In the early years of settlement, in Seychelles, storytelling sessions (sesyon rakont zistwar) were held during social gatherings among the slaves who worked from sunrise to late afternoon, with no possibility of communicating, other than through songs and storytelling, with their brothers in misery. The evening (and Sunday) was their only moment of freedom, the one when the eye of the ‘commander’ and the master no longer watched them.
The storytellers took advantage of this to unfold the magic of their tales and riddles (zedmo), providing the slaves with a form of liberation from the imagination. Furthermore, during the early years of colonialisation a large majority of the population was illiterate, therefore the oral traditions coming from their countries of origin was a critical part of their wellbeing.
Storytelling Session in Progress
Where were storytelling sessions held?
The slaves would gather around a fire outside their huts, drinking their toddy (palm wine), baka or lapire from their small kafoul (half coconut shell cup) and listening to tales and taking part in riddling. A senior person always led the session. Within families, the person who led a zedmo session and told stories was usually one of the grandparents, most often the grandmother. It was the time when the grandparents “granmoun” still lived under the same roof as the grandchildren.
The griot
If the slaves came from the West African region, they might end up having a griot leading the session. A griot was a repository of oral tradition and was often seen as a leader due to his or her knowledge.
A Griot Accompanying a Storytelling Session with Background Music
He was a kind of historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, or musician and was respected in their small community.
Storytelling moved from Slaves to Plantation Owners
As time passed, storytelling and zedmo sessions moved into the homes of the plantation owners. The sessions were the prerogative of the nanny or nenenne. Usually, she was a lady of a certain age, a servant in charge of looking after the children or outright “raising” them. She was the one who would conduct zedmo sessions and tell stories in the evening, before bedtime. Sometimes the sessions were held outside especially during full moon. These sessions would also be accompanied by dancing and singing and were among the few entertaining shows especially for children, with the adult participation obviously.
Professional Storytellers
Furthermore, some families even regularly hired a storyteller to entertain their children. There were semi-professional storytellers who were paid and provided with drinks in exchange for their stories. Sometimes, older persons with a special talent for telling stories also even did so in their own homes, thus attracting all the neighbourhood children, or even adults, in the period between dinner and bedtime.
Storytelling during wakes
Storytelling was also very popular during wakes. A wake is a social gathering associated with death, usually held before a funeral. Traditionally, a wake took place in the house of the deceased with the body present. Mourners came to keep watch or vigil over their dead until they were buried. In most cases the women stayed inside next to the body and prayed as well as preparing snacks. The men, on the other hand, stayed outside and took part in many activities that would keep them awake through the night. These included playing dominoes, playing cards (matouloumba) as well as telling tales and having zedmo sessions, while drinking their toddy (kalou), baka and lapire
A Short Historical Perspective
The earliest French settlers of Seychelles came from Mauritius, and some from Réunion. The Seychelles at that time was being administered from Mauritius. These early settlers brought with them tales from Lower Brittany, tales from the Gallo country, tales from Normandy, Lorraine, Provencal; but French tales, nothing but French.
They also landed with their slaves, or they acquired the slaves locally. The slaves who came with them had already undergone a creolization process in Mauritius and Réunion and were already creating a new folklore in their new language, Creole, by adapting the stories and characters from France and from their old communities to their new environment.
Then in the 1860s, the last significant transference of folklore through the slave trade occurred. This happened when slavers were intercepted on the high seas by the British, and their cargo dumped into the nearest port, including Seychelles. These slaves, as opposed to the ones already on the islands, have not had their culture ‘contaminated’ by western influences. This is because they would have come straight from their respective villages.
Soungoula’s Arrival
It would have been around that time that Soungoula, as well as other mythical creatures, would have been introduced to the islands. Prior to this, Soungoula was not known and the character that played the part associated with Sougoula was Konper Lyev (Brother Hare).
Konper Lyev (Brother Hare)
Soungoula is said to have metamorphosed from an earlier trickster known as Konper Lyev. Konper Lyev was the main protagonist in the tales brought over to the Seychelles by the settlers from France. It appears that Konper Lyev seemed to have been more or less phased out with the first few generations of settlers and their slaves.
