Oral storytelling history is an important tradition that has been used for eons to preserve culture and values. Stories and memories are cherished gifts that can only be preserved by the people who are willing to continue to share them. As we examine history spanning back across centuries, even millennia, we find that the practice of oral storytelling has been a keystone of our collective culture.
Having evolved across the generations of individuals that have refined and adjusted the process to suit their times, certain aspects of storytelling may look very different from how they did in the past. However, the essence and values of this practice have remained intact across time, and highlight the importance and cultural impact that oral storytelling has had on us as a species.
The Importance of Oral Storytelling
Knowledge is powerful. The ability to preserve a family’s history creates a connection with your loved ones and ancestors because they teach lessons and share information important to both our individual and cultural identities. Sharing culture and values builds the foundation for who you are as a person and who your family is.
You are the combination of all the best traits that came before you because your ancestors were able to share who they were. Families teach traditions, moral learning, and survival skills. They help form your unique identity, history, and culture, one that is founded, represented, and supported by generations. As a person, you were brought about and perfected by the tales and history of the ones that came before you.
How Different Cultures Tell Their Families’ Stories
These oral storytelling examples encapsulate a rich history and culture. Technology has allowed us to preserve the tenets of oral recollection and storytelling in a digital format, such as the personalized memoirs we offer. But the core values remain the same; these stories were told by older generations to impart their life’s wisdom, and it was, in turn, respected and further preserved by younger generations. They valued the words of the past, knowing that those words inform the lives of the future.
Mongolian Storytelling
Mongolian people have a rich oral storytelling history still appreciated today. Through the sheer persistence of oral storytelling, they can create a long-lasting historical recollection. They proudly maintain their history through the use of benedictions, eulogies, spells, idiomatic phrases, fairy tales, myths, and folk songs. Their storytelling is so integrated into their lives that even today, it is still a part of celebrations like weddings.
The impact is forever tattooed on each new generation to come, influencing the ways some Mongolian families worship, partake in social events, or even cut a child’s hair. Not only does this create an everlasting bond between thousands of years of people, but it creates a national identity and sense of unity, an unbreakable bond between past, present, and future generations.
Choctaw Storytelling
From their inception, the Native American Choctaw Tribe understood the importance of oral storytelling to pass on foundational truths and moral lessons. They wanted to equip their young from the beginning with the importance of having a stable foundation to look to in the face of trouble.
Looking at problems in the face is not as difficult when you have generations of life lessons at your disposal. They have even employed humor in the tale-telling to teach through entertainment over strife.
Hawaiian Storytelling
Native Hawaiian storytelling was entirely oral—and always included the first Hawaiian. They understood the value of knowing where you come from to determine and support where you are going next. Not just through words alone, but through song, chant, and dance, Native Hawaiian people took great appreciation in maintaining their most cherished traditions.
With deep appreciation for history, they would honor members of the society that understood the genealogy of the people. They didn’t simply acknowledge but held deep gratitude for those who paved the path ahead for future generations to learn, succeed, and maintain the culture.
West African Storytelling
What is remarkable about sub-Saharan Africans is not just their strong storytelling traditions, but their routine—they would share an intimate experience with family members, telling stories after dinner. Storytelling wasn’t just a part of their day, but a recognition of who they were—a recognition of core values that were passed on to them and would be passed onto future generations. The Sub-Saharan Africans did not just share history, but created lasting memories.
Jewish Storytelling
Jewish people treasure the stories of their ancestors and they continue to celebrate the freedom of their ancestors, freedom from slavery in Egypt. As part of their celebrations, they tell the seder, where they share the story of the Exodus. This is to bestow wisdom on the young. In return, your generations are able to ask four questions about the celebration.
What is so special about this oral storytelling example is that the storytelling becomes a shared experience by allowing younger generations the opportunity to learn, grow, and reflect.
Irish Storytelling
It takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes a community to maintain a family’s history. This is exactly how Irish families kept their traditional stories alive when the seanchai traveled from village to village, telling ancient lore and tales of wisdom. They shared everything from old myths to local news, keeping stories alive for everyone. The seanchai created a community, a connection for all to understand and enjoy. Information wasn’t kept for themselves but shared in abundance.
What Can We Learn From Traditional Storytelling
The richest cultures in the world have one thing in common: their values of storytelling. For them, it is not just a past-time, but a way to appreciate ancestors and build a deep meaning to oneself. Without knowing where we come from, we cannot know where we are going.
What do all these oral stories’ examples have in common? They value the lessons and history of their loved ones and family, allowing them to guide their descendants wisely, even after death. When stories are shared, our cultural legacies live on. In a digital age, preserving stories has never been easier. OriginStory’s service is a family history gift for generations to enjoy. OriginStory helps to tell the story of a lifetime and preserve it for generations to come.
OriginStory’s biography services digitalize what traditional cultures, people, and tribes have long figured out: the importance of keeping your family history and memoirs alive. Get in touch with OriginStory today to tell the story of a lifetime to future generations through a process that’s as old as humanity itself.
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