Althea Romeo-Mark

Wilton Sankawulo: Storyteller, Folklorist

The late Professor Wilton Sankawulo and I taught in the English Department at the University of Liberia in the 1980s along with fellow Liberian writers Dr. Robert Brown, Dr. Patricia Jabbeh Wesley, Moses Nagbe and the late Ruth Reeves.  We shared a passion for writing that bonded us and still bonds us today, and we have all gone on to write and publish in different genres.

Professor Sankawulo stood out among us. He wrote not only novels and short stories: his was a special mission, and that was to preserve Liberian folklore for future generations.  He was in the process of publishing his complete folktale collection when he passed away. As a storyteller and folklorist, he was determined to get these stories in print, realizing that storytellers today are competing with the cinema, television, radio, computer games, I-pods and other technologies.

The late Professor Sankawulo in his introduction, to his Tales of West Africa, stated that:

Folklore is a distinctive and enduring heritage of humanity, a bedrock of civilization.  Whatever progress humanity has made in science, technology, ethics or even government, derives in part from this memorable product of the imagination. Progress usually begins by imagining or dreaming about a possibility, which intelligence eventually translates into concrete achievement. Myths, legends and fables, a popular variety of folklore, grew out of the curiosity to know the causes of things, formulate guidelines for socially acceptable conduct, and prescribe people’s duties and obligations to life and one another. . . Firstly, (folklore) makes the learning process a pleasure. . . The focus is on  the storylines and not on the individual; consequently, positive actions are praised and rewarded while negative actions are censored and  penalized without discrimination.  Secondly, in addition to their entertainment quality, folktales serve as a medium for transmitting  information. Although the information may not be factual, it often alludes to historical events. . . Many tales explore the religious, psychological, cultural, economic, political, and other problems and suggest solutions. . . Thirdly, their themes and morals, or lessons teach people the fundamental truths of life although the narratives may be improbable. In this respect, African folktales share a basic characteristic of folktales the world over.

I have read most of Mr. Sankawulo’s tales and I would place him among the best folklorists in the world. As children, we were introduced to folktales at home as well as in elementary school. In elementary school we were given access to the best European folktales, which have been branded in our memories. Who hasn’t heard of Little Red Riding Hood and the big bad wolf? Who doesn’t remember the numerous tricks Anansi played on his friends, family and enemies?

I feel confident in placing Mr. Sankawulo among world famous folklorists like the German brothers Jakob Ludwig Grimm and Wilhelm Karl Grimm,  from whom we read Rumpelstiltskin, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Hansel and Gretel; Denmark’s Hans Christen Anderson, who wrote “The Steadfast Tin Soldier”, “The Snow Queen”, “The Little Mermaid”, “Thumbelina”, “The Little Match Girl”, “The Ugly Duckling” and “The Red Shoes”; and the stories of Aesop, a Greek man who lived six centuries before Christ. Many tales has been attributed to this former slave. His tales have been kept alive through the oral tradition but still live today because of the printed word. When Mr. Sankawulo’s book comes out, readers will have access to over 800 pages of West African tales which certainly have an equal place in world literary history.

One particular tale previously published in Sankawulo’s collection, The Marriage of Wisdom stands out for me. It stands out not only because it is entertaining and educational, but it is evidence of the power of the oral tradition. When I read “The Hunter’s Wife” for the first time in Liberia, I was astounded because my father told my siblings and me the identical tale. It was now a shorter version but it had traveled in the memory of enslaved West Africans to the Caribbean and had remained intact. It reinforces the importance of Mr. Sankawulo’s dream to preserve these tales, to keep them alive.

The version of “The Hunter’s Wife” told by my father is that of a jealous husband who is outsmarted by his wife. In the Caribbean version, she has many lovers and the story climaxes when all of her lovers appear one day and she has to hide them from each other and her husband.  The first lover knocks at the front door and enters, and as she flirts and feeds him, a second lover raps on the door. She tells the first lover to hide in an empty barrel. He climbs in and she covers it. While she is conversing with the second, a third lover knocks.  She tells the second lover to hide under her bed.  Then, before she could gather her wits, her husband arrives.  She tells him that the man standing has come to take the barrel away to be repaired. And the man leaves, rushing away terrified, with the heavy barrel on his head. Finally, when the suspicious husband discovers the man under their bed, she wails to her husband about the terrible news she had received earlier – all her female friends have turned into men.

It is my hope now that Professor Sankawulo is gone, someone else will take up the challenge. I am sure there are still stories to be discovered and retold .  Let us not break this thread-wheel. Let us continue to weave those tales that link the past to the future and teach lessons for life. Many world famous tales have been made into films that stimulate the imagination of the young. Is there a Liberian film student out there willing to transfer some of Liberia’s folktales into film? Will the younger generation put these tales on CD and DVD? The future is not only in print. Liberians must now use the latest technology to preserve this important part of their history. This is the challenge of the future.  The late Professor Sankawulo’s work must be exposed to a wider audience. Liberians must show that Liberia’s tales are world class.

Copyright © 2009 Althea Romeo-Mark