Storytelling Visuals:
Some Traditions from Around the World
Storyknifing
Storyknifing is a style of storytelling unique to the Yup’ik people of Alaska. Storyknifing
is done outside on the ground. As a story is being told, illustrations from the story are
drawn in the moist dirt or snow. A knife is used to smooth over the old illustration to
make room for a new one.
Sand Painting
Related to the tradition of storyknifing is sand painting which often accompanies
storytelling among Navaho, Tibetan, and certain south Indian cultures.
Burrakatha
Is a folk art, prevalent in Andhra Pradesh (a State in South India). Burra is a drum that is
shaped like a human skull (Burra means skull) the story teller narrates stories beating this
drum.
Story Nets
Some African storytellers display story nets on which various items such as bones or
rattles are hung. Each item represents a story that can be told. After selecting an object,
the story is told.
Cave Paintings
Cave-paintings are among the most ancient examples of visual accompaniment to
storytelling.
Wayang Kulit
Occurs in Indonesia. The puppet-master tells the story as he manipulates puppets from
behind a screen. Shadows are created by the puppets blocking the light from a lantern.
Schilder
A bankalsanger was a man who stood in a marketplace and chanted and sang,
accompanying himself with picture sheets ("schilder"). "Schilder" were created using a
variety of materials, including wood-block prints, copper engravings, and oil on canvas.
The picture sheets were large enough to be seen by a small crowd standing around in a
German marketplace.
Flannel Board
Just as the bankelsanger tradition was coming to a close, teachers and librarians of the
West were developing a very different kind of two-dimensional visual accompaniment to
storytelling: the flannel board. Flannel board storytelling involves placing cut out pieces
of fabric (especially felt) on a flat, often flannel-covered surface. Figures can cling to
and overlap each other.
Picture Books A survey of storytellers' uses of two-dimensional images on flat surfaces
would not be complete without the mentioning of the illustrations in children's books!
String Figures
Another visual which is nearly as universal is string figures. The string artist was often a
storyteller as well, using his loop of string to illustrate his tale.
Around the Fire
In oral-centric cultures, storytelling has often occurred around the hearth fire: here the
fire is the visual accompaniment"Shanachies [Irish storytellers]...told their stories by the
great peat fires." The fire serves as a common abstract visual field onto which all can
project
Kamishiba
This genre is kamishibai, which means, "Paper drama," or, "theatre of paper."44
Kamishibai gained popularity among children of the urban poor. There were performers
in most of the major cities. A kamishibai performer had a repertoire of at least three or
four stories: he carried the cards with him in a wooden frame that also served as the
means of presenting the picture cards during the telling of the tales. Kamishibai
performers, with their gear, could often be seen bicycling about town. Some sets of cards
were hand-painted, but most were printed and had to be purchased by the kamishibai
performer.
Source: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~emiller/index.html
For Puppetry Traditions from around the world:
http://www.sagecraft.com/puppetry/)