Top campfire stories!

A story of Ubuntu – I am what I am because of who we all are :)

Story telling can be truly transformative, thought provoking and impactful. I was lucky to encounter an amazing story teller at a recent festival who shared the story below with a large audience.

This could be a wonderful Story to share around the campfire, told by a wise elder at a recent festival, Tribe of Doris 2019.

An anthropologist studying the habits and customs of an African tribe found himself surrounded by children most days. So he decided to play a little game with them. He put a basket full of ripe juicy mangoes at the foot of the great Baobab tree.

Then he called the children and suggested they play the game. When the anthropologist said “now”, the children had to run to the tree and the first one to get there would be the winner and could have all the mangoes to him/herself.

So the children all lined up waiting for the signal. When the anthropologist said “now”, all of the children took each other by the hand ran together towards the tree. They all arrived at the same time, some of the older children divided up the mangoes, they gave some to their elders, then handed them round to each child, they then sat down and began to happily munch away.

The anthropologist went over to them and asked why they had all run together when any one of them could have had the all the mangoes to themselves.

The children responded: “Ubuntu. How could any one of us be happy if all the others were sad?”

Ubuntu is a philosophy of African tribes that can be summed up as “I am what I am because of who we all are.”

Bishop Desmond Tutu gave this explanation in 2008 :

“One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu – the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can’t exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can’t be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality – Ubuntu – you are known for your generosity.

We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole World. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.”

This is the true spirit of human development and cause of human evolution. Ubuntu. This is not a story as such, but a feeling to be expressed.

Within my own practice of Forest school sessions I try to promote a value of togetherness and collaboration and actively practice it, modeling ways in which we can create together, whether it be a Mandala on the earth formed of shared items found from the forest floor or through building rules together to keep us all safe at the start of a session. Drumming circles connect our participants through rhythm games and the circle formation allows everyone to sense and see each other. We believe in sharing with one another and demonstrating this in ways such as sharing tools and materials, sharing trees to climb, sharing dens and rope swings, children learn to take turns and realize others are waiting or would like a go, this is a process of observation and experience.

Ubuntu Meaning, I am therefore we are, we are therefore I am.

A Zulu word From South Africa.

What are your favorite stories to share around the fire?

Scary ones?

Sad ones?

Funny ones?

Fairy Tales?

Legends or Myths?

Local tales?

Please share your camp fire stories with us?