While reading this artice, I found it truly amazing that there are cultures that do not have a means for writing down the history of their lives and people. I guess I never really thought about cultures that do not have a written language.
My next thought was how story telling changes from person to person. When I was in elementary school, we used to play a game called "Tell Me Again". The way the game was played was quite simple. All students and the teacher sit in a circle on the floor. One person whispers a simple story into the ear of the person next to them. And the story is passed on through whisper one to another, until it reaches the place it began. Then it is told out loud and you compare how it changed as it went. Most of the time, the story was quite different in the end.
As a student, I thought this game was fun. As a teacher, I find it intriguing. If a story or a history is not written down, how can the listener know the true validity of what they are hearing? Does the story not get changed and altered over time and over retelling? I would think so.
Don't get me wrong...I love to hear a good story. And nothing makes it better that to know that it is a story so wonderful that it was worth remembering so that the teler did not even have to write it down. But from a another point, I have to wonder about the validity.
I have a friend who is a "Storyteller". He travels to schools and different areas to tell stories. He is amazing. He makes you feel like you are in the story with him, that you lived it...even when it is a tale of long ago. I admire him for his talent. So does his daughter, who is now following in his footsteps.
Sarah Hutson
Comments (1)
That is an interesting thought. I would assume the story does change and evolve. I would like to know more about the stories The Lost Boys tell. Many were so young when they left. I wonder if they know the stories from their original tribes and communities. I think it would be interesting to see also how much of their storytelling is apart of their lives now. Storytelling is such an awesome thing that is so important for building communication skills. I find that it isn't as common especially with our older students. They are so caught up in media and technology they miss out on that important time with families and community. I think that parents must encourage their children to be a part of their own family's oral tradition, but we're all so busy time gets lost and so do those stories.
Posted by Amy Hardister | July 2, 2010 5:42 AM
Posted on July 2, 2010 05:42