In every culture people tell stories that are passed down from one generation to another. Before there were languages and words, people told stories through images, signs and sounds. Images on cave walls, stone, and wood were carved out to create meaning. Oral tradition is one way to keep the values of a culture alive. These stories are based on real events that convey information about human behavior. Even if the stories are made up, there is some amount of truth in them. Sometimes, the history of a people can be told through songs, rhythms, dance, and performance.
The spread of slavery in the New World has led to the creation of many stories about that institution. African slaves were not allowed to read or write English so they passed down their experiences orally. They still managed to tell their stories even though they were not able to put them in writing. Storytellers used their craft as a way of expressing how slaves felt about the conditions under which they lived and to provide comfort and hope, as well as preserve the history of the people of African descent. Slaves would remember the past and communicate with each other through stories that were created in Africa, the United States, and the Caribbean. Once the stories were told, they became a part of the lives of those who heard them. Then the stories would be retold, and the oral tradition would continue.
The People Could Fly (McDougal Littell, 2001, The Language of Literature: Grade 7, p.767) is one of many African American folk tales that was developed among Africans who were transported to America as slaves. It tells the story about Africans who had the power to fly long ago. They had to leave their wings behind in their ancestral homeland. The wretchedness of their capture and enslavement caused many of them to forget how to fly even though they still had the power. An elder among the slaves, who still had the magic, reminded them and many flew away to freedom. Those who could not fly eventually escaped to freedom on foot and told the story to their children. This story, which inspires hope to survive against all odds, has been passed down to many generations.
The class will start off this unit by reading from the above named textbook. This will be followed by a rendition of the same folk tale by the Storytelling Troupe at this school. This group of performing artists consists of a member of staff and three or four students who visit mainly elementary schools to render oral traditions for younger students. They are also frequently involved when teachers conduct interdisciplinary lessons at this school. I will need their assistance as they share in oral traditions of folktales from Africa, the United States, and the Caribbean. Afterwards, students will discuss and compare the effectiveness and difference of reading a story versus using the craft of storytelling.