Once upon a time, when people looked each other in the eye when they had something to say, and there was no screen separating them, our societies had special people who told stories of ancestors, legends and history. Whether we call them griots, djalis, or bards, they were our walking libraries, and although it takes some effort to find them today, they are still important representatives of many cultures.
Oral lore is the oldest form of human communication, having been developed earlier but survived despite the spread of writing systems. The term refers to storytellers, as distinct from those who simply tell stories about their own lives and experiences. It refers to the transmission of ballads, poems, prose, traditions, historical events, and the achievements of individuals who have stood out from the crowd for one reason or another.
These storytellers preserve and pass on cultural and historical knowledge to future generations. Knowledge that would otherwise gradually and naturally fade away.
In a way, we are all storytellers, when we think about how we try to preserve and share our family history with our children and grandchildren. It is human nature to want to spread the knowledge and experiences we have accumulated. However, there are individuals with outstanding intellectual abilities who are able to preserve and share centuries-old memories inherited from their ancestors, often without ever using written sources. These stories are meant to teach us about life, spirituality, and the structure of our societies.
Griots
Have you ever heard the balafon, a gourd-resonated xylophone? Or have you seen kora player on stage? Kora is a 21-stringed harp, made from a halved, hollowed-out and dried gourd, covered with goat or cow skin, and those who play it are most often griots, that is storytellers. Outside Africa, they are known as griots, a word that has been handed down from the colonial era. In African languages, they are called by different names.
Music is only one of their tools, but it is undoubtedly important in West African societies. Mandinka society, with its rich oral history, is particularly known for its musician griots, who keep records of births, deaths, and marriages in their communities or villages. In Mandinka society, djali is the preferred term for such storytellers. They used to accompany kings and emperors, and nowadays they attend weddings and tell the stories of families that unite on this day. Because they are highly respected by the community, they sometimes act as mediators in settling disputes and conflicts.
Their role has significantly changed by this century, with many griots leaving their countries for better opportunities, but they continue to share their traditions through songs and music. In effect, they are playing a kind of modern peacekeeping role by building bridges between Africa and the rest of the world from the biggest stages. When you think of modern-day griots, think of Youssou N’Dour, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Bassekou Kouyate, or Habib Koité, to name a few.
Bards
Anyone who spent their early years in the European education system will have heard of the bards, though not necessarily in detail, depending on their home country. Bards were oral repositories and professional storytellers, genealogists, musicians, and poets. As was often the case with their African counterparts, the bards were employed by a wealthy patron who wanted them to be praised for their achievements, their families, and status. While in Celtic, Gaelic, and Welsh societies, storytellers focused on serving the ruling classes, the griots were more connected to their communities and the lives of everyday people.
With the disappearance of tribally organised societies, bardic culture had disappeared from much of Europe by the 18th century. Albania and Wales are two strongholds of the bardic tradition. Founded in 1861, the National Eisteddfod of Wales, a Welsh-language music and poetry festival is held annually, when bards compete and are crowned. In Albania, the singing of epic verse from memory is one of the last survivors of its kind in modern Europe.
There is no doubt that the once fundamental role of the bards in most European cultures has become redundant or has changed to the point of no return, reflecting the changes in the wider world and the needs and expectations of the 21st century.
Native American societies
Native American societies relied heavily on oral traditions before Europeans imposed more than their writing systems. Their way of conveying knowledge through spoken words had been considered inferior and provided an excuse for the assimilation of Native Americans into the newly-born European-American culture.
Unlike in other cultures, storytelling in Native American societies was not assigned to specific individuals. There were no special casts like that of the West African griots who took on the role of storytellers. Here, anyone could tell stories and add their thoughts and experiences. They relied on collective memory and expressed it in their own words and feelings. A mother who told stories to their children to teach them a lesson, rather then scolding them, was a storyteller, and someone who entertained crowds at a community event was also a storyteller.
What they have in common is their aim to teach their audience through stories that combine fictional, real, and supernational characters, rules, morals, and emotions. Their flexibility has allowed them to apply the stories and the solutions they offer in different contexts, making it easier to adapt to new situations, and adaptability was already an essential skill when the European settlers arrived.
What about now?
We can criticise or dismiss the oral tradition for the unreliability of the human brain, and for fictional characters pretending to be real heroes, but the fact remains. Wherever we are born, we need stories. Whether they come from professional storytellers, a teacher, or a neighbour, we crave them.
As children, we make an effort to tell stories to whoever will listen, whether it’s a plastic doll, a toy car, or a patient adult. A few years later, some of these children become writers, with the conscious or unconscious aim of sharing their knowledge and teaching a lesson in the hope that someone will listen.
In contemporary societies, very few people choose to share their stories in spoken words, which is a direct consequence of the changes that inevitably occur in all traditions. Fortunately, there are still old media, and new ones are always being created, which those who feel the call can use to share their own stories. Whether they are fictional or real, old or new, entertaining or educational, our souls need them all.
This was my story about how storytelling connects us all, regardless of our origins.