Oral and Traditional Stories

I am one of the people lucky enough to work in an industry that records and researches the Oral and Traditional History of Maori (our indigenous people) in New Zealand.

But I’m not going to talk the technical language about that side of my life. It was the history and stories that we hear that got me thinking though. These are all the traditional stories that are passed onto us, generation after generation through our friends and families. In Maori folk lore there are legends and stories that stay alive through the ‘camp-fire’ story telling sessions. And every now an then, I’m told one. Some of these stories are true, right down to the precise time of when the story occurred… some are the legends… and some have been altered by the original story tellers to make them more palatable to the audience.

But many of the stories have a sordid premise, and that’s the part that I’m really interested in. How the stories and and legends came about in the first place, and the original character motivations. One of the stories from the area of where I grew up is the story about the Purakanui Massacre at Mapoutahi Pa.  ’Purakanui’ means pile of wood, in which the meaning behind is loosely translated to ‘piles of bones that were buried beneath the sand’ after a tribal war in 1750. Today when you are standing on Purakanui Beach, you would never have even thought that anything horrific had ever happened in that serene little piece of paradise. “There is nothing to suggest the tragedy of which it was once the scene, yet these green slopes once ran red with blood and the yells of the victors and the vanquished could have been heard above the noise of the surf that laves its rocky base.” I always knew, instinctively, not to go near the Matoutahi Pa at night. It is within these legends and stories that strike warnings into the centre of our hearts – whether we were there or not. Regardless what we believe in and knowing the histories of the area, brings respect of the area and its people into context.

Maui and the Sun - a story that most New Zealanders know. Click the image for the full legend

But these stories and legends aren’t told just through the Maori. They are told through generations of people in every single culture, all over the globe. Story telling is a universal past time that we all love. Either we are the story tellers, or we are the audience.

The beautiful thing about the indigenous people is that their stories live on like recent memories through the tribe as each story is retold over and over again to the people. Stories are told through art, fire, dance, music, and through the use of our senses. Some are experience enhanced through the use of illicit drugs, hypnosis, or trance. Some are drawn. Some are even written down.

But regardless of what medium they are told in… they are all stories and legends, given to us from our ancestors. Some writers are so inspired by these legends and stories, they incorporate the legends, myths, and the learnings of the stories into their work to share with everyone. One of the more well known NZ legends told globally in recent times is Whale Rider, which was turned into a movie. Some of the authors inspired by legends that spring to mind immediately are writers like Homer, Rick Riordan, David Hair, and a multitude of others around the globe.

While we can listen and learn the stories from our past… It is up to us to create the stories for the future.

 

Dramatic Radio Fodder

This morning I was listening to the radio, like I do every morning on my way to work. I specifically listen to the station that plays music, and then I switch over to Newstalk at 6am to get a decent news update for the day.

However, this morning on my usual music channel, the hosts were talking to people about the drama in their lives. The subject was – ‘And the dish ran away with the spoon.’ Callers would then ring in, and tell the radio hosts and listeners all around the country of their woes about loved ones running away with others. It was actually very sad! Well. I know that this is a fact of life that many of us face, but still… it made me sad, and I didn’t exactly see it as entertaining at the time.

One of the hosts even suggested sending the info to one of our TV programmes here to use for ideas. And this is when I got to thinking. We, as writers, look for this sort of material all the time to weave into our work as juicy drama fodder and character plots for our readers. But why?

Is it because we want to read about people’s lives and how bad they are to make ourselves feel better? I mean, seriously? People obviously love to hear about it on the radio. To be quite frank, if something like what these people were describing happened to me, there is no freaking way I would be telling the nation on the radio!

Example A – one of the women who rang in said, “My husband ran away with my mother, and left me with a 9 month old, and a 3 years old.” Um. Does anybody else see this as something you would tell the whole nation about? This also poses the question of do the children call their dad, ‘Dad’.. or ‘Grandpa’? (I should probably mention what when I hear something like this - my sick writer’s mind comes out to play.)

But just imagine using that sort of idea for a book. Fast-foward that story about fifteen years, and you could write a book about some screwed up teenager, the bizarre behaviour of their parents and how it wrecked their lives, and their own spiritual journey to discovering themselves despite their past. Completely doable, if that’s your kind of thing. It just goes to show where we can draw inspiration from. And where we probably shouldn’t.

