The Art of Storytelling

1
The Art of Storytelling
From the past, through the present,into the
future everlasting stories.
2
Oral Traditions

• A work is usually defined as literature when it
  is a written story that displays creative
  imagination and artistic skills.
• Many people assume that the study of literature
  is about books.
• Every culture has its own unique literary
  expression. Literature can be defined more
  broadly to include songs, speeches, stories and
  invocations.

3
(No Transcript)
4
The Recording of History

• The Aboriginal tradition in the recording of
  history is an oral one, involving legends,
  stories and accounts handed down through the
  generations in oral form.
• In the Aboriginal tradition the purpose of
  repeating oral accounts from the past is broader
  than the role of written history in western
  societies.

5
Here a man and woman, copied from the watercolour
by H.N. Binney (shown previously, in which they
are getting out of a canoe), are now walking down
a road near Charlottetown, which appears in the
distance. The man is carrying furs, the woman
still has the same fish, and they are accompanied
by a young girl with a splint basket and a
bedroll on her back. The woman's costume is
heavily distorted by this copyist.
6
Maliseet and Mikmaq Storytellers

• There were many storytellers in Maliseet and
  Mikmaq communities. Children hear ancient
  legends and tales and learn the history of their
  communities by talking with their elders. The
  stories they hear may have originated hundreds or
  even thousands of years ago.

7
Oral Traditions

• Oral traditions have provided cultural continuity
  in Maliseet Mikmaq communities through the
  sharing of stories, songs, history, personal
  experiences and social commentary.
• Oral traditions are the first way people had of
  communicating knowledge and beliefs from one
  generation to the next.

8
Orature

• The literature of aboriginal societies was based
  in oral traditions best described as orature.
• Individuals who were eloquent and had a strong
  command of the language were highly respected in
  native communities. They were often storytellers.
  

9
(No Transcript)
10
Validation

• The purpose of the accounts may be to educate the
  listener, to communicate aspects of culture, to
  socialize people into a cultural tradition, or to
  validate the claims of a particular family to
  authority and prestige.

11
A storyteller is

• A good storyteller could transport listeners to a
  particular piece of hunting territory the
  lapping of the water on the lakeshore and the
  smell of tress.
• A storyteller could evoke the lessons of
  ancestors long passed away.
• A storyteller could shape the opinions of people
  reminding them of past actions and historical
  events. In any oral tradition, spoken words had
  the power to capture the imagination and
  transform reality.

12
Drawing your own conclusions

• Those who hear the oral accounts draw their own
  conclusions from what they have heard, and they
  do so in the particular context (time, place and
  situation) of the telling of the story.
• Thus, the meaning to be drawn from an oral
  account depends on who is telling it, the
  circumstances in which the account is told, and
  the interpretation the listener gives to what has
  been heard.

13
A Vital IngredientPart of the Spice of Life

• In this way, Aboriginals used songs, legends and
  stories to express their understanding of their
  world they were also used to pass on the
  histories of their people to future generations.
• In particular, storytelling was a vital
  ingredient in teaching young children and youths.
  Stories were often used to discipline children.
• This was generally done in a humorous way because
  teasing and joking served as a more effective
  social mechanism in many Aboriginal cultures than
  direct reproof, pointing out mistakes.

14
(No Transcript)
15
Oral Accounts

• Oral accounts of the past include a good deal of
  subjective experience. They are not simply a
  detached recounting of factual events but,
  rather, are facts enmeshed in the stories of a
  lifetime.
• They are also likely to be rooted in particular
  locations, making reference to particular
  families and communities.

16
Characterized History

• This contributes to a sense that there are many
  histories, each characterized in part by how a
  people see themselves, how they define their
  identity in relation to their environment, and
  how they express their uniqueness as a people.

17
Immediacy

• Unlike western tradition, which creates a sense
  of distance in time between the listener or
  reader and the events being described, the
  tendency of Aboriginal perspectives is to create
  a sense of immediacy.
• This is done by encouraging listeners to imagine
  that they are participating in the past event
  being recounted.

18
Categorized as Inferior

• Some Europeans newcomers considered Aboriginal
  cultures to be inferior because they lacked
  written forms of communication.
• However, many earlier colonial administrators
  soon came to appreciate the verbal skill and
  artistry of Aboriginal leaders and orators.
• At treaty sessions and council meetings,
  government officials found themselves having to
  adapt to the complex oratory of Aboriginal
  spokespersons.

19
(No Transcript)
20
In fact

• In reality, the oral traditions were intricate
  and full of meaning. Aboriginal orators were
  highly respected, and words had a great deal of
  power. Orators used wit, metaphor, irony,
  emotion, imagery and eloquence to enrich their
  orature.
• Many of the old stories have slipped away with
  the passing of elders and through the loss of
  culture because of assimilation. The precarious
  (uncertain) state of many Aboriginal languages
  also presents a challenge to storytelling
  traditions.

21
(No Transcript)
22
Contemporary Times

• Maliseet and Mikmaq storytelling in recent years
  has suffered from some of the same pressures as
  other Canadian oral traditions.
• There are fewer times when extended families get
  together. Almost all households have one or more
  television sets.
• Along with these factors, the increasing use of
  English in Native communities has created a
  further problem for Maliseet and Mikmaq stories,
  which are seldom told in English.

23
Reclaiming the past

• Nevertheless, the oral traditions of Aboriginal
  societies continue today.
• Aboriginal storytellers are reclaiming the
  stories of their people, and in many cases,
  relating them in the context of the contemporary
  lives of Aboriginal societies.
• Contemporary storytellers are also expanding
  their audiences, by adapting oral traditions to
  radio, television, theatre, music and books.

24
Thats all

• The End

25
(No Transcript)