Under the spell of a fairytale

There was a woman who once told me a story about how her husband, against her advice, went out to fetch water early one morning in Zanzibar.

On his way back home, like she had predicted, he encountered some wanga (supernatural beings), whose favourite time for mischief, apparently, is the hours just before dawn.

I did not believe a word of it, yet I was enthralled by the way she told it. Such is the magic of storytelling.

Stories have been an integral part of human life.

In the words of American writer Reynolds Price, “The sound of story is the dominant sound of our lives.”

Stories are told to educate, instil morals, preserve culture and to entertain.

To preserve and develop the art of storytelling, Zamaleo Act have been training young storytellers.

And from June 10 to 14, they held the 2nd Sigana International Storytelling Festival in Nairobi.

I attended the festival on the afternoon of June 13 and listened to a story about a baby turtle that outwits the malevolent coyote, by Diane Ferlatte from the US.

Jeeva Raghunath, another accomplished storyteller from India, told a story about a king who inadvertently declares a month of national mourning for the death of a donkey.

Mats Rehnman from Sweden recounted the story of a courageous girl who offers to be the king’s bodyguard, disguised as a boy.

From Uganda, Andrew Ssebaggala’s story was about a dispute over land between a man and some birds, while Susan Wamucii from Kenya told a story from Liberia about a girl who wouldn’t obey her husband.

Rose Mwaura’s story explained why cats chase mice.

Githanda Githae and Hellen Namai ended the show with a story about a cunning hare and the rather cruel (and too chilling for children) fate of the hyena, who was lynched by the other animals.

Generally, the entire session was very entertaining.