Despite the dark ages in our history – natural disasters, invasions, colonization, enslavement, oppression, wars, and many other injustices and crimes against humanity – all Caribbean nations have a unique common unifying identity: multiethnic societies rich in cultures, languages, art forms, religions, customs and traditions. All of which are represented in the stories that we tell.
Storytelling has been a very important part of the lives of Caribbean people over the years. Stories have been told by our indigenous ancestors to describe the Caribbean before the arrival of Columbus, as well as to communicate the beliefs, customs, history and social expressions of our people. As a way of life, these stories for children were told by mothers and their grandparents at opportune times under the shade of trees or on porches of homes in the evenings and on moonlit nights.
Wherever the location and whom ever the storyteller, it is important and valuable that we as parents, caregivers and teachers stay in touch with children’s own creative literature and folklore, because it is a means of understanding what children are thinking and feeling; and ultimately it is a way of renewing and understanding our own childhood.
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