About Page







  

Newspapers and Evaluations

Evaluations

I was entranced...such a good story___C. Clyde, Children's Librarian, Fort Worth Public Library, Northside

Just had to tell you one more time how wonderful you are. I estimate about 800 people came to Discovery Fair..I think everyone of them stopped to listen to your stories. I am looking forward to having you again next year.___Susan Richardson, Waverly Park Elementary

Wow!!! What a unique and enjoyable experience.

He spoke about Africa and Nigeria which I now view differently in a positive way.

He made me feel as if I was there (in Africa) with him.

He kept me glued to my seat.

Fantastic storyteller!

I could have listened to him tell stories for hours.
Outstanding and entertaining!

Most effective at showing the similarities of people despite the differences of their cultures.

So entertaining and enthralling that I quit taking notes to simply enjoy the program.

Absolutely captivating.

Source: Student Evaluations, Tarrant County College, South Campus

STORYTELLER FOLLOWS AFRICAN TRADITION


Africans discovered long ago that a moral lesson works best when it is taught by a story, said John Owhonda.

"A story is the most potent educational tool," he said.

Owhonda, a professional African storyteller, has been in Amarillo for about a week telling stories to school children. He spoke Sunday to the Amarillo Unitarian Universalist Fellowship about storytelling as a means of communication.

Owhonda came to Amarillo last week, sponsored by the Amarillo Opera and the Texas Commission on the Arts, to tell stories to children and to teach them
about African culture and how to create stories.

When he came to America, Owhonda said he noticed the people here aren't that much different from people everywhere.

"Americans haven't forgotten their heritage; only they practice it less," he said.

Owhonda said Americans have a tendency to be touched by the stories of other people more than the people of any other country he knows. He used the example of the movie "Amistad."

"I don't know of anyone, white or black, who can't relate to that," he said. "If I come tell you a story, I shall touch you. We will have a shared moment."

Owhonda, a native African who now lives in Fort Worth, studied under a "griot," a professional African storyteller. Griots are the storytellers for kings, he said, and are "walking encyclopedias of history."

Owhonda now conducts different storytelling workshops. In one, he tells people how to use storytelling as a way to pass on family history. He also has written fictional stories about Africa and has filmed a Nigerian film for cable broadcast at the Dallas Nature Center...By Robyn Followwill, Reprinted from: Amarillo Globe-News, Amarillo, Texas, 4/12/1999


Storyteller Spins Tales of African Heritage for CampusesModify The Heading 1


Contact