STORY-XHUUUX3 TRENDS AMONG SOME <MMi»TAH CHILDREN

Akosua Anyidoho

Introduction

This  paper  is  the  result  of  an  on-going  research  which  seeks
to  demonstrate  how  children  in  Ghana  learn  and  practise
story-telling.  The  choice  of  this  area  of  study  stems  from  the
realization  of  the invaluable  tradition of  this verbal art form
and  the  consequent  concern  that  it  should  be  strengthened  and
transmitted from one generation to another.

The  aspect  of  the  project  reported  in  this  paper  is  geared
towards  the  discovery  of  the  extent  to which  the  tradition  is
currently  utilized  by  adult  members  of  Ghanaian  societies  to
enhance  the  linguistic  development  of  children.  The  first
section  of  the  paper  therefore  reports  a  survey  of  story-
telling  trends  among  two  groups  of  children,  highlighting  the
degree  of adult  involvement in the children's  story time. It is
the  contention  in  this  section  that  a  high  level  of  adult
participation  in  the  art  will  not  only  enable  children  to  be
acquainted  with  the  techniques  of  performance,  but  will
contribute  significantly  to  the  development  of  language skills.
The  second  section  provides  insights  into  children's acquisiton
and  mastering  of  their  native  language  and  the  role  that
story-telling  can  play  in  these  directions.  The  final  section
looks at other values of  story-telling and discusses how it can
be  promoted  and  strengthened  in  order  that  children may  derive
maximum benefit from it.

1.  General Observations on Story-telling

Aaong Children

Story-tellng  is  one  of  the  most  widespread  traditions  in
Africa  which  are now rightly  recognised  by  scholars as literary
genres and in recent decades the volume of litera-  ture on this
genre  has  mounted  significantly.  Although  a  large  portion  of
this  literature  deals  with  various  aspects  of  adult
story-telling  techniques  a  small  portion  of  it  is  devoted  to
children's  story  telling.  Researchers  like  Arewa  (1974)  and
Nabasuta  (1983) have dealt with  story-telling among Nigerian and
Uganda  children  respectively.  The  two writers  have concentrated
on  the  narrative  style  as  mani- 
fested  in  young  people's
stories.  Nabasuta  indicates  that  children's  narratives  reveal
significant  diferences  in  style  from adult renderings. She adds
that  even  the  best  of  children's  narratives  lack  embellishment
and  ornamentation  of  language,  elevated  style,  subtlety  of
expression, mimetic  devices  and  elaboration  of episodes. On the
other  hand  the  stories  are  full  of  omissions,  substitution  of
episodes and undeveloped characters.

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Field-work  carried  out by  the present writer  has  shown  that •

narratives  by  Ghanaian  primary  school  pupils  exhibit  similar
characteristics  as  those  of  Ugandan 
children.  Another
observation  is  that  children's  narratives  are  generally
imitations  of  adult  versions;  in  other  words  children  recast
stories  that  they  have  heard  from  adults.  Such  imitations  of
adult  stories  may  be  indicative  of  the  importance  of  adult
models  in  the  development  of  the  skills  and  techniques  of
narrative  performance.  Such  efforts  enable  children  to  gain
confidence  in  themselves  which  in turn leads  to  resourcefulness
and  independence  expressed  in  the way  they  create  and  recreate
episodes and add embellishment to^their stories.

The  above  point  can  be  substantiated  from  observations
made  during  the field-work. Among a group  of  young  children
was  a  seven  year  old  boy  who  was  adjudged  the  best  story-
teller  in his class. He told  two  stories which, he had heard
from  his  grandmother.  The  approval  of  his  audience
encouraged  him  to  tell  an  original  story  in  which  he
introduced  certain  items  of material  culture  resulting  from
contact  with  modern  technology.  The  story  was  about  an
adventure  of  the narrator  and  his  friend  called  Joe  and  of
how they went to purchase motor bicycles from a shop. Out of
poor  judgement  Joe  selected  an  inferior  brand  and  as  a
result  failed  to  derive  much  pleasure  from  its  use.  In
contrast,  the  narrator  enjoyed  using  the  superior  brand.
Although  in terms of  content and  style this  tory may not be
called  a  good  one by  traditional  standards, it  can  be  seen
as  an  attempt  to  create  stories  within  his  limited
experience  and  interest.  As  he  becomes  more  and  more
practised  in  his  native  language  and  as  his  experience  and
interest widen, this creative ability may be more fruitful.

