Being part of a cultural group through storytelling is beneficial
I was brought up in a traditional Jewish home, and the coming of spring means the Passover holiday. Ever since Charlton Heston starred as Moses in The Ten Commandments, most Americans know about this holiday, and for families of the Jewish faith, this holiday is one of the most important of the year. Families and friends gather together to conduct the Seder (which means order) to re-tell the story of the exodus of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. This is a highly scripted re-telling, based on written text and oral stories passed down through the generations.
The story is steeped in ancient tradition and more recent family rituals; each family brings their own special touches to the annual storytelling, adding details about their own family history, and their own traditions. But some things are inviolable – first, everyone participates. Everyone sitting around the Seder table takes turns telling parts of the story. Second, the children are a focal point. Much of the storytelling is aimed at educating the young about their Jewish history, and the youngest children participate by asking the “four questions.” These questions are the impetus of the story – why the story must be told every year, so that our children remember and tell the stories to their children.
Why is storytelling such a critical part of every tradition? Why is it important and meaningful to keep these stories alive? Marcus Garvey said “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” Our knowledge of our family and group identity gives us nourishment and helps us grow. This is true whether it is a religious identity, or an ethnic or racial group. Who we are as individuals in the world is anchored in our histories, and knowing these histories provides us strength and resilience. Being part of a cultural group, and participating in the passing on of stories and rituals that define a group history and a group identity is highly beneficial for adolescents. In our research in The Family Narratives Lab, we have found that adolescents who tell elaborated stories about religious rituals and traditions show higher levels of well-being. And, importantly, not knowing these traditions and rituals can be detrimental.
Michael Chandler and his colleagues, research psychologists at University of British Columbia, have been studying First Nation groups in western Canada. Like many first nation peoples, these groups have been torn from much of their traditional culture, including their language, and therefore their stories. Adolescents in these cultures are at astonishingly high risk. Substance abuse and suicide are all too frequent; in some groups, up to 800 times the national levels. Yet for those groups that have managed to preserve their cultural stories, and continue to engage in cultural rituals and storytelling, adolescent risk is no higher than national averages. Like the story of the Jewish people escaping slavery, these stories are about overcoming great odds and surviving as a people. I have talked a lot in my blogs about the power of family storytelling. This power extends to cultural storytelling – knowing who we are as part of a group that has endured hardship and survived gives us hope for the future.
Alonzo Felder has taken these ideas to the community. He has developed the “My Roots” foundation, to help adolescents at risk learn their family histories, to help them understand who they are by focusing on where they came from. As he says on his website, myrootsfoundation.com, “knowledge of family history leads to inspiration.” Our children’s futures depend on them knowing their past.
So, what can you do? Visit the websites I have mentioned, here and in my other blogs, to learn strategies and tips for sharing family and cultural stories. Use the “Do you know” scale that Marshall Duke and I developed (and I have blogged about) to start your own family storytelling conversations. Just tell stories! Tell your children about the traditions you grew up with, tell stories about your family, and your culture, tell about hardships and triumphs, and bring your children into the storytelling. Tell stories about the past to build a strong future for yourself and for your children.
References
Chandler, M. J., & Lalonde, C. E. (2008). Cultural continuity as a protective factor against suicide in First Nations youth. Horizons, 10(1), 68-72.
Fivush, R. (2013). Religious narratives, identity and well-being in adolescence. In M. Buitelaar & H. Zock (Eds.). Religious voices in self-narratives: Making sense of lives in times of transition. Boston: DeGruyter.
