On-line Storytelling
Told by Bunjo Butler – Mrs. Bear and Mr. Crow and The Story of Talk
This is a story I found on the Pratt Free Library of Baltimore, Maryland website. Bunjo Butler has been a storyteller for 15 years. His stories about universal truths found in African,
Audience awareness/purpose
This is an on-line storytelling in which it appears he is on stage performing; however, I do not hear audience noise. It might have been filmed for video purposes only.
To try to create an audience I invited three of my grandchildren to listen to the story (ages 6, 5, and 3). They all said they liked the story, but all of them were fidgeting during the telling. This tells me that although they were listening, the storytelling did not capture their attention. However, this was a video on a small screen so that may have contributed to their distraction.
Format: Inclusion of audience or not?
There was no audience participation, but this on-line story was not performed in front of an audience. The story, if told in front of an audience of children, may have included some participation. That is my own conclusion and may not be true.
Voice: Consistency, Conversational Style, Pacing
The tone of his voice did vary however there was no “changing of voices” for the different characters. The dialect he used included gestures and slang from his African American background. He used the slang “ya all” at various times, also “I ain’t don nothin . . . ” His pacing was good –slow enough for the audience to follow along.
What types of stories they shared
Mrs. Bear and Mr. Crow was one of the stories told my Bunjo. It has an African American origin. The point of the story was a universal truth which I will discuss later in this paper. The other story, The Story of Talk, has an African origin. I’m not sure what type of story you could call the second story. I’ll discuss this later as well.
What Methods, props, music and other elements they incorporated
There were no props, music or other elements incorporated in either of the stories. Bunjo was dressed in African ethnic clothing and had a type of broom or whisk that he held in his land. The only time I saw him us the broom for accent was during the Story of Talk showing emphasis when he was “going to beat the dog”.
Strengths and Weaknesses
His strength as a storyteller was his enthusiasm he showed while telling his stories. You could tell he enjoyed storytelling. His voice volume was good and he spoke clearly.
I feel his weaknesses were in the tales he told. In the story of Mr. Bear and Mr. Crow the universal truth of the story was stated at the end. The story was about Mrs. Bear who was getting dressed to go downtown to do some shopping. She dressed in her finest clothing. Mr. Crow was sitting on a branch look at Mrs. Bear through the window and advised her not to wear the outfit. She should wear what the others were wearing in town which was bags on her feet for shoes, pan on her head for a hat, and a sheet over her shoulders. Mrs. Bear took his advice and went to town as he suggested. When she got to town, everyone laughed at her. She returned to her house and was mad at Mr. Crow. Mr. Crow said as he was flying off,. “I told you what they were wearing downtown, but I didn’t tell you that it was truth”. The storyteller says at the end “your friends don’t tell you the truth” and “some say the naked truth is nothing but a dressed up lie”.
The content of the story was geared toward a younger audience, but the message was too mature for that audience.
In the second story, The Story of Talk is labeled an African tale. This story is about a man who has neglected in his garden for several weeks. He decided to dig up some yams. The third yam he digs up speaks to him and tells him he had no right to dig him up since he, the farmer, has neglected his garden so long. Then the dog gets involved and the farmer cuts a twig from a tree to beat the dog but the tree talks to the farmer and says to put down the twig and the twig says, but me down gently and the rock says don’t me the twig down on me. The farmer is scared and starts running and runs into a fisherman. The farmer tells the fisherman the story, and the fisherman doesn’t believe him until the fisherman’s hat talks to him. The story continues until they run to the king. The farmer, other the farmer has collected on the way tell the king the story. The king does not believe them until the King’s stool talks and say now neglectful the king has been to him. The farmer, fisherman and the king run away and are never hear from again.
The story talked about what might happen when you don’t take care of your things, but I wasn’t impressed with the story. The part about beating the dog was harsh and unnecessary to the story. I don’t believe his target audience would be small children, especially when he is talking about beating the dog with a twig!
Conclusion:
I’m sorry to say I was not impressed with the storyteller or his stories. I question the origin of his stories. I “googled” both story titles and did not find any matches. This was a good example of a storyteller stories I did not think were good stories or stories I would tell to a young audience.
Bibliography
The Story of Talk as told by Bunjo Butler. Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore,
Maryland. http://www.prattlibrary.org/home/storyIndex.aspx?id=7512
Mrs. Bear and Mr. Crow as told by Bunjo Butler. Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore,
Maryland. http://www.prattlibrary.org/home/storyIndex.aspx?id=7512
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