Sharada Eswar traverses across Asia to unearth the ancient art of story-telling........

The art of the storyteller is alive and well in modern Asia. Today, across Asia, both traditional and new tales are told by a range of tellers, for a wide variety of reasons.

Storytelling styles in China are as diverse as the country itself. Modern Chinese story telling has its roots in the street narratives, popular centuries ago. The street teller used clever sung verses to attract listeners. When a crowd gathered, the teller told stories still popular today: classics like Journey to the West, featuring the beloved, mischievous Monkey; Water Margins, about several famous righteous outlaws; and similar stories that stretched for days and days. In more recent times, the telling moved into the teahouses, where it still remains popular in many areas.

The Chinese teller’s voice is truly a powerful instrument, accompanied at times by simple percussion instruments - bells, wooden clackers, and drums. Even something as simple as a wooden block adds to the drama, portraying the slash of a sword, a hero’s moan, horses’ hooves, the cries of a solitary bird, and more.

Storytelling was seen as an important tool of the revolution in China. Story-tellers were identified and retrained to tell stories about revolutionary heroes, and stories ridiculing superstitions and reactionary beliefs. In the past decades, with a loosening of some controls, storytellers can be heard satirizing both society and the government, especially through the very popular comic storytelling form, xiengshiang.

Nearby, in Korea, the sophisticated art of p’ansori demands years of practice. Dedicated students in the past would stand under waterfalls and scream for hours, to develop the unique texture and range of the p’ansori voice. The form had its heyday in the 19th century, and survived into the 20th century with a repertoire of five major stories, all well known throughout Korea. As the form faded in recent decades, the movie S’opyonjae, a fictional account of an aging p’ansori teller, became an unexpected box office hit in 1993. It brought new life to the art form: suddenly people were trying to sing p’ansori songs and to find p’ansori teachers. Individuals, including students and drama groups began to create modern adaptations and materials.

Korean elders and teachers still quietly tell the traditional folk tales as well - to share values of filial piety, respect for elders and teachers, the importance of harmony, and more. Also told in homes and elsewhere is the true tale. These brief personal experience stories share the turmoil of recent economic trends; the challenge of rapid social change; the weaker position of women and the still prevailing preference for sons; experiences with shamans and dreams; and of course, the horror of the Korean War and the sorrow of the country’s division. Some of the most poignant true stories are those of the military sexual slaves used and abused during World War II.

In Hiroshima, Japan, a group of aging hibakusha, survivors, regularly tell their true stories of the atom bomb in schools and at the Hiroshima Peace Park. They tell in simple words to share their pain, said Sato Reiko, so that "we may never forget that children’s happiness can only exist in peace." Rakugo storytelling, found today in Japanese yose theatres and local clubs, is known for the rich characterizations that share humorous tales from Tokyo’s past. Some of these skilled tellers also share new stories to explore modern topics: Japan’s ever-changing technology, the national addiction to baseball, and the experiences of Japanese traveling abroad...

For many generations, Japanese traditional tellers, like Ito Takeyo have also passed on tales, telling often in a quiet way, either around the irori fireplace or at bedtime in older times, and now, whenever the chance arises. The kamishibai storyteller, with his colorful picture cards sets, was a popular figure earlier in the twentieth century, and published sets are popular today in library telling.

The Ainu people once lived proudly in their land, until the Japanese came and conquered. Recently, Ainu elder Shirasawa Nabe told stories to share her love of a lost homeland. She was one of the few storytellers among this minority now surviving on Hokkaido Island in North Japan. She rediscovered storytelling, after a silence of almost sixty years, only when a scholar came seeking old Ainu words. As she talked to him, her answers came out in story. Those who listened were thrilled to hear the old yukara epics, stories which were chanted earlier to the accompaniment of wooden drumbeats. Her telling was treasured as a valuable way to keep alive a much persecuted language and culture.

Professor and storyteller, Wajuppa Tossa, of Northeastern Thailand, finds herself in a similar situation: the stronger Thai language and culture threaten her beloved Isan culture. So she teaches storytelling to her students, sends them out in troupes to share their Isan heritage through story, translates old Isan epics, and sponsors storytelling camps that inspire families to rediscover their roots. In Singapore, the National Library Board, the National Book Development Council, and talented tellers like Kiran Shah and Sheila Wee are helping Singaporeans explore both cultural roots and future directions in a growing modern storytelling movement. Nearby, in Malaysia, storytelling is also spreading, especially in the schools.

Recently, many training sessions for teachers have taken place, as storytelling has become part of the schooldays. Dr. Murti Bunanta of Indonesia promotes storytelling and the world of children’s literature through her work of many years, helped by talented Indonesian tellers.

In what is now Peshawar, Pakistan, Pathan storytellers proudly shared romances and hero tales in the famous Storyteller’s Bazaar. For centuries, caravans going east and west would meet and storytellers would pass on the news along with their tales. Today, the Bazaar still exists, but it is full of traffic and noise, with no live tellers in sight. However, their voices are still heard, for storytelling cassette tapes now sell briskly, helping listeners to remember the past and tellers to find new audiences. In the same area, very sad true stories are told by mouth and through the images of woven carpets as Afghan refugees try to survive.

Across India, there are so many ways to tell a tale, from warm family telling to stories shared in temples, streets, and auditoriums. In Rajasthan, two popular styles involve the intricately painted scroll and the ingenious kavad, a box with panels that unfold to tell a tale.

Musical storytelling is found across India in countless forms. Centuries ago, kirtan, a stirring mixture of song and narrative moved into South India from Maharashtra in the north. Known under several names, including Harikatha, the form is found today largely in temples, musical societies, and at functions. Harikatha bhagavatars, like Balakrishna Sastrigal, most of whom are men, have natural talent enhanced by long training, and enriched by devotion. They know major epics and stories, thousands of verses, several musical styles, and countless anecdotes to be woven into the main story.

While most Indian tellers tell of the gods, in kathaprasangam of Kerala, tellers tell about Communism and regional talent. This secular style developed in the twentieth century to popularize local Malayalam literature and to challenge societal problems of caste, corruption, and inequality. One of the popular tellers, V. Sambasivam, who mixes Indian and Western music, instruments, and stories, describes the style as "an operation to purify the minds of the audience."

The Asian storyteller indeed communicates much - telling to promote rural development, to encourage devotion, to preserve heritage and the environment, to teach, to entertain, and to inspire. In both quiet village and bustling city, Asian storytellers tell on, for as a favorite Vietnamese proverb reminds us,

What is carved on rocks will wear away in time,
What is told from mouth to mouth will live forever.