Text repertoires in Zambia: stories and myths
Text repertoires in Zambia: stories and myths. The term for historical stories and myths is ilyashi ya kale (story from the past). Stories are called chishimikisho and stories with songs cishimi.
Stories have become less important
Text repertoires in Zambia: stories and myths. In former days stories and histories were an important form of text. Nowadays they form a minor part of Chibale culture. People have forgotten historical stories, for instance of certain clans, and there are fewer occasions to tell stories or they have disappeared.
The purposes of stories are to
deal with what we can or should expect to happen in certain circumstances,
share the knowledge of how things work, now and in the past,
shed light on the intentions of people, and
show us how to evade and solve problems.
Compare with the purposes of proverbs.
Proverb 1591Example from the third booklet of Amano mambulwa.
Mukulu aluba ne cimbwi canye mfwi
Apa calola mukwebati, ificitika fyaba nenshila/nangu impela iyakubwenako.
Mu nganda mwikala, abana ilinji balaya mukwangala kubanabo. Kulya kwine ulo bafyashi babanabo bapekanya icakulya, nabalya bana bambi balalyako. Ulo babwelela kunanda yabo, abafyashi tyabeshibapo ati abana babo nabalya. Ngabapekanya icakulya, nabalya balile ku mulandu wa mwenso pantu balibakanya balaya mukulya. Ico besa mukubwenako mikutile! Uli apa nebo naikuta, libe inshima icily ikulu. Epo beshibila ati balililepo kumbi. Nokulingana ne nsoselo, ulo umukote aluba, nakonse uko bakosanga apa nyelele icimbwi pakuboneka mfwi mfwi, bakatontonkanyati cimbwi calile bakuti nabakuti.
An old man goes missing and the hyena excretes grey hair
We always have to look at the relation of things and the hints about this relation that are given to us. When an old person with grey hair goes missing, the faeces of an hyena can tell the story of that missing grey-haired person.
Children go out to play with friends. Where they are, the parents prepare food for all, so for them as well. But when they return home, their parents also will have prepared food, not knowing that they have already eaten. Because they have been warned never to eat at other homes, the children will still take part in the eating, but will not eat much or will not eat for a longer period. Then the parents will know that the children took food somewhere else.
Examples of text repertoires in Chibale, Zambia: stories and myths
The friendship between nature and culture. A story from the past.
The small ones with the big bellies. A story from the past.
Kunda Mpande roaming the country as an ing’omba. A story from the past.
The ngolwa and the big lumps. A story (without songs).
The curse of the very old person. A story (without songs).
The hunting dog Mwaisabanga. A (fragment of a) story with songs.
Footnotes
- 1Example from the third booklet of Amano mambulwa.