Watermelon Lullaby
28 October, 10:00 am
Workshop, Discussion | Black History Month, Identity, Language, Literature & Poetry
Watermelon Lullaby
Oxfordshire County Library, Queen Street, Westgate, OX1 1DJ
Rootical Folklore is an exploration of African and Caribbean Folklore through plants from storyteller Natty Mark Samuels. Rootical means the generation of an idea, and emphasises the spiritual significance of plants, rather than them simply being sources of food and medicine.
Watermelon Lullaby is an interactive workshop using tales, chants, dialogues, poetry and monologues.
You may be familiar with folk tales featuring animals such as Anansi the spider, Mbe the tortoise and Sungura the hare. Now discover the plants of Africa and the Caribbean, including fig, coconut, aloe vera, spinach, kola nut and pumpkin and how they feature in traditional stories of respect, revenge, karma, protection and rational thinking.
Suitable for teenagers and adults, with an example poem inspired by Aloe Vera:
Aloe Vera Chant
Aloe Vera,
I beg you come nearer,
Let me place you above the door.
Don’t need no skin care,
Or the medicinal,
I require a talisman.
Let me place you above the door.
Natty Mark Samuels has delivered workshops revealing different aspects of African and Caribbean heritage and art in partnership with IF Oxford since 2018. He set up the African School in 2009 to bring African and Caribbean folklore, art and culture to the public.
The Encyclopedia of Rootical Folklore: Plant Tales of Africa and the Diaspora, by Natty Mark Samuels, will be published March 2024, by Scorched Earth Press.
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