In the streets, in theatres or at home in Congo, a group of creatives is working to bring storytelling to life.
A resource center in Pointe-Noire, the Country’s economic capital, which trains and equips storytellers has been established.
On one evening, Nkombo, a comedian is sharing a story with a small but enthusiastic audience.
”I chose the art of storytelling to talk about what we can contribute to society. Storytelling isn’t just about words, it’s also about the body, expression and the musicality of the text, which is what carries the audience along,” said Nkombo.
Before the center was founded, there were many initiatives such as the Festival de l’oralité and Retour au mbongui.
These programs were designed to revitalize storytelling at a time when the art was losing ground in many African societies. One of the architects of these initiatives, Jorus Mabiala, acknowledges the work done to mobilize people around storytelling in the Congo.
”What we lacked was a laboratory, so me and my brothers set up the Resource Center to make it a laboratory for orality here in the Congo, since at the time my father already had an audience who came to hear his stories,” said Mabiala.
As the world celebrates International Storytelling Day on March 20, under the theme “building bridges”, a new generation of storytellers is already in battle to perpetuate the African art of oratory.
Like Ruth Moyabi, a storytelling student of Mabiala.
”For me, storytelling awakens you, you see your mistakes, you see your advantages, you see many things, you see your destination. It’s fertile ground from which everyone draws inspiration,” she said.
For Congo, the International Storytelling Day is a chance to reflect on how to export storytelling beyond the country’s borders, so that artists can finally make a living from their craft.
An opportunity too to reverse the trend too, for the young to tell stories to the old, so that posterity can listen.
