photo by Michael Carson.
Stories Matter They Perpetuate Culture.
By Christopher Pangelinan.
In today’s world, culture is dying out. The world is so diverse that our cultures are blending and that that is why things like stories truly matter. Stories are truly important, they do things like bond the older generation to the newer generation and keep culture alive throughout the generations. There is nothing like a good story to bring us all back into bond and learn about our past, because it is our past that we can learn from, and it is our past that shaped our future.
In every culture, stories can be seen throughout. These stories carry along the history of that culture keeping it alive and well. The older generation have lived their life, they have seen many things, have done many things, and have all of those memories and stories inside them, waiting to be let out. Times are changing and this is how the new generation can bond with the old. We sit around the older generation and we bond, they tell us stories of their past, stories that they know, and these stories carry cultural practices. Listening to these stories we can learn so much about our culture, in the Chamorro culture you hear stories of Taga and all the chiefs, latte stones, parties, and so much more. Through these stories we can learn things such as how our ancestors kept a system of government or leadership, how and why our ancestors built their homes the way they did, also about the food they ate and how they made it. Stories do so much more than just tell a tale, they keep culture alive.
Stories are a very powerful way to learn and to teach. The right story can teach things like cultural: origins, traditions, and cultural practices. In the CNMI stories are truly everywhere, just by driving around we can find signs put up, explaining the history of certain objects and the history of our islands. These signs are stories of why the island is how it is today, an American territory that has gone through many battles. This is all a part of culture and can explain why we do the things we do, keeping culture alive in the younger generation through these stories.
Stories are so powerful because they are tools that bond generations together, and keep our culture alive through the teachings that go along with it. Stories truly perpetuate culture and it is up to us to keep telling those stories and to keep our culture alive.