Campfires, stories and thought

Jul 20, 2015 | Sarah Came
Storytelling Flickr
A group of people telling stories around a fire. Image courtesy of Renu Parkhi

It has been postulated that fire aided in human development in more ways than just allowing us to cook meat. Some experts believe that fire prompted the development of language, with the sharing of ideas and stories happening around a campfire – as they do to this day.

The type of storytelling that took place around campfires sheds light on some important aspects of human development, such as the birth of imagination and abstract thought. It was this tradition of telling stories around the campfire that gave birth to oral traditions, where information is passed on through the spoken word.

There is a growing respect for oral traditions, and scholars are becoming increasingly concerned with the preservation of oral traditions in recent years, especially in cultures without a tradition of writing. The concern for the preservation of oral cultures will hopefully help us to preserve historical narratives and beliefs that were once disregarded or oppressed.

Because the oral tradition is fluid – storytellers frequently change parts of the tale to suit the audience, the time and other elements – there will often be multiple versions of a story (for instance, in the Brothers Grimm rendition of the European tale of Cinderella, the stepsisters cut off pieces of their feet to make them fit into Cinderella’s shoe, while the more modern version has them trying to fit their feet into a shoe that is clearly too small). But despite the different versions of the story, the basic ideology of the story is preserved, and the key events and/or morals of the story stay the same.

Most of South Africa’s cultures have transferred knowledge through the oral tradition, where history, knowledge and philosophies have been passed from generation to generation by storytelling. These stories fall into two main categories – the conveyance of history or knowledge (current or historical), and telling fictional stories that convey social messages and abstract cultural beliefs, such as beliefs about the natural world and spiritual beliefs. The second type is known as folklore or fairy tales.

Leopard Pixabay

In recent years, an effort has been made to record South African folklore in written form. In an era of written communication, it has become increasingly important to ensure that stories are not lost as the younger generations lose interest in hearing and telling stories. Organisations such as the Southern African Folklore Society have been established to promote the academic study of these stories and to ensure that the wisdom of South African folklore does not disappear from human memory.

Like the folktales of other cultures from around the world, there can be a supernatural element to the tales. South African folktales are also acutely influenced by the natural environment and often revolve around animals, seasons, weather and landscapes of southern Africa. The beliefs about some animals passed on through certain stories even resulted in these animals being considered sacred by some cultures, and sometimes hunting them was prohibited or restricted by those cultures.

As many of South Africa’s folktales are about the wildlife that can be found in South Africa, telling these stories to children can make their holiday that much more memorable (literally, as studies have shown that children remember stories told to them better than stories read to them).

For example, you may know that leopards drag their kills into a tree; there is a folktale about why this is:

Long ago, Leopard, Hyena and Jackal all used to hunt together. One day, Leopard was feeling very ill, and couldn’t go out and hunt for himself. He asked his friends if they could go out and hunt some food for him. But Jackal and Hyena both made up excuses and said they could not go and hunt for Leopard. “Fine,” said Leopard “if you won’t help me now, then I shall never share my food with you in the future.” Since then, Leopard has hidden his food in trees where his selfish friends can’t get to it.

Africa is often described as a magical place, and these stories will add a fantastical element to a visit. After all, it has been postulated that it is because children enjoyed the act of hearing and memorising stories that the oral tradition has survived.

Folktales are not just for children, though; some knowledge about the folklore of South Africa will enrich a visit for anyone interested in the cultures of South Africa. Folktales are often deeply intertwined with a culture’s beliefs about and perception of ideology, history, society, psychology and art.

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