Sierra Leonean story teller fights to preserve oral tradition

Usifu Jalloh who is the actor, dancer, percussionist and story teller and others want o revive the traditional of story telling in Sierra Leone before it is lost forever.  He talked about stories like tortoise and the hare Anansi, a spider character portrayed in West African storytelling. He said people need to have an understanding of their culture,  and storytelling can help with that. Storytelling has always been a part of African culture. He also said there are stories about animals depicting human beings and tell you things that would teach you about morality, teach you about your history, your family background, about the warriors that came, that conquered here or did not conquer."The more we lose our culture, the worse it becomes, because you're losing your identity," he says.

Storyteller Usifu Jalloh also wants to make sure these stories are not lost forever. Jalloh, who is currently based in the United Kingdom, has performed all over the world, entertaining and educating people with his storytelling.

He has been performing in Sierra Leone for the past few weeks. He says he is the only storyteller who still performs in the country.

He is reaching out to young people to get them interested and to hopefully revive this tradition. "One thing I am driving for is for my people to validate our own identity and relevance with the modern world," Jalloh told DW.

He grew up with storytelling in the village of Kamakwie, in the northern part of Sierra Leone. It was here that he first experienced storytelling from his grandparents and other relatives. "It's not just about sitting down and laughing.

My grandmother always said: Tickle them ... When their mouths are wide open with laughter, pour in the truth," Jalloh said. "So my stories are loaded with powerful information for them to grapple with and decipher and make informed decisions about where young people want to take their country."

The country, he says, has lost its way, lost is identity. He believes many factors have played a part, for example the British colonization of Sierra Leone.