Enchanted Tales
of Africa
Directed by Yé Lassina Coulibaly
All audiences and young audiences
“An old man sitting under a tree sees things that a young man who travels the world does not see”
The ancient words transmit to us the knowledge and the memory of our ancestors. Through the staging of enchanted tales from Africa, Yé Lassina Coulibaly proposes to share them with all audiences, both young and adult. According to demand, the show and the choice of tales are adapted to the public, a show with variable geometry.
"Traveling feet and thieving ears"
“Having attended storytelling evenings very early in my childhood, with my parents and grandparents, and having fed avidly on their words, their knowledge, their imagination, their wonder, I venture to say that the genius of Africa runs through my veins. Since then, I have wandering feet and thieving ears; my roots are in my feet and I am home in my head; my language, these are my stories and I have only one desire, it is to share them by valuing the social and intergenerational aspect (according to the Bamanan cosmogony, to which I was initiated in the sacred forest, the knowledge must be shared).
The enchanted tales of Africa, a show with variable geometry!
“Sweet words or fright, the tale teaches children about life”
Traditionally, in Africa, storytelling is used to teach family and moral values, to prevent, advise and reconcile people. Thus, the tale has a social function and contributes to the conservation of humanity. Vector of communication, sharing, combining past and present, the story ensures the continuity of the oral tradition in the Mandinka society.
Through the tale, which is sometimes soft words, sometimes words of fear, encouragement, motivation, the child or adolescent becomes aware of the challenges and difficulties of life in society, learns to grow, to show bravery in order to best contribute to the life of the group. With the tale, the child learns to listen and hear the beauty of the inner word. It is in this that the tale fulfills an educational and pedagogical function.
The tale, by staging the fauna and flora, the living and the ancestors, takes us into a world where there is no longer a limit between man and nature, between the real and the unreal...
By pushing the analysis further, the tale is wisdom, it is the cradle of knowledge, it is in short the conscience and the unconscious of a people and one could say of humanity...
Convinced that their educational value can contribute to the training process of the individual and to his openness to other civilizations of the world, I testify that these tales that my grandparents told me are still alive, universal, and only ask to be transmitted. »
The enchanted tales allow young audiences to learn about the Mandinka culture of West Africa, to introduce them to the basics of rhythm and to explain to them the place of each instrument in harmony. This show is also the way to discover several traditional instruments.
Music, singing and storytelling are part of awakening and child education in Africa; the children are the guarantors of the culture there.
As a musician, initiated at a young age into the cult of masks, my main objective is to introduce young audiences to the richness of Mandinka culture.
“Word of mouth, memory at the feet! »
