Stories of Benin and Explanation of Storytelling in Africa

Woman tells stories, and a man translates stories in English. First story is about a woman in Benin who introduced the idea of exchanging commodities for money. She was very successful and other women followed her example. Upon her death, a tree grew on her grave; the tree symbolized unity and peace. A white man came to Benin and cut down the tree; this action led to chaos, confusion, and no peace. The story tells of the origination of confusion and the importance of being about peace. The second story is about a wealthy son of God and the son's challenge to God. The story's lesson is "no matter what may come of a person, the person should never forget his father is greater than himself; it was his father who gave birth to him and made it possible for him to be what he was." Following the stories is an explanation of the characteristics and importance of storytelling to African life. A man from Lagos, Nigeria discusses parables in African context, use of animal characters instead of human characters, the educational and entertainment value of stories, and the influence of Western civilization on African stories and storytelling.

Stories. English and another language. Part of ACM Museum Events, PR, and Ceremonies Recordings. Stories of Benin and Explanation of Storytelling in Africa on AV003292-2 until 001124 (followed by Discussion about Pan-Africanism). "Tape 2" transcribed from physical asset AV003292. Dated 19700723 (from contents of recording).