Storytelling traditions are known in every corner of the world. The art of storytelling is as old as human society. It is described as an art and is commonly known for providing entertainment; it is sometimes indivisible from performing arts traditions, particularly in the Caribbean. But storytelling is much more than that. It has served mankind since the development of language and the evolution of primitive societies as an important part of religion, survival, the world picture, social control and education. Because it is most widely understood as a means of entertainment, its role and importance in human and social development are not much appreciated. Yet, in its function as performance and theatre it has had great impact and generated much interest. However, as an art form it is threatened, and with the advancement of technology and cultural change in modern societies, its role has diminished. There is competition from various forms and new modes of entertainment, from new waves of belief; the social function has declined, and the traditions of telling stories struggle to hold people’s interest.
There have been several changes which have affected social interaction, the community and even the family. Where groups used to assemble and listen to stories, where children used to be told stories by their parents or elders, there is now each individual totally engrossed in his/her smartphone. That was to a large extent what prompted the creation of World Storytelling Day around 1991. It involved an attempt to preserve the art of storytelling by keeping it alive in practice.
The regional education system also plays its part. The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has interwoven storytelling into its subjects of study and examination. Caribbean cultural forms are a part of the curriculum in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate subject Theatre Arts. One of these cultural forms is the tradition of storytelling that students have to research and put into practice as a performing art.
Guyana has a storytelling tradition. But generally speaking it is no longer in practice. There has been a long history of European fairy tales being part of the schools’ curriculum, but local stories never were. It is still of passing interest to people as a curiosity, occasional entertainment, or a good laugh now and then, and part of local history. Guyanese respond with amusement to references of stories of Anansi, porkknockers, Sensible Bill and Stupidy Bill, riddles, Ol Higue, the backoo, jumbies, fair maids, Dutch Man, and the exploits of Balgobin. The rich store of Amerindian stories is by far the oldest and the most numerous in national oral literature, but much less popularly known. However, all such passing amusements are serious components of Guyana’s oral literature. And this literature belongs to a system of linguistic and social phenomena that have served the entire world in important functions vital to the development of mankind.
What is now passed off with a sometimes condescending laugh are the vestiges of a tradition that evolved from performances that were done not for laughs or to entertain an audience, but were crucial for the people’s very existence – for their survival in an unknown, hostile world.
Storytelling has its origins in religion – in primitive spiritual beliefs, which gave rise to ancient rituals. According to the theory of ritual origins, it evolved from primordial man’s efforts to communicate with the gods or spirits, in attempts to control a hostile environment and to understand the cosmos. During the process of evolution, primitive men were food gatherers and hunters, and were nomadic before they began to settle in societies. Their move from place to place was determined by the availability of food, the vagaries of the climate – temperature, rain or drought, or the onset of illnesses. Eventually they began to settle in one place and build societies.
They did not understand their environment – what caused sickness, drought, or a scarcity of animals that were hunted for food. They developed spiritual beliefs with the conviction that these changes were controlled by spirits or gods. If they were able to communicate with these deities, or please them, they would prosper. Such practices as magical religion developed where they believed that an abundance of game, or rainfall, could be caused or influenced by virtually magical associations. This also led to the performance of rituals, with dance, chants, masks and costuming.
However, what is most relevant to the development of storytelling was their attempts to understand and explain the world in which they lived.
The stories were created according to their limited understanding and explanations. Mythology developed when they imagined the nature and the makings of the cosmos – the gods/deities who controlled their lives. Myths are stories that have at their root, an attempt to explain some area of human existence or of the animal world. That is why these explanations can be found in folklore. Good examples in Guyanese storytelling tradition are the creation myths. These are stories that explain the origins of mankind, or the societies/environments in which the people live, or how man came on the earth, or the origins of the earth itself. Creation myths are found in traditional societies globally. In Guyana they abound in Amerindian legends and folktales. There are stories about the creation or the founding of the Carib nation in Guyana. There are several stories about how many animals came to acquire the various characteristics that they have, or even why particular relationships exist between two species.
While creation myths concern the very large issues of mankind and the world, those stories that explain natural phenomena or animals or circumstances are known as myths of origin. Prominent in the Jamaican storytelling traditions is folktales about the mythical character Brother Anansi, whose impact upon the society is phenomenal. Often, the storyteller ended the narration with the words “is Anansi mek it”, because in so many tales Anansi’s actions and exploits had lasting impact on the society. Anansi’s mischief was the cause of two animals falling out and becoming natural enemies. Jamaicans discovered a drink called sorrel that they customarily imbibe at Christmas time – is Anansi mek it.
While Anansi is well known as a master trickster, a trickster hero in folk tales is not restricted to him, or to Jamaica and the Caribbean. Trickster tales are prevalent in African countries, or originated there before migrating to the Caribbean. They are found in England. Interestingly, there is a trickster tradition among the Guyanese Amerindian folktales.
What is of further intrigue, is what happens in the East Indian story-telling tradition in Guyana. The single most outstanding indigenous tradition among Guyanese East Indians is the corpus of Balgobin tales. While there are several characteristics of Balgobin and his creation in a post-Indentureship colonial society, he is a primary school boy who seems to function as a satire against the colonial school system. He has a reputation of being the school dunce, yet he possesses wisdom beyond his age which allows him to outwit and demonstrate more intelligence than all he encounters.
Like Anansi, Balgobin escapes many awkward or damaging situations by the use of his wits. He is a folk hero who, very interestingly, also functions as a trickster. The trickster uses his brain to defeat more powerful foes. For Balgobin these include teachers, headmasters and school inspectors.
The storytelling tradition, and especially what exists or existed in the Caribbean, has multiple complexities. To touch on just two of these, it is to be remembered that storytelling is a performing art. It engages theatre in a way very relevant to the Caribbean. There is a storyteller – a conteur or narrator – and the audience. Performances demonstrate Caribbean theatre that calls on audience interaction, the use of dance, music and song, as well as mime.
This engagement between performer and audience is also therapeutic. The storyteller assumes a spiritual bond with the story and the audience. Yet there is distancing from the consequences of the tale in terms of its effect on the audience. The endings: “is Anansi mek it” or “Jack Mandora, me no choose none” indicate that if any of the ill effects of the story fall on members of the audience, it is not the storytellers’ fault.
Similarly, St Lucia’s conteur involves the audience in a ritual which includes challenging them to solve riddles. One of the riddles asks, “what is it that God has put on the earth?” The audience answers “tout chose” which means “everything”. This absolves the storyteller since it also means that everything in the story was put there by God, both good and bad, and the conteur is not to be held responsible.
