“Ti Tiin Itiin”: An Introduction to the Performance Esthetics of the Konkomba Folktale

E. Tasun Tidorchibe

doi:10.1515/fabula-2024-0020

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“Ti Tiin Itiin”: An Introduction to the Performance Esthetics of the Konkomba Folktale

E. Tasun Tidorchibe

Published/Copyright: November 13, 2024

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From the journal Fabula Volume 65 Issue 3-4

Abstract

At the sound of the expression, “Ti tiin itiin” (translated as ‘Let us tell stories’), every Konkomba who is familiar with Konkomba storytelling knows that it is time for some traditional entertainment, education, and free psychotherapy, among other things, via oral storytelling. Although storytelling and its benefits have been widely explored, the Konkomba storytelling culture remains largely unexplored. This paper seeks to fill this gap by exploring the oral performance esthetics associated with the art of storytelling among the Konkomba people of Ghana. The paper discusses the key performance structures or elements of the Konkomba folktale, gestures to the culture-specificity of some of these structures, and argues that though oral and seemingly arbitrary, indigenous oral performances such as Konkomba storytelling are well-structured oral verbal arts. The paper further notes that community – and for that matter the audience at a storytelling session – plays an integral part in the composition and performance processes in traditional theaters such as Konkomba storytelling sessions.

Zusammenfassung

Zusammenfassung: Wenn er den Ausspruch „Ti tiin itiin“ (‚Lasst uns Geschichten erzählen‘) hört, weiß jeder, der mit der Erzählkultur der Konkomba vertraut ist, dass es jetzt traditionelle Unterhaltung, Erziehung und – neben anderem – kostenlose Psychotherapie in Form von mündlichen Erzählungen gibt. Obwohl das (mündliche) Erzählen von Geschichten und dessen Funktionen umfassend untersucht worden sind, ist die Erzählkultur der Konkomba weitgehend unerforscht. Dieser Beitrag will diese Lücke füllen, indem er sich der Aufführungsästhetik der mündlichen Erzählkunst bei den Konkomba Ghanas widmet. Die wichtigsten Aufführungsstrukturen bzw. -elemente des Konkomba’schen Volksmärchens werden untersucht, auf die kulturspezifischen Aspekte einiger dieser Strukturen wird hingewiesen und dafür plädiert, indigene mündliche Aufführungen wie die Erzählungen der Konkomba trotz ihrer Mündlichkeit und scheinbaren Willkürlichkeit als gut strukturierte mündliche Wortkunst zu betrachten. Der Beitrag stellt zudem fest, dass die Gemeinschaft – beim mündlichen Erzählen von Geschichten das Publikum – eine wesentliche Rolle in den Kompositions- und Aufführungsprozessen tradierter Schauspielformen wie der Erzählrunden der Konkomba spielen.

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Published Online: 2024-11-13

Published in Print: 2024-11-26

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https://doi.org/10.1515/fabula-2024-0020