posted on June 15, 2010 09:04
Michelle,
When I was in eighth grade, my English class had an assignment to do that dealt with storytelling. I don't remember the specifics of the assignment, but I do remember tape-recording my mother telling a story about Brer Rabbit. I remember bringing the tape to class and playing it. The thing that I remember most from the tape was how embarrassed I was with my mom's "country expressions" and her use of "Well, . . ." in her exaggerated Southern drawl. Speaking from this experience and others, I wonder if my embarrassment at my mother's storytelling efforts was a reaction unique to me or if that is a typical reaction among those in their teenage years. I wonder if this is something that occurs across cultures, even in Sudanese culture where storytelling seems to play such an important role.
Clyde Rice
Posted by Clyde Rice | June 16, 2010 12:53 PM
Posted on June 16, 2010 12:53
I think it is wonderful that you and your family had the forethought to preserve your grandmother's stories on cd. One of my most treasured times with my grandmother was when I was doing a project for undergrad work (many moons ago!) and interviewed my grandmother about when she was young. Despite all the stories I had heard from her as I was growing up, I learned so much about her that day.
You stated that you feel storytelling is a dying art in our generation, that we depend more on written language than oral. I think you are right, but I can't help but wonder why. Is it because we simply don't take the time to tell the stories and to listen to them? Or is it that for some reason we feel the written language holds more validity than oral language? Maybe literacy (written literacy)is so closely associated with power and intelligence in our society that anything else, such as storytelling, doesn't seem as important. I don't know what the answer is, but I am more aware now of the importance of storytelling, and hope to do more to preserve it.
Posted by Marcia Smith | June 17, 2010 4:07 PM
Posted on June 17, 2010 16:07
I love the fact your family preserved your grandmother's history and your family's for that matter. It is a dying art. OUr written literacy has taken over so much that I think sometime we don't know how to communicate with each other orally. I wonder what the Lost Boys think about that? It seems that so much of what they value changed as a means of coming to the US and trying to make something of themselves as means to cope. I wonder how their interaction with their children might occur and it they will continue to promote storytelling without being jaded with the high tech, media driven society America is. I think documentaries are a great way to preserve the oral tradition. So many great stories have died with amazing people, I wish that more people would take the time to listen to our elders and hear their stories. I think this sounds like a great class project.
Posted by Amy Hardister | July 2, 2010 6:06 AM
Posted on July 2, 2010 06:06