I have been asking myself, What is the oldest story that I know, that is not written down?
I thought of the story of my grandfather when he killed a wildcat on his property. As far as I know, I am the only one in the family that knows that tale. There is another story of my grandfather that my grandmother told me. She had heard it from his sister about the time when they were children growing up in rural Jones County. As a child my grandfather had a particular and funny way of asking for some Red Eye gravy on his grits, Some ‘dravy’ on my ‘drits’ by ‘Dranny’. His grandmother, “Dranny” had made the grits and the gravy. This was about 120 years ago.
My other grandfather told me stories of being caught in a lightning storm as a young man. And a story of one of his dogs biting him on the face when the dog was excited. He got rid of the dog. And he told me about the power of prayer. And he told me about his father, who rode into battle with his crutches tied to his horse. This was about 150 years ago.
Then back to my mother’s parents. My mother told a story of her mother’s mother’s uncle coming to visit her mother’s family in rural Carteret County. And he came with his pet goose. This was over 200 years ago.
These are the oldest, unwritten stories that I know. They tell me something about; (1) the people in the story, (2) about their lives as well as about my life, and (3) it tells something of value to their lives, and perhaps in ours. I think these three things are what matters for a story to be remembered.
I remember events from my own life that I have not told to my own children or my own grandchildren. Why not? Because the story would not tell them about 1,2, or 3. It would not tell them anything that they should know and will need to remember.
A more recent story comes to mind that meets the criteria. When my children were young, we were waiting to take the bus. As we waited, we saw a caterpillar start to cross the road. I asked my children if the caterpillar had looked both ways for oncoming traffic before starting to cross. My children said they did not think so. We watched the caterpillar until our bus came. As the bus pulled to the curb, it ran over the caterpillar. And that is a story for the ages. It (1) tells about the people, it (2) tells about their life as well as the life of the listener, and it (3) tells something of value (how to be safe). And it has a little entertainment value. And it is memorable. These are (3+).
Why my curiosity over stories in my family?
I recently read a fascinating article by Patrick Dunn in the digital online magazine Sapiens. Mr. Dunn’s article told of a story told within a group/tribe/family of Australian Aborigines about a hunting party tracking a large and dangerous quarry. But the story that is told is about people that have been dead for over 5,000 years. The people are gone. The animal they hunted is likely now extinct.
But the story is told even today as it has the values (1, 2, and 3+). It is a story the family/tribe shares in their oral story-telling tradition.
Other stories of important happenings and everyday events can be carried forward in an oral tradition because they have meaning in the lives of the people and in the lives of the family/tribe.
In today’s modern society we are often separated from our family group. But we can still tell tale of the past. They help us relate to those that came before us, and we can pass-the-knowledge on to future generations.
I have told the story of the goose at family gatherings, for its entertainment, and its meaning in the lives of our forebearers and to the lives of our descendants.
The article mentioned may be found at – https://www.sapiens.org/language/oral-tradition/ .
The online magazine Sapiens may be found at – https://www.sapiens.org/about-us/ .
The artwork is based on a picture of a domestic goose on Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_goose