So I can’t say that I agree with advertising all of our random issues all over the radio for everyone to hear… but it does make for some good material to use in our work as writers. Some of the issues will be hard-hitting ones, and others will be just general amusement. I did hear one story the other day that was so completely sick and inappropriate to even say out load on radio, but I was crying with laughter afterwards. It was one of those extremely embarrassing moments in someone’s life. But I would never write it.

So, keep an ear out about people and their lives. (Don’t use it for gossip, because that’s just not a nice thing to do.) You never know what sort of gems you might stumble across, and make sure you note them down. Then when you are plotting your next novel, just have to decide what’s appropriate for the story, and really what is not. Then use it.

 

Monday Musings

World cup fever has seriously hit New Zealand with the massively impressive launch of it on Friday night in Auckland. I must say, they put on a hell of a show, and entertained us all. It was a bit like the telling of a story, of NZ legends and how they associate with our every day lives.

Those stories and legends teach us of lessons learnt in the past, and often show some insight of how to overcome the issues we are faced with.I think that this is something that all writers need to be aware of. The legends and beliefs influence us as writers, and in turn, we hope that they will also have an impact on our audience. If we weave some of these lessons into our own work, then just imagine what could happen from our writerly influences.

So what’s on my mind this week?

1. Still dreaming of a holiday somewhere. I’m quite partial to the idea of booking out a villa on the Spanish coast for three months and writing. I know. Quite the change from Bora Bora last week, but I just can’t help myself. Spending time in Spain writing has been a dream of mine for years and years. The villa doesn’t even have to be luxurious by any stretch of the imagination. Give me a rustic little villa on the coast, with a great view and some privacy. One day I’ll get there.
2. Editing. I am just about half way through editing and revising this novel. I would be a lot further along if I could actually rope my attention in during the weekend. But no. Other things impact my life in the weekend, like the husband, or family, or friends. Even the cat can have an impact on my writing time and focus. So…. my mission is to keep plodding away at this novel. There are parts that need to be rewritten… parts that have been deleted. And you know what? It feels great, because it’s almost as if I am giving this manuscript the biggest spring clean it will ever get. Throwing out the junk, bringing in the meaningful, keeping the gold.
3. I am trying to catch up on some reading. There are books that I have been meaning to read for a long time, but due to life’s circumstances, I haven’t managed. Then just maybe, I’ll be able to write up a few reviews this month. Yes, I have been lacking in the reviewing department as well lately! C’est la vie.
4. Short story anyone? Yes. I am actually attempting to write a short story again. Rough. Seriously. I haven’t written a short for such a long time, and I’m just so out of practice in that department! But with a little encouragement from others, I’m slowly getting there. I have approximately 500 words down so far. No idea what I’m aiming for… but about 3k would be good. I’m trying to write in the genre of dark/noir/horror. I’ve always wanted to try to write horror… so I guess now is my chance to give it a try.
5. The Evil Day Job is feeling rather busy at the moment. A bit too much for my liking, if I’m being honest. I would much rather just potter around nicely, and do a few things during the day. But no such luck at this time. If I’m not in the middle of analysing financial statements, I’m writing up contracts, or liaison with people to make sure our clients are happy. Pfft, but seriously… who wants to know about my evil day job. So not interesting.

And I think that’s about it from me at the moment. It’s Monday, and I really shouldn’t feel as positive as I do, since I can’t stand Mondays. But the harder I work, the faster I will get to the weekend… and then I can have a little time to breathe again without responding to everyone all the time.

Ciao for now! Keep dreaming, keep writing, keep living.

 

Stories of Disaster

Out of disasters, whether they are natural or not, come stories.

As many of you know, I am a New Zealand resident. Yesterday – five and a half months after our last big quake… we had another one. The impact of this quake is so much worse, even though it was less on the Richter scale. The key difference in this one was that everyone was out and about. People were at work, visitors and tourists were around, your usual run-about-town people, families and parents with their children, and half the office blocks were on their lunch-breaks. You see… this quake happened at 12.51pm in the afternoon. The last quake happened at 4.35am while everyone was at home and in bed.

