The Oral Tradition in the Mainstream of Life

The oral traditions convey our most cherished values and contribute to the perpetuation of our world.  In the mainstream of life, we consider not only the content of the oral traditions, but also the storytelling.  Embedded within our oral traditions and stories are teachings, themes and motifs that help define and render our world meaningful. 

Our collective memory, through the voice of the storyteller, reaches far back into the past. 

By respecting the full cultural context of a story, more is known and understood of the stream of life.  Isolated from its cultural setting, the text alone may not say all that should be known.  A text may outline the foundation, but cannot always speak fully for the spectrum of cultural wisdom intended to be conveyed.

Diné, as a People and community, are manifested in our oral tradition.   

The significance of the oral story is found not only in what is conveyed, the themes and motifs, but in the proper manner it is told aloud.

1. It is told in the proper season and circumstances.

2. It is told by one who has the right and privilege to tell, and it is told to the intended audience.

3. The story is told in the manner that conveys traditional wisdom, in a manner that connects the People and the Earth.

4. The story is chosen for the season, the circumstance, the audience, and the purpose.

5. The stories are told to be remembered; therefore there are repetitions and rhythms, and there is art and sacredness in the telling.

6. The stories continue to be told.