African Storytelling at St. Olaf College

This evening, following an invitation by Karibu, a St. Olaf College student organization, I made a presentation on African storytelling. I am passionate about sharing the heritage of the African people of which I am deeply proud. I have done this in the past, at St. Olaf College and other places.

This evening, as usual, I began by highlighting the central significance of Africa as the cradle of the human race. This has important implications, including the fact that Africa is where language and storytelling originated. I went on to briefly explain the functions of storytelling, such as mediating the human endeavour to interpret and understand the world and the human condition.

In order to illustrate the African way of philosophizing about life, I discussed three proverbs: i) Before you cross the river, don't insult the crocodile's mouth. 2) Even though you may be taller than your father, you still are not his equal. 3) It is because of man that the blacksmith makes weapons. The last two proverbs, from the Ashanti, are published in Harold Courlander's A Treasury of African Folklore.

After this, I told two folktales: "The Chief's Daughter," from the Gurensi people of Burkina Faso, which is published in Steven H. Gale's West African Folktales, and "The Coming of the Yams," an Ashanti tale published in Harold Courlander's A Treasury of African Folklore. Both tales are complex and profound meditations on the dilemmas of life.

In my evolution as a folklorist, I have come to believe that when I am invited to perform folktales, I should never read them to the audience. If I do not know the tale, I read it in advance, and then perform it in front of the audience. That way, I feel I am staying true to the reality of oral performance. The Ashanti tale I told today is one I did not know before. I read it a short while before performing it.

Another St. Olaf Storytelling Event

I received an invitation from Karibu, a student organization at St. Olaf College, to tell African folktales as part of the Africa Week celebration. I have done so in the past and will do it again, any time. How can I decline an opportunity to showcase African creativity and the African contribution to the universal culture of storytelling and all it stands for?

As the cradle of the human race, Africa is the birthplace of language, storytelling and civilization. Together with other folklore forms such as proverbs and songs, stories reflect upon life and the human condition and the world in general. They project man's joys, sorrows, successes, failures, and above all the human desire and capacity to thrive against any odds.

Stories are a rich blend of aspects ranging from philosophical reflections, moral lessons and entertainment. They constitute a dynamic system that adapts itself all the time to changing circumstances, thereby remaining always relevant. Having originated and evolved as an oral tradition, storytelling thrives in written and other modes, including film.

This evening as I was speaking to my Karibu audience, I mentioned some of these things and then told two tales: "The Chief's Daughter" and "How the Ashanti Became Debtors," both from West African Folktales by Steven H. Gale.

The Council on Black Minnesotans Summit Ended Today

The Power of Unity Summit, organized by the Council on Black Minnesotans concluded today with a picnic. From around noon, people came, at their own time, and stayed as long as they wished. This was a great opportunity to meet informally and network. continue the kind of conversations inaugurated during the summit, and network.

I arrived at around 1:30. There were many people there, and there was plenty of food. There was storytelling by Nothando Zulu, drumming, and music by the Les Exodus band featured in the photo above.

In the course of a little over two hours, I had wonderful conversations with a number of people. One of these was Edward McDonald, Executive Director of the Council on Black Minnesotans. We talked about the artist panel that he moderated yesterday, and I said I enjoyed the panel very much and wanted to make a contribution to the discussion from the perspective of folklore. The traditions of folklore remind of where artists came from and how they functioned in non-literate, non-capitalist societies.

I also spoke with Tene Wells, a key Summit organizer, whom I have gotten to know in the course of the last few weeks after she sought me out and asked me to participate in the Summit. I also talked with Jamela Pettiford, the sister who played the role of Harriet Tubman in yesterday's dramatic rendition of the Underground Railroad.

I also spoke with author Amoke Kubat whose book, Missing Mama, I bought yesterday. I told her I had started reading the book and like it. I was humbled to hear her say that she bought three of my books, in order to explore more the perspective I articulated on Friday during my panel discussion with Professor Mahmoud el Kati.

As I was on my way out of the building, Atum Azzahir called me. She was with her husband, Ahmad Azzahir, and we had a great conversation around issues such as traditional African philosophy. Upon learning that I am Tanzanian, Ahmed told me he is a faithful disciple of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. I told them that I had known about them and their work for many years, and that I acquired Ahmed's book, Time Dimensions and Community Development, many years ago.

 I look forward to continuing the conversations with all these remarkable people, who do great things for the community.

Once again, I think the Council on Black Minnesotans deserves a lot of praise for planning and executing the Power of Unity Summit, which has been a very successful event. exxxxrummung