One will  agree with Nabasuta  (1983 s56) who  says  that  "the
story-telling  skills  that  develop  and  grow  with  the  child
are  directly  influenced  by  the  level  of  verbal  sophisti-
cation" but the reverse of this statement is also true, that
is,  the  level of verbal sophistication  can be  influenced  by
story  telling  skills.  As  children  gain  exposure  to  adult
story  telling  culture,  they  gradually  and  consciously  or
unconsciously, assimilate verbal  skills that enhance general
linguistic  growth.  The  following  survey  highlights  the
extent  to  which  story-telling  is  being  used  to  enhance
verbal growth.

II. Surrey of Story-telling

Trends among children

Since  adult  guidance  in  story-telling  is  important  to
children  in  their  own  cultivation  and  performance  of  the
tradition,  the  present  writer  investigated  the  extent  of

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adult participation  in children's story time. It was assumed
that with  the development of literary culture, the advent of
electric  lighting  and  its  accompanying  gadgets  such  as
radio,  video  and  television  which  provide  alternative
pastime,  story-telling  might  not  attract  many  people. Also
with  the  emergence  of  formal  classroom  education  and  its
resultant  separation  of  grand-children  from  grandparents,
and  the  general  desire  among  Africans  to  learn  European
rather  than  African  languages,  it  is  feared  that  all  this
might  lead  to children  not getting  the opportunity  to- learn
the  story-telling  culture. One might also expect that modern
<;  job  pressure  that  leads  to  parents  being  less  involved  in
the activities of their children, might affect the frequency
with  which  this activity  is performed  in many  homes and the
degree  of  adult participation  in it. Many Ghanaian parents,
especially  those  in  the  urban  areas, are  seen  to  provide
videos  for  their  children  to  watch  rather  than  tell  them
stories,  either  because  they  regard  story-telling  as  an
'old-fashioned*  and  irrelevant  practice, or because  they do
not have the time for it.

Subjects

In  order  to  find  out  the  extent  of  adult  involvement  in
this  aspect  of  culture  a  survey was done  among  some  school
children  in  Akropong  Akwapim  and  Anyinasin,  both  in  the
Eastern Region of Ghana. In all, four hundred and fifty nine
children,  between  six  and  thirteen  years  old  were  involved
in the study.

Method

The  researcher  visited  the  schools, told  stories and recorded
stories told by the pupils, in each class, the interviewer tried
to  create  a  relaxed  atmosphere  in  which  the  pupils  could
interact  freely  with  her.  This  she achieved  by  recording  their
stories  and  playing  them  back. After this initial acquaintance,
questions were asked which sought to elicit, among other things,
the following information from them:

their  native  languages;  other  languages  they  spoke;  with
whom  they  lived;  numbers  in  their  families; how they  spent
their  leisure;  who  participated  in  story-telling  at  home
with  great-grandparents,  grand-parents,  granduncles/aunts,
parents,  uncles, aunts, older  siblings and peers; how often
they  engaged  in this  activity  or why  they did not engage in
it.

In  order  to  ensure  that  correct  responses  were  given,  the
interviewer  explained  the  purpose  of  the  study  and  why  it  was
necessary  to  answer correctly. In a few cases pupils* responses
were  verified  by  checking  with  older  siblings  in  the school  or
other pupils who lived close by the interviewees.

