Strength: A Reflection On Stories, Wisdom, and Power

Strong?

What does it mean to be strong?



Delilah beguiled Samson, lay with him, and when he was asleep, she cut his hair. When the deed was done she called to him, "Wake up Samson, the Philistines have come!"

Without his hair, Samson had no strength and the Philistines took him blinded him and chained him in their great halls to make sport of him.



What does it mean to be weak?

Weak?

A mouse was scurrying home when she accidentally ran across a lion's paw.

"Well," said the lion, "you'll make a nice snack."
"Don't eat me," cried the mouse.
"Why not?" asked the lion.
"Someday, I might be able to save you!"
"You?" the lion laughed, but he let the mouse go because of its cheek.



What does it mean to be wise?

Anansi is often quite foolish!

Anansi tried and tried to find a way to get down to the bottom of the pond, but he could not do it. When all of the food was gone, the turtle swam to the top of the water and handed Anansi a glass of water.

"Sorry, friend Anansi! I waited as long as I could. I guess you just weren't hungry!"

Don't do something to someone unless you want them to do it right back to you!





What does it mean to be smart?

Brer Rabbit

"Why ain't you dead?" Brer Fox demanded.
"'Cause I was born and bred in this here briar patch, and it is 'xactly where I wanted to be!"




Over this last week, I have been watching the United States of America discuss our national tragedy...our ongoing national tragedy.

I have wondered what stories to tell.

I have wondered what to say.

I have fought and listened and discussed.

I have wept, and yelled, and clenched my fists.

I have also been proud, shocked, incredulous and hopeful.

So, I leave you with this tale (apologies to Margaret Read MacDonald for my not verbatim retelling!)



Strength - A Retelling


Once, all of the animals gathered to determine who was the strongest.

Gazelle went first. She ran like the wind through the trees faster and faster on her powerful and delicate legs. When she stopped, she raised her head proudly.

Everyone nodded solemnly. "Strength!" they intoned.

Strength

Gorilla climbed the trees higher and higher with his powerful arms and legs. He swung through the branches and then landed on the ground and pounded his chest.

Everyone nodded solemnly. "Strength!" they intoned.

Strength!

Elephant ripped trees from the ground with her powerful trunk, picked them up with her tusks and hurled them into the air.

Everyone nodded solemnly. "Strength!" they intoned.






Man arrived late. Man was always late. He had a package with him. He hid it behind a rock and walked into the middle of the gathering.

"Okay!" he announced. "Here I am."

"Welcome," said the other animals. "What can you do?"

"Watch!" said Man.

He jumped up into the trees and went from branch to branch and then swung around from place to place, and then he climbed down and said, "Ta-da!"

"Well," said the animals, "we've already seen climbing. That was nice climbing, but it wasn't as strong as Gorilla's."

"Well," said Man, "watch this!" He ran around with sticks beating on the trees and singing and making lots of noise. He tossed the sticks away, ran over to the animals and said, "Ta-da!"

"Well," said the animals, "We've already seen running. That was nice but not as strong as Gazelle."

"Watch this!" said Man. He began to flip and dance. He went on like this until he was tired. He ran over to the animals and said, "Ta-da!"

"Well," said the animals, "that was entertaining, but lots of us can flip. Is there nothing you do that truly shows your strength?"

Man was upset. "You want to see strength?" he cried. "I'll show you strength!"
He ran to the place where he'd hidden his package, ripped it open, took out a strange object, pointed it at Elephant, and then there was a loud noise. Elephant fell down dead. The animals fled into the trees.

Later, after Man had gone, the animals came out of hiding.

"What was that?" asked one.

"Was it strength?" asked another.

"No," said the owl. "That was death."

To this day, Man walks alone, for he is the only animal who doesn't know the difference between "strength" and "death".



I have heard so many stories of strength and love in the last few days, that I think we might actually make progress.

I have seen determination and strength mobilize a new generation of Americans to oppose the routine slaughter and senseless death of our children that has become such a common thing in this country.

Let us hope these stories and actions can move our country forward.

Holding our children in my heart

The Telling Can Be Powerful
Use It Well

Anansi, Brer Rabbit and the Power of Folktales

This is a wordless picture book I did with
Children's Press.  I told the story, when you
heard the din, you turned the page!

I love telling folktales.  I especially love telling them to adult audiences.  Yesterday, I was in Martinsville, Va and had a rollicking time with an intergenerational audience that was mostly adults.  We spent time with Anansi, and I explained how that splendid spider is linked to Bugs Bunny.  We had fun watching that trickster get his legs caught in a web of his own weaving when he went head to head with a clever turtle.

The Tar Baby

I do so love this stuff!

We remembered that Brer Rabbit is the embodiment of the enslaved Africans in America, and not just a character who makes millions as an advertising icon.  We got to say "How do to ya?" To each other and wail, "Whatever you do, Brer Fox, Please don't thow me in the briar patch!"  We got to watch a huge cloud of hornets go up in the air and come straight back down on poor old Brer Bear and the scheming Brer Fox as Brer Rabbit hollered at them, "I said this was my laughing place, and I shore am laughing hard!"

The Man

The Tiger

The Mouse

We got a chance to watch a little mouse prove that just because you are small, it doesn't mean you are not mighty.

There was more than that, of course.  We spoke to each other, learned of our commonality through comments from the audience, shared our foibles, made friends of people we'd never met, and chuckled at the antics of our own and other people's children.  People who'd never experienced storytelling vowed they'd seek it out, and two thirteen year old boys found themselves so caught up in story, they played finger games with everyone else at the end of the show without giving it a second thought.  A pastor waited for me as everyone left, and we had a long discussion about the stories in the Bible and how the words are meant to come off the tongue, not lay on the page.  All in all, it was a glorious event.

The folks who came to share stories with me left with some of my oldest friends.  

Monkeys lions, tigers, bears, fox, rabbit, and spiders who leapt through my childhood, and now inform my adulthood became part of people who had never seen nor heard of them before.  Children were asking for books about Anansi and Brer Rabbit.  Teachers were writing down possible titles for sharing with their classes.  Grandparents were promising to read stories to their grandchildren, parents wanted to find out how they could find more storytelling for their kids, and any number of adults were tickled pink and planned to share those stories with family members who were not on site.

Folktales are powerful for many reasons.  They touch us in the universal places in our soul.  They speak to us about ourselves.  They make us laugh at our own foolishness.  Better still, they are sharable with anyone.  They morph and change and glide in and out of who we are as a society.  

As we enter February, which is also Black History Month, I have weeks, and weeks of telling Afrocentric Folktales with multi-generational audiences ahead of me….I can't wait!

Happy Telling

P.S.  I made the front page at the Martinsville Bulletin on the Monday after the show.  Wouldn't the world be a better place if we had more storyteller's on the front page?

http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=40763