Illustration of Soungoula by C. Vincini, Contes de Seychelles A.Abel (1981)
Thus the portray of the hare being a wise animal was phased out in preference of the nasty trickster Soungoula.
Geographical Sources of the Seychellois folktales
Our ancestors arrived in the Seychelles with, in their heads, stories of their country. It is therefore normal to find through our traditional tales traces, plots, heroes and heroines already known in their original homeland. A very intriguing aspect of our heritage are monsters and mythical creatures that can be traced back to East Africa, West Africa (especially those with tigers in the tale), Europe, India as well as Asia and Madagascar.
A large proportion of the folktales was inherited from East and West Africa, for example the story of the Hare who bathed in the King’s pool. Some also are of Seychelles and East African origin . A good example is a version of the race between Soungoula and Konper Torti (Brother Tortoise) which takes place at sea, between La Digue and Mahé, and in which Konper Torti is replaced by the turtle.
There are also those invented in Seychelles that show distinct aspects of Seychellois society. The plot and setting being in Seychelles although the characters are from elsewhere. For example, the story of ‘Soungoula and the Indian shopkeeper’, where Soungoula convinces the shopkeeper that he is guilty of killing his mother.
The tales from Europe are from typical European fairy tales and wonder tales which include most of tales in which Tizan (Fr. Petit Jean) is the main character. Some of those include: Zistwar Gran Dokter (The Magician and his Pupil ), Tizan ek Zann Rozer (The girl as Helper in the Hero’s Flight ), and Brav Tizan (The Ogre’s Heart in the Egg).
However, although some of the slave population in Seychelles originated from Madagascar, surprisingly, few of the Malagasy folktale repertoire has influenced the Seychellois repertoire, except for the Loulou stories.
The themes of the Seychellois Folktales
The themes of Seychellois folktales are universal and are found in all the tales of the world. These include feelings affecting human beings positively and negatively; love; the evolution of love from birth to decline; the evolution of the individual, the balance of power, social advancement, hunger, fear, defeat and the means used for this purpose (cunning, resourcefulness, wickedness, etc.)
The start of a Folktale session
A folktale session traditionally follows a sort of social ritual or established formula. It always starts with a statement from the person who is controlling the session, the storyteller or narrator. It always starts with ‘Sirondann’ and those attending would reply ‘Zanbaget’.
Sirondann– Zanbaget.
The narrator then moves on to one of the most popular riddle series: Tik tik dan kwen? Balye (Tic tic in the corner? → The broom). Poul ponn dan pikan? → Lalang. (The chicken lays its eggs in a bed of thorns? → The tongue). The answer to the second riddle, lalang, is a trick of language as it also means to lie in Seychelles.
Thus, the storyteller threatens the audience with closing the storytelling session, though this is of course only a technique to create suspense. Be si mon lalang, mon pa pou rakonte! (If I am lying, then I will not tell you!). It is also a covert declaration of the veracity of the story about to be told. This is of course based on the creole tradition of storytellers expecting their audience to presume that their stories are based on truth. This might be said to be a peculiarity of storytelling in Seychelles.
In Mauritius and Rodrigues, they have a similar ritual, and the words used are: Sirandane – Sampek. In fact, in Mauritius our ‘Zedmo’ is called ‘Sirandanes’.
The word sirandane, may have originated from ‘cirandani’, meaning wordplay in the language of the Makua tribe in Mozambique. It is derived from cira (= biography) et n’dani (= the yard, room or house) which could mean stories of the house! Cirandani is always accompanied by the word sanpek, which also originates from a Makua word, tcampeteke. It means an agreement to participate in a riddle session, thus making of cirandani also a proposal. In Seychelles, cirandani has become sirondann, and tcampeteke has become zanbaget. They are used as precursors to Zedmo sessions as well as folktale (storytelling) session.