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Si  Ltails  of the results of the study are provided  in Tables
i ?nd  2  below  As  the  tables  show,  about  52  per  cent  of  the
\ / ? ? rJ  in  each  school  do  not  participate  in  story-telling
children  in  eacn  scno 
performance  at home. In  sf ° £* *n ^ r r t e l l i ng  sessions within
per  cent  respectively ta*e 
. ^ ^^
p 
^^
in'thSr  S:r?-Sey'arTraPtheC
S 

enLa9ll. in school A, 15.2 per cent
and/or

sessions  with 

S:?SyTP C e nL9

r

t  ^  ^ 
^  ^ 

c e nt 

d  35  3

their 

great 

^ 

d  B 

28  5 

9^ 
^ 

^

^y 

to listen  to their parents/uncles/aunts etc. telling

stories.

Table 1* School A  fAkropong)

Story-telling Patterns *moog Sc«e School Children

Class 

12 

3  4 

5  6  Totals

Ho.  of pupils 

63  54  61  46  36  49  309  (100  )

Ho.  that have great or 
grandparents'/uncles'/ 
aunts' etc. participation

So.  that have parents1/
ancles'/aunts' etc. 
participation

Ho.  that have peers1/
siblings' participation 
only

Ho.  that do not parti-
cipate in story-telling 

10  18  8  2  4  5  47  (15.2)

„ „ * * , , , * . ,%

1  3  3  2 

0  4  13  ( 4.2)

18  14  5  33 

2  16  88 (28.5)

34  19  45  9  30  24  161 (52.1)

Discussion

The  survey  leads  to  some  interesting  insights  which  deserve
elaboration.  The  results  indicate  that  modern  alternative
pas tines  do  not  seem  to  be  relevant  since  the  percentages  of
children  who  do  not  engage  in  this  activity  are  identical  in
both  towns  despite the fact that Akropong  has  electric  lighting
and  Anyinasin  lacks  this  facility.  The  survey  also  shows  that

74

Table 2: School B  (Anyinasin)

Class

Totals

No. of pupils

33  25  24  30  21  17  150  (100 )

No. that have great or
grandparents'/uncles' /
aunts' etc. participation

No. that have parents1/
uncles'/aunts' etc.
parti cipation

No. that have peers1/
siblings' participation
only

No. that do not parti-
cipate in  story-telling

0 

0  12 

11 

5 ( 2.3)

13 

3  2  13 

13  ( 2.3)

13  13  3  5  14  5 

53 (35.3)

19  9  17  21  5  8 

79 (52.7)

the  children  do  not  have  any  negative  attitudes  towards  the
tradition  of  story-telling.  This  statement  is  supported  by  the
observation  that  even  without  adult  supervision  and  guidance,
about  a  third  of  the  subjects  tell  stories  within  their  peer
group.  Furthermore,  most  of  the  children  who  gave  negative
responses  as  to  whether  they  engaged  in  story-telling  at  home
revealed  that  the  art  was  not practised  in  their  neighbourhood
and  that  they  would  be  involved  in  it  if  they  got  the  oppor-
tunity.  Others  indicated  that  they were often engaged  in  school
assignments  and  a  few  said  they  performed  household  chores and
ran  errands  which  made  it  difficult  for  them  to participate  in
story-telling.

The  above  revelations  are  confirmed  by  the  degree  of  the
children's  involvement  in  story-telling  at  school. Most  of  the
teachers  interviewed  attested  to  the  excitement  and  enthusiasm
with  which  the  children  welcomed  the  story  time. They  observed
that  the  children  showed  enormous  interest  in  it  both  as
audience  and  narrators; and  often wanted  to exceed  the duration
stipulated  for  the  activity  on  the  time  table.  The  present
researcher  also  observed  that  the  children  were  eager  to
perform.  On most occasions more than two children would indicate
their willingness to tell  stories; while the one selected  showed
satisfaction, the others would not rest until they had had their
turn.  In  most  classrooms  the  children  listened  attentively  and

75

reacted  to  jokes,  exaggerations,  funny  comments  and  songs  from
the audience. 

.

