A folktale is a traditional story made familiar through telling over the years. Usually, there is a moral lesson to pick from a folktale and the teller would often ask children to explain to him or her the morals in the story.
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To Ms. Augustina, a Federal Girls’ Government School teacher, folktale telling “is really a great culture” she wished could be revived. She recalled the good times she had telling folktales to her brothers children.
According to her, the children were always happy each time she came home to visit them as they expected her to tell them interesting folktales. Her words:
“There is a folktale titled Obalaedo. It was about a child who disobeyed her mother by cooking ejula (snail) first instead of ede(cocoyam) on the day when evil spirits were out to kill anyone who went outside. When she went out to beg for fire from the neighbour, she was killed by ndi mmuo (evil spirits). But her spirit sang to her mum when she was looking for her daughter.
“I could remember one of the kids as she cried because she heard Obaledo’s mum crying. She said she would not want to make her mum cry. Each of them would tell the moral lessons derived from the stories and they believed they were real. They would even go the extra mile of promising not to act like those characters in those stories.”Augustina further advised the culture should be revived by any means possible because children enjoy storytelling.
Mrs Aligbe Tsaro-Goteh Angela, legal officer, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, (RSUST), recalled with nostalgia the folktales she enjoyed in her childhood.
“My aunt used to gather us together then. I really enjoyed it though I can’t remember much about it now. It should be modernised to meet the present day kid’s standard. That way, kids will enjoy it,” she said.
Mrs Aligbe added that “in the past, folktales were devoid of reality. They were basically moribund beliefs passed on to children by their parents. So if tales are based on reality, kids will understand, enjoy and possibly learn a lot more from them.”
Mr Tony Onyemefolu also enjoyed folktales as a child. He agreed that there were lots of moral lessons to learn from them, stressing: “It should be part of the family culture whereby parents can use real stories to teach their children discipline and morals of life. If they can be developed and be packaged like cartoons for children, they can be sold the way Americans sell cartoons to us. This is where creativity comes to play as most films and cartoons are stories but let there be a good idea/message behind the story,” he said.
Mrs Laura of Laura Phils.com shared her folktale experience with great joy: “Every folktale has morals attached to them. I learnt most of the early lessons about life from folktales. Well, I certainly would tell my children a lot of them.”
On whether the culture should be revived or not, Laura affirmed: “I think we should. Television programmes like Tales by Moonlight should be resurrected. I also think it should become part of the school curriculum. Our curriculum is too westernised. Folklore would remind kids of who they are and where they come from. I believe it will curb the rate of greed and immorality in our children.”
Mr Leslie Osayuki, business development manager of The Bridge Clinic, was quick to admit that he really enjoyed folktales as a young child.
“I did and I think folktale should be revived because then, it was our oral tradition that gave us a sense of belonging and made us to know where we were from. It is a way of sharing cultural traditions, exploring important life lessons,” he said.
Osayuki argued that today’s children need folktales, saying: “Folktale helps kids to develop a sense of imagination. When they listen to folktales and retell the stories to others, this improves their communication skills.”
However, while most people who spoke with Leadership enjoyed their moonlight stories experience, Mr Dino Lawal has a different view about it. He said: “I actually did experience it but now I look at them and laugh at myself for believing such tales.
"They should not be revived in anyway. They just entertained, that’s all. A few of them had moral lessons; some of them are fables. If they have to be revived, they have to be retold. Can you tell a 21st century boy who knows Ben10 that dog and elephant are friends?”
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