Urgent Evoke

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Is story telling a dying art in Africa?

My name is oluka. I was born in a small village found in the then remote town of Soroti district which is found in the Eastern part of Uganda. When i started going to school at about 5 or 7 years at that time the communities in my village had atradition of story telling and my grand parents and other relatives would call and gather all the young children around a fire where some chicken or meat would be roasted for what was called story time before they go to bed.

Stories told were not only exciting but it taughht the children important morals from the characters which will shape their lives and relationships, use their imaginations, build up communication skills which they would need in the future. Today because of less emphasis on story-telling amongst African cultures many of the children are immoral.

This is my story and experience as a child. Its after 7pm in the evening and the night meal is being prepared. Its time for story telling. The children have just been bathed and dressed up, the papyrus made mats are layed on the floor just infornt of the house, there is a fire where some chicken or beef will be roasted. The children are called to gather and seat on the mats, then one of the aunts starts a folke-song and the children would join in as they sing and clap their hands.

After the folk-song, there would follow the riddles where the elders would ask the children a riddle and ask the children to tell what the riddle means and the child who gave a right answer was rewarded with a piece of roasted chicken from the fire.

In this blog post i would like to share one such story with the network. This story is about a fir tree and the bramble. This story goes like this:

Once urpon a time in a huge forest there was a tall, straight Fir-tree that stood towering up in the midst of the forest and it was so proud of its diginity and high station that he over looked the little shrubs that greww below it. A bramble being one of the inferior throng, could by no means brook his carriage and thus took task to ask the Fir tree why he was proud.

The Fir-tree answered saying i look urponmyself as the first tree for beauty and my top shoots reach the clouds while you the bramble lie on the ground liable to be crushed by any fool that comes near you.
“All this may be true”- replied the bramble; but when the woodmen mark you out for public use the sounding axe will come to be applied to your feet and you would be glabd to be in my position.

The message behind is – “Ones greatness does not mean their Safety”

Views: 27

Comment by Ternura Rojas on May 19, 2010 at 12:56pm
Thank you for sharing this Oluka, it is important!
Comment by Shakwei Mbindyo on May 19, 2010 at 1:27pm
As a child I heard many, many stories similar to this. It seems to me that story telling is not so much dying as being transformed. Many children (in Kenya) no longer just hear these stories from parents / grand parents, but they are also on childrens radio programmes, and childrens books.
Comment by Chengyuan High School on May 19, 2010 at 2:14pm
So we should cherish what we have.Right?
Comment by oluka bruno on May 19, 2010 at 6:48pm
Mbindyo i loved the idea of childrens radio programmes, now that is a brilliant idea you got.
Thanks for that insight.
Comment by oluka bruno on May 19, 2010 at 6:49pm
Yo welcome Rojas am glad i shared that with the network.

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