Another  insight  provided  by the  survey  xs  that  currently, the
level  of adult participation  in story-telling  in these two towns
is low  However, in Akropong the percentage of  children who have
great/grandparents'  involvement  in  their  story  time  is  quite
high  (15.2%),  as  compared  with  children  at  Anyinasin  (3.3%).
This situation is the result of many children in Akropong having
to  live  with  their  grandparents  while  their  own  parents  engage
in  economic ventures  in the capital  and elsewhere. On  the other
hand  more  parents  at  Anyinasin  (8.7%)  tell  stories  to  their
children  than  parents  at  Akropong  (4.2%).  When  the  percentages
of  the  two  groups  of  adults  are  added  for  each  town, Akropong
has  a  higher  percentage  (19.4%)  than  Anyinasin  (12%)  although
the difference is not significant (7%).

The  general  low  level  of  adult  participation  in  children's
story sessions may be due, partly, to job pressures as indicated
above, and partly, to lack of interest. A  few adults interviewed
in  the  two  towns  were  of  the  opinion  that  it  might  be  a
fruitless  venture  to  engage  contemporary  children  in  story-
telling because the children would not be interested  in it. When
they  were  asked  whether  they  had  ever  made  the  attempt,  they
answered in the negative.

The  above  discussion  leads  one  to  conclude  that  the  children
have  a  natural  inclination  towards  story-telling  and  that  lack
of  exposure to the adult model, coupled with  lack  of  motivation
and  encouragement  from  adults,  prevent  the  children  from
enhancing  and  developing  this interest. One  can  also argue that
most  adults  remain  indifferent  to  the  tradition  because  they
regard  it  mainly  as  a  pastime  and  are  not  aware  of  the
invaluable  contribution  it can make to the general  acculturation
of  their  children  and  in  linguistic  development  in  particular.
The latter function of story-telling is discussed below.

III.  The Role off Story-telling in Linguistic Development

1). Acquiring the LI

Language  acquisition  researchers  are  generally  agreed  that by
five  or  six  years  of  age,  a  normal  child  has  completed  the
acquisition  of  his  first  language  (LI), e.g.  Chomsky  (1965),
Lenneberg  (1967),  Brown  (1980).  The LI  is  sometimes  called  the
mother-tongue or the native language but sometimes the LI of the
child  may  neither  be  the  language  spoken  by  his mother nor the
language  of  his  place  of  origin. For  example, Ghanaian  parents
who bring  up  their  children  in Britain  may  have  these  children
using  English  as  Ll,  but  English  cannot  be  said  to  be  their
mother-tongue  or their native language. The term Ll is therefore
often  used  to  refer  to  the  language  which  a  child  hears around

76

him  as  he  grows  up  and  in which  he learns to conceptualize  and
to  socialize.  The  idea  that  a  six-year-old  child  is a  user  of
his LI means  that from  the  simple cry at birth which he uses to
indicate  all  kinds  of  emotions  and  all his needs, at  six he  is
able  to  use  compound  and  complex  sentences to communicate  these
needs  in  more  precise  terms.  Prom  the  initial  monosyllabic
utterances  he makes, he  is now able to use a vast number of bl-
and polysyllabic vocabulary items. At six the child is also able
to  select  from  his  repertoire  words  and  expressions  that  are
appropriate  to  the  context  with  regards  to  the  norms  of  his
society. In  short a child  of six has a mastery of the sound, the
grammatical and the semantic systems of his LI.

Although  all  that has  been  said  above  is  true, it needs  some
modification.  A  child  of  six  cannot  normally  equal  an  adult
speaker  in his language use although it is true that at this age
he  knows  his  language  well.  Readers  may  be  familiar  with
instances  where  young  speakers  hesitate  in  their  speech, where
they  use  inappropriate  words  or  expressions, or where  they  ask
adults  for  clarifications  on  the  use  or  meaning  of  certain
vocabulary  items.  In  fact,  what  should  be  said  of  the
achievement  of  a  six year  old  child in his LI is that he has a
grasp  of  the  basic  patterns  of  the  language.  This  basic
knowledge  of  the  LI  can  be  likened  to  the  foundation  of  a
building. Like a building, a  child  also needs  to build upon his
basic grasp of the LI and to develop it to perfection.

