Storytelling is an ancient form – it’s been around longer than your parents have (if you believe such a thing is possible). Why? Well, for a number of reasons. We love to share our experiences, we love to be entertained, we love to fantasise, we love to embellish. Stories are a way of making sense of the past and the present; they document our triumphs and failures. It’s the shared experience of being human that makes us all such good story-sharers. But where did it all begin ..............
A brief but fascinating illustrated hiSTORY of storytelling
Storytelling is so ancient, it’s difficult to say when it really began. I guess for most of us, storytelling began when we were very young, with stories being to read to us at bedtime by our parents.
Many historians believe that storytelling has been with us right from the beginning of human existence. In fact, they believe what separates us from other creatures is our storytelling ability.
The reason for this is that humans are gifted with an imagination. Storytelling is much more than just one person telling another person something – the real magic takes place when the listener lets their imagination take part. Through stories we can go back in time and visit Oliver Twist in nineteenth century England, or zoom off into the future to travel to other planets. Disneyland may do a roaring trade with so many tourists visiting each year, but a place even more popular for visitors is Hogwarts, and it doesn’t even exist.
Why did humans decide to start telling stories and why do we still tell them?
- to entertain each other
- through a need to explain and make sense of the world
- to communicate our experiences
- to record what is happening now (for future generations)
- to teach history
- to settle arguments
Festivals and Theatres – Wakakirri’s origins
Back in the day before TV, and even books, storytelling took place informally at home and at work but they also had large festivals dedicated to storytelling. They didn’t have the Wakakirri National Story Festival (unfortunately) but they did have their own similar festivals involving song, plays, and speeches.
The ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians built theatres and are renowned for their festivals and plays.
Traditional Tales
Many traditional tales are still very relevant today – they remind us of our history but they also carry universal life messages that have withstood the test of time. Traditional tales play an important part in religion, history and education.
Fairytales are a great example of some old stories that are still being told today. Fairytales are not only entertaining and imaginative, they are renowned for containing strong morals directed at children – they were and still are a great way of introducing children to correct behaviour (and often scaring them half to death in the process).
Many traditional stories have been passed down through various religions and cultures and are still being told today. For example, biblical tales such as The Prodigal Son and Noah’s Ark – or the Aboriginal stories of the Dreamtime.
Many historic tales are retold all the time in different formats – many of Shakespeare’s plays were based on stories that had been passed down through the generations.
Superhero Storytelling: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
There is a belief that storytellers are the most powerful people in the world – the real superheroes and villains of society. Just like with superpowers, storytelling can be used for good and bad.
THE GOOD - People of all ages learn new things and can explore the realms of their imagination. Storytelling is a wonderful teaching tool, and the spreading of morals and shared existence creates harmony and cooperation in societies.
But who decides on the morals being taught?
THE BAD AND THE UGLY The most famous example of bad storytelling is the story of Adolph Hitler. Hitler wrote his story down in an influential book titled Mein Kampf (translated: My Struggle) but he also told his story through speeches and propaganda resulting in some hideous consequences during World War II. Hitler was very aware of how powerful storytelling could be and one of the first things he did when he came into power, was to burn the books of other storytellers.
If it’s true that storytellers are the most powerful people, then there should be as many good storytellers in the world as possible. Help spread the power.
Storytelling Today and a word or two on Globalisation
Storytellers through the ages have had many names: bards, minstrels, jongleurs, poets, authors, actors, playwrights, advertisers, songwriters …. More titles are being invented every day. Things are certainly different for modern storytellers due to changes in technology - the introduction of motion pictures, television, the internet and computer games have certainly given storytelling a facelift - but the other huge difference for modern storytelling results from a huge phenomenon called globalisation.
Globalisation is a recent term referring to the integration and interaction of people worldwide (made possible by such things as cheap and quick travel, and global communication such as the internet). In previous times, many cultures existed separately and the stories being told were stories only about their culture. Storytelling has played an important part in globalisation, especially by introducing other cultures and beliefs (and with it, respect and understanding of these cultures) to a wide audience.
There has never been such a varied way of telling stories, however, the reason we tell stories, and the reason we have been telling them since the beginning of human existence remains the same, and always will.