Christchurch Cathedral

Quite naturally, my fellow New Zealanders and I are in shock about what’s happened. There are many people missing, others trapped in buildings, and of course, people’s homes have been destroyed. Roads are incredibly unsafe to travel on, flooding is occurring from the rivers and from broken infrastructure pipes, and we also have the added risk of liquefaction occurring.

But all that being said, there is a whole nation standing behind the city of Christchurch trying to help. Calls are out there for people to donate not just money, but also other more personal assets that they have such as blood, time, sweat, and tears. Our wonderful neighbouring nations are offering and sending help in these times. As they have in the past, and as we hope they will in the future – as we will with them.

Stories are reaching our ears of their experiences are all shocking, devastating, and by some fate of silver lining – they are also inspiring. Stories of survival, stories of loss. Everyone in New Zealand have their stories to tell today that are in direct relation to the earthquake. I even have mine.

The cathedral in ruins - 22 Feb 2011

Members of my family live in Christchurch, as well as friends. I thank the gods that my family are safe. I received a text message from my cousin within thirty minutes of the quake to get me to pass the message on to the rest of my family on their behalf. Considering the telecommunications were pretty much knocked out, this was incredible, and relieving. I got the last messages from the rest of my family members last night to say they were safe.

In the car this morning, I passed a huge convoy of emergency response and military vehicles on their way to assist. It warms my heart that they are going down there to help. As I was listening to the radio in the car, I heard a recording of a woman on there. The message was recorded yesterday afternoon after the quake, and her 9 month old grandson had just died, and no help could get to them. It was so heart breaking; I ended up having a good cry in the car with my friend who carpools into work with us.

Then when I was standing in the local 24-hour store buying the paper, a woman looked at me and burst into tears. She has a daughter living in Christchurch, and cannot get hold of her. She has worried herself sick all night, hardly slept, and is emotionally overwrought. Needless to say, I found myself embracing this stranger in desperate need of comfort.

When disaster strikes, we tend to find comfort with strangers. These are the bonds that tie us together to stand up and be strong. There is a Maori saying in New Zealand, which is ‘Kia Kaha.’ The translation of this is, ‘Stand Strong’. All over New Zealand, our Kiwi nation is giving this exact message to the Christchurch people.  Shouts of it are all over the social networks, via text messaging, media, and through word of mouth.

And like a phoenix rising from the ashes, so will this fair city, together with the bonds of an entire nation standing right behind them.

Kia Kaha Christchurch, your stories will live on within our memories.

 

My mother is a verbal Ninja…

I have never told a story quite like my mother… or grandmother for that matter. But in saying that, the stories that those women tell, are their life stories. They are the stories about themselves, their spouses, their experiences, or even some amusing stories about their friends or mutual acquaintances.

Mother - Reincarnated...

I don’t know how they remember these random and riveting stories, as I can hardly remember what I had for breakfast this morning. But they somehow manage to verbally hold their audiences for hours.

I have just had my 30^th birthday, and have had the whole family around for the past five days staying with us at our house. The torrents of stories that flooded into the midst staggered me. People afterwards said to me “Wow, your mother tells the most amazing stories!” … “She sure does,” I always respond, smiling – especially if I have heard the same story about ten times before.

Someone once told me that by the time you tell a story about fifteen times, by then the story will be ingrained into you, allowing you to recall the memory of the story at any old time. So, I figure that my mother must talk a lot! Actually, she never stops talking. Not even for a minute. But when I get emails and letters from her, the grammar and spelling is shocking, but the story is still good – even if she does have the refined British accent of the queen, but the cutting verbal edge of a ninja sword.

So why is it that some people can write really good stories, but not speak them, and others can just ‘tell’ really good stories? Is this factor to do with ‘showing’ the story through the written medium, or through the oral ‘telling’ of speech? I find that when I try and tell someone a good story, I shove so much detail in the story that it becomes completely distracting, whereas when I write a story – the detail in necessary to paint the literary picture. Needless to say, I feel that I make a better writer than a town crier, office gossip, or general storyteller using verbal advantage. Nor do I believe that I could actually repeat off the same story fifteen times to even remember it!

So I pose the question…. Are you a verbal story teller, or do you embrace the writer within you to tell the stories that you want the world to hear?