I  want  to  call  the  foundation  laid  in  the  LI  by  age  six  as
consisting  of primary-level  skills and what needs to be acquired
or  developed  after  that  age  as  comprising  secondary-level
skills.  What  I  call  secondary-level  skills  include  the
following:  spontaneity  in  speech, extensive vocabulary, accuracy
in  vocabulary  selection,  knowledge  and  appropriate  use  of
idiomatic  expressions,  similes,  euphemism,  metaphors  etc.  and
the  ability  to  understand  and  use  proverbs.  It  is  true  to  say
that  these  skills  are  rarely  completely  mastered  by  any
individual  in  his or her  life time; people only achieve varying
degrees of competence in them.

The terms  'beginners',  'intermediates' and  'advanced' learners
are  often  employed  to describe  certain levels of achievement of
second  language  (L2) learners  in a  target language. These terms
are not  usually  used  to refer  to LI Learners. However, they are
equally  applicable  to  them  although  in  a  slightly  different
sense.  A  child  of  school-going  age  may  be  called  a  beginner,
despite the fact that he or she can speak the Ll quite well. The
adolescent  or  an  adult  with  automatic  control  of  the
primary-level  skills and a moderate grasp of the secondary-level
skills  may  be  called  an  intermediate  speaker, and  the  advanced
speaker  may  be  the  one who  achieves  high  degrees  of  competence
in the secondary-level skills.

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ir. many  Ghanaian  societies  advanced  speakers  of  the  LI  are
much  admired.  For  example, among  the  Akans  of  the  southern  and
central  parts  of Ghana, competence in the secondary-level verbal
skills  is  often  considered  a  mark  of  distinction  and  certain
positions  in  the  community  require  such people. The  'mpanyinfo'
or  elders  who  help  the  chief  in  the  court  must  not  only  be
knowledgeable  in  the  customs and  traditions  of  the  society, but
also  in  the  language.  A  member  of  the  royal  family  who  may
become a chief  or a queenmother may be trained  in the use of the
language.  A  leader  of  a  group  such  as  'asafohene'1  or
'mmrantehene12  who  falters  in  his  speech  may  bring  irreparable
disgrace  upon  himself  and  this may  be  a  cause  for  destoolment.
On  the  other  hand  an  •okyeame'3 who  uses  the  language with  all
flexibility  is  applauded.  Terms  such  as  the  following  may  be
used to commend such an eloquent speaker of the language:

•N'ano ate se akoo1. 
•N'ano awo'. 
•Ne kasa mu pi'. 
•Oka Twi frenkyeem1. 

(He is as eloquent as a parrot).
(His lips are dry)
(His speech has depth).
(He uses pure Twi).

Expressions  such  as  'maataa maataa  nipa1  (a person  who  falters
in  speech),  or  'onipa  a ne  tekyerema  abutuw1  (one whose  tongue
is  twisted),  are  reserved  for  a person who  is not adept  in the
use of his own language.

2) Mastering the LI

If a six-year old  child is to consolidate his grasp of the Til,
then  he  should  strive  to  acquire  the  secondary-level  skills.
There are  several ways in which these skills can be acquired. It
can  be  said  that  as  nature  equips  the  child  with  the  basic
knowledge  of  the  LI  or  what  has  been  called  the  primary-level
skills, nature should be allowed to teach the rest. This implies
that  the  child  should  be  left  on his own  to  acquire  the  skills
by  listening  and  watching  others  use  the  language  in  various
natural  situations  and  by  participating  in  various  social
interactions. Although many  Ghanaians  acquire what  they know of
the Lls this way, this cannot be the safest strategy that may be
adopted.  A  method  that  speeds  up  and  enhances  this  natural
development  is  preferred.  Another  way  of  training  children  in
the  secondary-level  skills, is  to  teach  them  to  read  and  then
encourage  them  to  read  extensively  in  order  to  build  up a vast
stock  of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. This is certainly
a  good  approach  and  must  be  encouraged.  However,  one  can
immediately  see  a  loophole  in  it,  for  a  good  reader  is  not
necessarily  a  good  speaker. There are many  people  who may  read
and  write  well  but  who  may  not  adequately  express  themselves
verbally. Moreover  the  'reading method1  is appropriate  in highly
literate  societies  where  there  is  emphasis  on  written  communi-
cation. However, in  societies  such as are  found  in Ghana and in

