Storytelling Sacred Comm

By: Andrew Sakach

Out of Class: 2

I read a book called Storytelling and the Sacred. It was a great book and a section in it talked about how storytelling was a sacred means of communication (hence the title). The man, who was an Abanaki Indian, that wrote the book said that most Native American stories were very powerful and had a multitude of meanings, and that a person should never tell the story if they do not know all the meanings because storytelling was a powerful thing. There were also taboos on when you could tell certain stories and the time for storytelling typically rested between the first and last frost of the year. This was mainly because story's would distract other animals from completing their duties during the spring and summer because stories would be so entertaining or interesting. Other reasons may be that because winter was such a harsh time for people and there was not much to do, stories were used as a way of entertaining and teaching during these times when there was not much to do.

The author also talked about how stories had the power to heal. Certain stories gave people something that nothing else could and that by listening and participating in the storytelling one would gain the knowledge imparted by the story and live by it accordingly.