All Seychellois folktales start with an introductory phrase like: “Alors en zour, ti annan…”; Ar, be en zour dan bwa…”; Lontan, lontan menm, ti annan….”;“Once upon a time…” “Once there was ….;” or “A long time ago…”; “A long time ago, there existed…”; “Here’s a story I learnt from…”, “il était une fois”…
The audience
The very basis of the practice of storytelling is live performance (oral storytelling), which brings together several activities around traditional storytelling. The presence of an audience is essential: you cannot hold a storytelling session without an audience. This form of oral literature establishes an interaction between narrator and one or more participants who must manifest their presence. The session is staged, with the storyteller close to his audience, within earshot, placed in a semi-circle or three-quarter circle.
Unlike other storytellers, the Seychellois narrator transmits their tales or their stories through the sounds of their throat. They may do it through the rolling of their eyes, their belly, the gestures carried by their hands, as well as through silences. In a good Seychellois storytelling session, the audience can also enter into the story.
The Interlude
If the story is too long or if the audience is starting to lose interest the narrator may decide to make a quick interlude and then quickly return to the storytelling. He does this by inserting some phatic formulas or just asking if they are still with him. This interlude makes it possible to break the rhythm of the tale; to prevent monotony from setting in and to create a certain suspense. It also helps to awaken those who have let their imaginations slumber or wander. Sometimes it is a also way for the storyteller to take a break or to restore order in their plot. On some occasions, the narrator may decide to create a quick interactivity with their listener by inserting a few quick riddles or zedmo.
End of a Folktale session -The formula
An ending formula for stories in Seychelles is the habit that the storyteller has of putting themself in the story and interacting with the characters. Very often, they claim that they were socked a punch or a kick that landed them before their audience. For example, at the end of the Seychellois tale, Kader, the storyteller says: “…Kader then takes the city from the king. The queen very happy, becoming Kader’s concubine. One day when I was visiting Kader, I said to him: “How are you, Kader? You got a beautiful wife! Kader, very angry, kicks me and I come falling here”. This sentence traditionally announces the end of the story.
This ending affirms that the narrator was a witness to the whole tale, that they saw these events with their own eyes. However, they can also opt out by saying a phrase like, “ Si sa zistwar i manter, pa mwan loter (If the story is false, I am not the author”) or , “Si sa zistwar i manter, pa mwan loter, granmoun lontan loter (“If the story is false, I am not the author, it is the elders who are the authors”).
Most of the ending of the tales in Seychelles is necessarily happy; it is justified by the fact that, in the past, most Seychellois lived in destitution and found in the tale an escape from their condition.
The moral lessons of Seychellois Folktales
Sometimes the storyteller puts a little moral lesson at the end of their story. They do this because folktales are laden with moral lessons. They typically try to teach a lesson about right and wrong, which is called a moral. A society always contains a good and a bad and this often involves someone struggling between good and evil. At some point of time, bad maydominate good, but this is not ever lasting. There is also the implication we should also choose the correct path in life. It is obvious that truth will be as bright as the sun.
In the early days of settlement, folktales were also used as an educational tool for both young and old, by sharpening the wits and disseminating the wisdom of past generations.
The future of folktales
Taking part in story telling sessions is unfortunately no longer a common practice. The contexts in which they were used are no longer relevant to Seychellois modern life. Children are too busy playing on their iPhone and iPad to consider it a pastime. Furthermore, favourite television programs have replaced story telling before bedtime. Furthermore, there are no traditional wakes where people tell each other stories and riddles to pass the time.
One wonders whether these folktales can be used as part of academic support in schools. They could probably help students to enjoy listening and develop attention, a sense of imagination and concentration.
In future posts we will discuss:
- The main characters of the Seychellois Folktales
- Tizan
- Sougoula
and link you to some of the folktales
Reference:
- https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/111109/1/2301ISSISS600005069745_1.PDF
- https://unisey.ac.sc/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Grannter-and-Creole-Roots-Presentation.pdf
- https://seychellesresearchjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/monsters_mythical_creatures_and_island_hopping_in_seychellois_folktales-theresia_penda_choppy-seychelles_research_journal-5-2.pdf
- Creolica, 26 juin 2007 – Sirandann ! Zanbaget ! Contes créoles des Seychelles – Sibylle Kriegel, Ingrid Neumann-Holzschuh (eds)
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