78

many  parts  of Africa, a  high premium must  necessarily  be put on
the  development  of  high  degrees  of  the  secondary-level  verbal
skills.  With  increase  in  the numbers  of  people  with mastery  of
the  secondary-level  verbal  skills,  advanced-speakers  of  the
languages  may  be  trained  who  will  in  turn  become  the  future
custodians  of  the  history  and  oral  traditions  -  folktale
narrators,  dirge  composers  and  performers,  oral  poets,  proverb
custodians,  praise  singers  and  song composers  of various tradi-
tions.  There  is  also  the  need  for  effective  speakers  to
communicate  in  the  local  languages with non-literate members  on
modern  issues. For example, illiterate farmers and fishermen nay
need  the  assistance  of  agricultural  extension  officers  in
explaining  to  them  new  and  improved  methods  of  farming  and
fishing.  Also  the  wide  communication  gaps  that  exist  between
African  governments  and  the  majority  of  their  populations  who
cannot  speak,  read  or write  the official  European  languages may
be narrowed,  if literate people competent  in the Ideal languages
can  explain  government  policies  and  the  expected  roles  of
illiterate people.

In  traditional  African  societies  one  of  the  major  ways  in
which many  children are trained  in secondary-level verbal  skills
is  through  story-telling.  The  old  generation  often  talk  about
their  childhood  days  when  parents  and  grandparents  told  them
stories as they accompanied  them to the farms, as they helped to
watch  the  flock  in  the  fields  and  as  they  performed  the
household  chores.  Some  readers  might  have  also  heard  about  or
even  seen  some  of  the  groups  that  congregated  around  evening
fires  after  supper  to  take  part  in  the  story-telling  perfor-
mance.

The  story-telling  tradition  serves  several  purposes. Firstly,
it  "is  a  way  of  passing  on  and. preserving  the  history,  the
fundamental  beliefs,  customs  and  moral  values  of  the  society.
Secondly,  it  is  a  means  of  explaining  certain  practices  and
natural  phenomena  to  the  younger  generations. Thirdly, it helps
in  personality  development  and  in  character  training. Fourthly,
it  affords  the  young  people  the  opportunity  to  acquire  the
secondary-level  verbal  skills  in  the  Ll.  It  is  this  last
function that interests us here.

The  stories  that  are  performed  at  story-time  in many  African
societies  cover  all  types  of  subjects.  They  are  woven  around
things  and activities in the lands of human beings, animals and
plants;  of  the  living  and  the  dead;  of  fairies,  elves  and
gnomes;  of  giants  and  dwarfs  etc.  These  stories  give  the  young
ones  the  opportunity  to  know  about  things' and  events which  do
not  surface  in  their  normal  daily  intercourse.  At  the  story-
telling  sessions  the young children therefore acquire new words,
new  imagery,  new  concepts,  new  idiomatic  expressions  and  learn
the  use  of  proverbs.  They  learn  good  listening  habits,  the

79

j 

appropriate norms governin9 J£*££J^, 
gestures,  body  *o v e m«n* *'  e y^a  o t h er  discourse  strategies all
changes in the tone  o £Jo iJ :* X it  v e r b al  delivery.  They  also
of  which  contribute  ^  effi^ient^  ^ ^^ 
experience  and  take  part 

4-nm-taking,  the  effective  use of
f a c i al  expressions,

story-time,  children  have

a £ j p e c ts  of  t he

learn literary appreciation.

