There were so many things running through my mind as I was reading this article. First of all, I thought about how sad the "Lost Boys" stories were. I cannot imagine having to go through all they have gone through...with no family- being displaced from your homeland, being sent to a new land, having to learn a new culture, language, etc.! I think this is incredibly heartbreaking! I had never heard about these "boys," and so I found this article very interesting. I also think it's sad they had to adapt to a new way of life including a new way of storytelling. While I was reading about their "old ways" of storytelling, I had a picture in my mind of a family, after dinner, sitting around a fire, telling/listening to stories about when the parents/grandparents were young. I think it would be hard to go from this type of storytelling to the type of storytelling that the researcher described in the article that these refugees have had to transform to- speeches of refugees' ways of life, articles of a refugee's trek to a new land, etc. I'm glad that they are still able to incorporate storytelling into their lives even if it's completely different than the way they told stories in Sudan.
I also thought about my oldest daughter as I was reading this article. Each night, and a lot of times during the day, she is constantly wanting me to "tell her stories" about when I was growing up. She has heard these same stories hundreds of times, and yet, she still wants to hear them. I've often asked her why she wants to hear the same stories over and over. Her reply to me is that she wants to know what I did growing up and she wants to remember. After reading this story, it makes me WANT to continue telling her these stories.
This story also reminded me of my sweet grandmother. She passed away 10 years ago, but her stories live on. I had to write a paper in college and I chose to write it about her. In preparation of the paper, I had to interview her and it had to be tape-recorded. During this interview I learned so many things about my grandmother...what it was like growing up in the mountains, what it was like to have 9 children, how divorce affected people in the mid 1900s, etc. I still have that tape, and still listen to "her story."
After thinking about my grandmother's tape, I think how sad it is that these "Lost Boys" don't have tapes to remind them of their ancestors stories, nor do they have family members to discuss these stories with. They've had to rely only on their memories and then change their oral stories to print stories. Marsha Warren
Comments (4)
Marsha,
I had the privilege of lving in the same house as my great grand mother and just like your daughter I loved to hear the stories of how she grew up and the games she played with her brothers and sisters. I tell these stories to my biological children and my children at school. I have also shared with them the games that were shared with me like, Cows Horns Up and Jigamee, Jigamee, Horney Cup. They sound so strange don't they? But I promise they are a lot of fun. I find myself forgetting parts of those stories and I like you am thinking that they need to be preserved in writing.
Posted by Candy Mooney | June 18, 2010 12:05 AM
Posted on June 18, 2010 00:05
After reading this article and the posts from classmates, I find myself wanting to incorporate this storytelling into my classroom again. When I did it a few years ago, my students embraced it. I heard some amazing stories and the kids learned a side of their grandparents that many of them didn't realize existed. We are missing so many good stories! I sat tonight with my neighbor and his wife outside in a plastic chair with the sounds of geese, chickens, and horses around us and listened to him tell stories. I, as do many in my generation, have enough remembrance of this oral tradition to want it somehow still. I worry though a little that we are losing this desire little by little and with it will lose some wonderful stories. I think getting our students to reconnect with these stories would be quite easy if we tried it. I really do think I will this coming year.
Posted by Christy Laws | June 18, 2010 1:43 AM
Posted on June 18, 2010 01:43
I think that telling these stories to our children is important as well. I have just started telling my son stories about when I was a little girl and I have noticed he likes them as well. He is only four, so we have many more years for me to continue to share these stories. I also agree that it is sad that these young men don't have a way to preserve their ancestors' stories.
Posted by Odessa Scales | June 18, 2010 8:36 PM
Posted on June 18, 2010 20:36
Marsha,
I also found this article heartbreaking. I was not aware of the "Lost boys" and find them strong for their trials. The article was fascinating to read and I enjoyed it greatly. The Lost Boys had to change their storytelling to fit their new culture. I think they did that to benefit others and to share their expriences to inform and help others. Yes they did loose their past and it is difficult to preserve the past if you do not have someone to remind you and share stories or if you are not able to have stories in print.
Angie Somers
Posted by Angie SOmers | June 18, 2010 10:06 PM
Posted on June 18, 2010 22:06