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The Story Stick in Storytelling

© James Foster Robinson

I stood before the roaring camp fire which lit up the dark, looming pines in the campground at Golden Ears Provincial Park. A group of boy scouts and their leaders sat on the cold ground listening quietly to my telling of the story of the Wendigo. When I finished, they remained still and silent. I lower my story staff and they came alive, thanking me for scaring the daylights out of them. My story staff had worked its magic again.

My story staff is special for me. I found the hardwood pole in the forests of British Columbia and tested it. I swung it against a tree and it did not shatter. Other sticks had. I thrust it in my campfire and it did not catch fire. It just got singed a little. Then I carved rings in its wood along its length to symbolize the storytelling circle and attached a dream catcher to the top to catch more stories for me. I also tied to it a feather to help give my stories wings and some dried moss to remind me to be humble. Lastly I attached a small leather bag with a small statue in it of my spirit guide, the bear, to give me strength and to guard my stories and listeners from evil spirits. All my stories are in my story staff just waiting to be released to willing ears and open hearts. My story staff embodies all the qualities that I feel a story teller needs - strength, mystery, earthly yet striving for the sky. It contains my storyteller's heart and soul.

What is a story staff? It is my version of the story stick. Native North Americans used to have a special decorated stick called a talking stick that was passed from person to person when they held tribal meetings. The person holding the stick spoke and everyone else listened. Then it was passed to the next speaker. The talking stick was a symbol to all members of the tribe and held in great respect. Today, the talking stick has evolved into the story stick used in many storytelling venues. It helps the audience to focus and listen to the storyteller and can also help others to get the courage to tell their stories in their turn. You can learn how to make your own story stick - it does not have to be a staff like mine - by visiting Vivian Dubrovin's Mandy's Magic Storytelling Stick web page at http://www.callofstory.org/en/family/sto...

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