IV. C o o c l u - i o n s ^f ^ ^ ^ ^ S i n ty  that  the  level  of  adult
participation  in  children s^toryn ^  ^ 

one  cannot  say  "***«»?  story-telling as  indicated by this

^^  ^ 

^

ls  of  c h i l d r e n.  Firstly, by

speaking  societies  who have

^  t£> be  r a i s e d.  T h is  8eems to

t he  s a me  extent. However, it is

survey, is better or w 
a lT%  T t \e T r a d m on  and thfref oreP have5 not passed  it on to
It*** children  Itcannot be assumed that every Mean practises
their  children. It ca» 
? \ f E 5T  to £y  that the cUrrent levels of participation
justifiable  to  say  ™* 
among both J ^ J ^ L ^ J "^  roles  story-telling  can play,
be  necessary  because  «  « 
a PT  LToSprrtlth  the secondary-level verbal skills of the
TPs t r y - t e l f i ng  prepares  them  for all the other  oral  tradi-
i ^ ns  because  withoutPa  high  degree of verbal  competence  in a
lanauage  no  one  can become  a  competent  oral  poet,  a  praise
singer  or a  dirge  composer. Secondly, the story-time  gives the
y o u S e n o r m o us  exposure  to  other  oral  art  forms.  During the
narrative  performance  there  is  often  music,  drama,  drumming,
SancJng  andP poeSy  in which  everyone may participate.  Thirdly
many, Ghanaian  traditional  and popular  songs are woven  into and
around  stories  and  proverbs  that  are heard  during  the stor*-
time  For example, there are composers such as Agya Koo Wimo and
Nana* Ampadu  whose  songs  are made  up  of  strings  of  proverbs
expertly  put together. These two composers and many  others such
as Kakaiku and Bob Cole have put many of the traditional stories
into  song.  For  such  composers  and  singers  one  can  say  that
story-telling  supplies  the  material  for  their  songs.  It is
apparent  that  their  participation  in the narrative  performance
at  some  points  in their  lives has contributed  significantly to
the success that they now enjoy as composers and singers.

in  an  attempt  to  strengthen  and  promote  story-telling  in
Ghana, there must be deliberate efforts by institutions  such as
the Centres for National Cultures and the national Commission on
Children to promote it in the communities. In this direction one
possible mode of action is for these institutions to emulate the
initiative of Mrs. Efua T. Sutherland which has resulted  in the
establishment  of  'Kodzidan'  or a  story-house  at  Atwia  in the
Central Region of Ghana. The • Kodzidan' is a building especially

80

designed  for  story-telling  and  a  place  where  the  people  of  the
town  congregate  on  various  occasions.  At  Atwia  the  narrative
performance  involves  people  of  all  ages.  An  interesting
development  from  this  'kodzidan1  is  that  the  youth  of  the  town
who  reside  in  Accra  have  formed  a  story-telling  club  in  the
city,  thus  giving  the people  in  the  urban  community  the  oppor-
tunity  to  participate  in  this  excellent  tradition. Although  it
may not be possible to have a special building  in every town for
story-telling,  the  community  centres  found  in  many  towns  in
Ghana  can  serve  the purpose,  in  towns  and  villages  where  there
are no  such  centres, any  suitable  house can be used as a story-
house.

Another  institution  that  can be  involved  in  the promotion  and
preservation  of  the  story-telling  tradition  is  the mass media.
Since  these  facilities  have  come  to  stay,  it  is not  profitable
decrying  the  way  they  have  undermined  traditional  life styles.
One  must  rather  think  of  how  to make  effective  use  of  them  to
promote, develop  and preserve the traditions. In this connection
the  Ghana  Broadcasting  Corporation  has  a  useful  role  to  play.
Instead  of  the  regular  telecasting  of  western  movies  thus
promoting  western  values,  story-telling  sessions  in  the
communities  could  be  video-taped  and  telecast.  Apart  from  the
fact  that  this will provide entertainment  for many Ghanaians, it
may  also  assist  in  the  promotion  and  development  of  Ghanaian
languages,  and  in  the  documentation  of  the  traditional  stories
for posterity.

