In the 80s parents from communities in Bolgatanga Municipality in the Upper East Region do tell stories to kids at home in the night. The idea of storytelling was a way of teaching children to be conventional to social life behavior.
Children were also abreast with their culture and tradition. However the issue of storytelling in some communities in the Municipality as well the entire region is gradually fading off as video centers are rapidly springing up in the municipality. Another factor of storytelling dying off is due to different movie programs shown on televisions daily.
This was revealed by Prisca Na’ambome Yenzie, Program Manageress of Upper East Museum during a program held at Nyariga to commemorate World Tory Telling Day. World story telling day is a day set aside to create an opportunity for people worldwide to tell and listen to stories of any language.
According to Mrs. Na’ambome three persons who conducted a research to ascertain the causes behind the fading off of traditional storytelling in communities then formed ‘Bolga Tells’ (Bolga yetebo) to rejuvenate storytelling in homes.
The program that brought together children and parents of Nyariga, a community in the Bolgatanga Municipality created a platform for old and new story tellers to develop themselves in the act of storytelling.
Programs Manageress of Upper East Museum, Prisca Na’ambome Yenzie on the occasion encouraged parents, guardians and teachers to devote at least two minutes within a week to tell stories to their wards and pupils.
By: Joshua Asaah | A1Radioonline.com | Ghana
It is not only story telling that is fading off in region but all other tradition cultural practices and values such as drumming and dancing, traditional names , respect for old age .
This is because we as Ghanaians and Africans fir that mtter think our culture has nothing good to offer but is that case? It is always dishearten to think of how we as Africans have abandoned, neglected and hated our ownselves as Africans.
There is one thing that is clear, African knowledge is hidden in our names, tales myths ,proverbs, story telling and our music systems. So if we have neglected our knowledge and turn to follow the Westerners , there is no way we can succeed. Storytellings contained some moral values that the young could learn from but here we are thinking that everingthing of us is barbaric. What happens now is even that , you will get to a typical Frafra home , where there language used is English. hmmmmmmmm, what a bad omen.
I remember when I was growing up as a kid in my village, every evening we would gather at our family house,where we listened to stories from our grandparents, they would teach us how to play the local music and danced to it. This really has benefited me alot later in academics and socially
Between 2011 and 2014, it was pathetic in Bawku West District in that almost all communities had resorted to forign music locally known as (dance or deck) to the neglect of local music. It became so serious that no community gathering could take place without the music not even funerals be it burials or final funeral rites. Thanks to God and the chiefs who fought so hard to bring the situation under control.
The effect in this shift of culture is the high number of teenage pregnancies and low BECE performances we record yearly these days.
You canot use the key of Hadgin motor bike to open the engine of AG motor bike. So if Ghana and Africa for that wants wake up from crowling state of development, we should first try to restore our African values and systems. one may say that , this is not tue. awooooo , baarika!, lets hear you too