Trickster of the World

PINCHING THE GIANTS***********Tricksters of the World

Trickster’s are as common to the folklore of cultures as spices are to their
diets.  As with food, you’ll discover that the staples are similar, and it is often
the seasoning that makes the specific offering unique.  Tricksters are almost
always small, overtly powerless animals or people, who use their wits, guile, and
instincts to survive and thrive in a world where they are surrounded by the
strong and powerful.  The trickster is the master of manipulation, using
flattery, promises of wealth and fame, and an exaggerated sense of their own
fear and weakness to obtain a desired outcome.  The trickster wins food,
fortune, and sometimes even immortality, and we always smile.  We smile,
especially if we are children because the trickster represents our own unbridled
desires.  Though beauty, strength or wealth might not be in your providence, a
strong  set of wits can be developed and used by anyone.  We can all be the
trickster.  What better character for a child to relate to?  The trickster is
often amoral.  He/she survives at almost any cost.  If you look closely though,
the truly good are not the ones sacrificed or used by the trickster. The power
hungry, the vain, the fools who should know better are his/her patsy’s, and in
this an additional lesson is learned.  Children emerge from these stories with a
new sense of their own potential and possibly even a healthier vantage point
from which to view those in power, the vain, and the terminally foolish.
These tales from Ireland, England, Central Europe, The Near East, The Far East, Africa,
The Caribbean and the America’s, reflects the common thread that all cultures share.

To view some of these stories, go to:

https://storiesalive.com/storytelling-in-education/videos-to-augment-elementary-education/

Come and See a Performance

Tales From Knockmany:
With wit and finesse Fin M’Coul sweet wife Oonogh saves him from the biggest and meanest of old Ireland’s giants. 15 minutes  ages 7-11

Molly Whoopie:
Maybe you’ve heard of Jack and the Beanstalk?  Molly, with a bit more chutzpah and courage could be his twin sister! 20 minutes  ages 4-9

Spider Feeds his Family
This Nigerian tale introduces you to the cleverness of Anansi the spider and how larger, less quick witted, animals are his ‘mark.           15 minutes  ages 4-9  

A Story A Story
This fine old tale explains, via Papa Anansi, how stories came to be on this earth.             20 minutes  ages 4-9

Being Greedy Choke Anansi
This very funny Jamaican tale explores what happen when the trickster gets a bit too greedy.      5 minutes    ages 5-12

Tales of Rabbit
Rabbit is one of the great tricksters of the world.  He immigrated from Africa, lived in the Caribbean and was taken, with the slave trade, to America where he turned into Brer Rabbit.  Here he met a distant cousin who appears in many Native American tales. You might of heard of his great great grandson, his name is Bugs Bunny!
Numerous tales 5-15 minutes     ages 5-12

Dilino and the Dragon
A Czech tale about a clever gypsy who uses his wits(rozum) to make a dragon
believe that he is stronger than the beast.     12 minutes
ages 6-12

The Fly
A Vietnamese tale about a clever child who uses riddles and his wits to trick the greedy landlord.       10 minutes   ages 5-15

Partick’s Story
Tricksters also live around the corner from you.  This original contemporary tale shows how Patrick (alias super hero Zordack) does in the terrible Bunyip when he visits Marblehead, his seaside home. 12 minutes        ages 4-12

Go To Bed
Gregory would prefer anything to sleep, but faced with the darkness he outwits
everyone of his fears.   10 minutes        ages 4-9

The Adventures of Garganchita
In the village of Garganchua, one little monster plays one trick too many and learns unwillingly about ‘humons.’      20 minutes     ages 4-9
More trickster tales are available from Haiti (Ti Malice), Cambodia, Eastern Eur. (Hershele of Osterpol), the Far East’s famous ‘Monkey’, and others.