The  school  as  an  institution  can  also help  in this endeavour.
Now  that  it  has  taken  over  the  most  part  of  the  training  and
education  of  the  child,  it  must  seriously  think  of  how  the
story-telling  tradition  can  be  incorporated  in  its  curriculum.
Well  planned  story-periods  in  the  classroom  will  not  only  help
to  preserve  this  art,  but  also  help  in  achieving  many  of  the
aims that  are  often  stated  for primary  education with  regard  to
intellectual,  emotional  and  social  development.  Bugunywa  (1970)
has  identified  the  following  as  some  of  the  basic  aims  of
primary  education:

development of initiative, confidence, resourcefulness,
independence and a spirit of co-operation; orientations;
concept formation; skills; literacy; and factual knowledge
(p. 23).

What  is currently done in many  schools in Ghana in the form of
story-telling  leaves  much  to  be  desired.  As  a  former  primary
school  teacher,  and  on  the basis  of  the field work, this writer
knows  that  many  teachers  ask  children  to tell  stories when  they
(the  teachers)  are  occupied.  Teachers can give encouragement  to
their  pupils  in  the  cultivation  of  this  multi-purpose  oral
tradition.  They  can  perform  as  narrators  or  invite  expert
narrators  in  the  community  to  perform  in  the  school.  By

81

listening  to  good  demonstrations  of  this  art, children  may  also
have  the  opportunity  to  retell  the  stories  to  their  friends. As
Bugunywa  (ibid.)  has  recommended,  teachers  can also  deliberately
involve  parents  and  grandparents  in  children's  story-telling
homework.  If, for  instance  teachers  reward  children who tell  new
or  good  stories,  or  those  who  narrate  the  highest  number  of
stories  in  a  week  or  a  term,  such  incentives  may  motivate
children  to  ask  adults  to  tell  them  stories.  It  is  also
necessary  that  the  end  of  term  evaluation  in  the LI be based  on
both  oral  and  written  work;  there  is  no  reason  why  such
assessment  should  involve  only  the latter. In  reality, what most
Ghanaian  children  need  in  the  Ll  is  oral  ability  since most  of
them  read  and  write  very  little  in  their  own  languages. In  this
connection,  one  can  also  suggest  similar  methods  for  assessing
students  at  the  secondary  and  tertiary  levels  who  study  the
indigenous languages.

Notes

1.  'asafohene' refers to the leader of the warriors.
2.  'mmrantehene' refers to the leader of the youth group.
3.  'Okyeame' is the chief's  spokesman in the Akan royal court,

RBfiSEGDOBB

Arewa,  E.  Ojo  1974.  "The  Style  and  Techniques  of  Actual  Dramatic
Process  of  Narration  Among  the  School  Children  of  a
Nigerian  Group"  In  F&bola,  Kurt  Banke  (ed.)  Vol.  15.

Brown,  H.D.  1960.  rrfnrlpliw  of  T-wnguwflp  T*mrp&ntj  and *HB»r4ving-

Englewood  Cliffs,  N.J.  Prentice  Ball.

Bugunywa,  A.M.K.  1970.  "The  Teaching  of  Vernacular  Languages  in
Primary  Schools", 
iftwigyn
Africa.  Nairobi:  Oxford  University  Press.  T.P.  German
(ed.).

in  wrfryM tm 

in  TJ**JV*J* 

in 

Chomsky,  Noam  1965.  Aspects  of  the  Theory  of  Syntax.  Cambridge,

Mass:  M.I.T.  Press.

Lameberg,  E.H.  1967.  The  Biological  Futufhl  inas  of  T J K J I JU

New York,  John  Wiley  and  Sons.

Nabasuta,  Helen  1983.  "The  Dynamics  of  the  Storytelling  Process:
Kigandan  Prose  Narratives"  in  Cross  Bfcytfras.  Kofi  Anyidoho
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82