Oral Storytelling Techniques and Traditions: keys to memorization and preservation of cultural identity

Cameron, Ian CW

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Oral Storytelling Techniques and Traditions: keys to memorization and preservation of cultural identity Public Deposited

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Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/1544br025

Abstract

The night’s ceremonies have concluded, and most guests have had their fill of frybread and Buffalo stew. Most of the kids are more excited about the smores anyway, as the camping firepit is prepped and lit. The older kids and adolescents direct the younger children to grab skewers and marshmallows from the counter, then graham crackers from the cupboard, and finally, chocolate bars from the freezer. They run outside to find the elders sitting around the campfire, smiling as the stampede of youth comes rushing to cook their marshmallows. The fire crackles as the marshmallows are roasting, and a voice captures everyone’s attention and begins to tell a tale that has survived generations.

Oral storytelling techniques play a crucial role in engaging the audience and facilitating memorization. Sensory engagement in oral storytelling is a powerful tool that connects the audience to their heritage, creating a sense of continuity and belonging, while also stimulating the imagination. It provides educators with a means of facilitating learning, with a higher possibility of content reaching long-term memory. Such notions necessitate understanding how the audience receives the information, how the human brain responds to certain stimuli, and how oral storytelling techniques provide scaffolding for committing what is learned to memory. The vocal cues, the human expressions during the live performance, the sights, sounds, and even the smells are not just details; they are at the heart of oral storytelling. These techniques help audiences absorb the story's message, memorize the content, and identify culturally significant themes, including characters, places, and events. The critical advantage of oral storytelling techniques comes from the engagement of multiple senses. The experience of a traditional live oral performance in the same medium as one's ancestors can be life-changing. This thesis will prove that traditional oral storytelling techniques possess psychological and memorization attributes that are invaluable in preserving cultural heritage and knowledge as well as educating the next generations.

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