Storytellers are Essential
For centuries much of our history has been told and preserved by storytellers.
Stories can start at a family level and handed down through generations. They can be told at a local community level and go on public record. Whatever their origin stories are valuable. If they aren’t told they will be lost.
Your story, your stories record events, experiences, a point of view that is unique and personal and cannot be replicated.
A memoir may tell of a significant even in your life, or a collection of events and experiences shaping who you are. Sharing your story can provide life lessons for others, telling others they are not alone in what they have experienced. They can cause tears, laughter, ‘wow’ moments, provide relief, an escape or a way forward.
It is true, everyone has a story to tell. Don’t ever think you have to be famous or notorious, found a miracle cure or invented something to change the way we live. It can be little things that mean the most.
Indigenous Australians
For more than 40,000 years, Aboriginal culture has been an oral culture passed down through generations. Aboriginal storytelling has many functions, reinforcing the Aboriginal people’s beliefs in the Dreamtime.
The Dreamtime stories are more than myths, legends, or fairytales. They are the oral textbooks of the Aboriginals’ accumulated knowledge, spirituality, and wisdom.
Aboriginal storytelling has kept their culture alive by passing on their beliefs, their social, spiritual, and economic practices to the next generation. Storytelling is a key part of their oral cultures, being entertaining and enabling learning.
Native American tribes
The Native American culture is known for its rich oral tradition. Instead of using a written language to document their history, these indigenous people simply relied on their verbal language to share their history, customs, rituals and legends through vivid narratives.
These powerful tales are often told by the tribal elders to the younger generations. They relate their tribal history and they also entertain and preserve their culture.
Each time a story is told, it breathes life into the culture, cultivates their verbal language. It gives meaning to the tribe’s history and also teaches life lessons about things like love, leadership and honour. Their symbiotic connection to the earth and intimate relationships with the animals they depended on is also depicted through storytelling.
Griots of Western Africa
Griots, also known as jeli or bards, are traditional West African storytellers who have played a crucial role in preserving the oral history and cultural heritage of their communities for centuries. With their unique blend of music, storytelling, and oral history, griots bring to life the stories of their people, giving voice to their struggles and triumphs, and keeping their cultural traditions alive. From birth to death, from war to peace, from love to loss, the tales of the griots are as diverse as they are captivating. Their music, steeped in emotion and rhythm, creates a powerful and unforgettable backdrop to their stories.
The Seanchai of Ireland
The Irish word for storyteller is Seanchai, meaning a bearer of “old lore” or ‘old thoughts’ The Storyteller provides the words to engage your imagination, creating your own personal experience of Irish History and Irish Folklore.
Katha of India
Indian storytelling is an ancient tradition that has been passed down for generations. Katha is one type of Indian storytelling that is often used as a way to instill moral values in children.
These stories usually reveal the consequences of human action or karma. Kathas often take place in households, involving smaller stories related to the genre.
This type of Indian storytelling is still popular today and continues to be passed down from generation to generation.
Indian storytelling is a unique and important part of Indian culture helping to keep the culture alive.
