Reigniting the tradition of African story telling

The NHC supported the pilot Mpumalanga African Storytelling Awards (MASA) founded by a non-profit organisation, Makhweyane Support Services, which were hosted on the eve of 31 January 2025 under the theme “Reigniting the tradition of African story telling”. The awards intend to promote the eroding cultural heritage of African story telling or folktales in our communities and foster cultural pride in storytelling.

This year’s inaugural awards focused on African stories or Folktales presented in Siswati. A total of 15 story tellers received certificates of participation.

The NPO plans to grow the MASAs through the inclusion of other languages in the Mpumalanga province and have even more regional and provincial stakeholders to collaborate with.

Dr Mirriam Tawane, Acting Executive of Core Business and Research Manager at the NHC, represented the entity at the awards to deliver a keynote address. “Let me first describe what a folktale is. A folktale is an old story or a fictional story that has been orally passed down over hundreds, sometimes thousands of years. The word folk comes from the German word “volk”, which means people. Folktales are thus stories for people.”

“It’s important that we don’t lose this intangible cultural heritage as it is passed down orally. Let us all take it upon ourselves to pass it down to generations that come after us and document them as they define us and tell the culture and traditions of our ancestors”, Dr Tawane urged.

In pursuit of preserving and digitising this important intangible cultural heritage that can be used as a strategic resource for the unemployed in our communities, the NHC documented the folktales of all the participants.

Dr Tawane added that folktales can be used to help children study other cultural traditions, model positive character traits, learn about the consequences of decision making, and even develop stronger reading skills.

“You can use this rich cultural heritage of storytelling as a strategic resource and make a living out of it.”

She named a few local storytellers that have built a strong brand through their oral work like Mam Gcina Mhlophe and Bothlale Boikanyo.

“Nelson Mandela once said, If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head, If you speak to him in his language, that goes to his heart. Let us promote our folktales to tell our stories and rich heritage of our forebears” she concluded.