Cultural history of storytelling

“Storytelling” plays an important role

in the Arab and obviously in Moroccan culture – who doesn’t know the story of 1001 Nights? Many of the old Berber tales have been orally passed down through generations, and with them their values, culture and more. The tradition is still alive, but these stories are now in danger of being lost forever.

 

Many storytellers in Morocco start their tales with “Once upon a time, or not...” and take us into a wonderful world full of heroic characters, fantastic entanglements and magical moments. This enchanting, fantastic world is the basis for common values, norms and rules of a people. And it is also a mirror of the cultural openness and the diversity of the culture, as known elements from other cultures are being constantly absorbed into Berber culture. Quite often you even encounter popular figures from German fairytales, e.g. Snow White.