“In many cultures, storytelling has remained a powerful vehicle for the transmission of values, beliefs and ideas. The stories of these cultures, because they provide essential channels for the communication of ideas, moral values, and observations on the behavior of the human species, have remained alive, meaningful, and relatively strong” Wolkstein (1974)
Since immemorial times, traditional legends were transmitted orally from one generation to another. Through history, that was the method used for tribes and native aboriginal people to sustain not only their culture but also values and traditions alive among the youngest of their community. “The Legend of the Guarani” is one of those traditional legends conceived for the mentioned purposes but for young adults of other times. The whole world has changed and young adults are not the same as they used to be. However, this legend can be considered a good source to teach values and traditions among today´s young people.
For that reason, some parts of the legend in question will be analysed in this paper in order to find out how this traditional legend can help young adults to preserve values, culture and traditions.
“The Legend Of The Guarani” is the story of a young girl named Jary, during the times of Spaniard conquerors. This girl remained in the place where she lived with her old sick father, while the people of the tribe decided to leave the place, as a consequence of a worn out soil that did not give them good harvests anymore. Jary´s good attitude was rewarded by a shaman that gave her father a green beverage that helped him to recover from his illness so they finally could reunite with the rest of the tribe.
To analyse the legend, we have to understand the purpose and the impact a traditional legend may cause in the hearers .Gall De Vos (2007) states “ storytelling reserves traditional materials of imparting information and knowledge not only does storytelling connect the present with the past by telling ancient tales in much of they have been told for generations but storytelling also offers young adults a world of traditions to aid them in their search for stability in unstable time. The preservation and presentation of oral traditions is a legitimate and valued service in and of itself”
Then, we have to pay special attention to the period young adults are going through. Eaglen (1983) defines this period as “that age group who no longer consider themselves children but are not yet considered adults by the adult world”. This view contrasts with the beliefs of the Quechua community because when a boy of the tribe reaches certain age, he undergoes initiation rites with a group of others, apart from the larger group. The rituals are performed under the direction of the shaman. The boy's lower lip is pierced with a piece of wood. He follows a strict diet based on corn for several days. Afterward, he can use adult words and adult ways of talking to people. During the initiation rites, the boy is instructed in appropriate behaviour. This includes working hard, refraining from harming others, being moderate in his habits, not drinking excessively, and never beating his future wife. When a girl reaches certain age, she is kept apart for a time under the care of female relatives. Her mother gives her guidance on her future marriage.
In other words, young adults of the Quechua community enter into adulthood naturally, adults accompany them during the process. Young adults from that community know what will happen to them when they reach to certain age. As all the events are always planned to be that way, there is no surprise. For the Quechua community, adulthood is seen as a normal stage in life and it is welcomed not only for the youngest but also by all the members of the tribe. Opposite to our culture, being a young adult on his way to adulthood is a complex stage Koelling (2004) states, when referring to the mentioned period, “the gap between childhood is vast physically, emotionally, psychologically, spirituality and it´s teens task to bridge it!” This indicates, in our society, young adults go alone all their way to adulthood.
During this period, young adults “will begin to develop their own sense of moral values and moral codes” Koelling (2004) Values such as work, responsibility, friendship, tolerance and sense of belonging, to name a few, are perceived in the legend. For instance, the first value mentioned can be found in the passage that describes how hard the Guarani worked. This indicates that the whole tribe made from work an everyday ritual to survive. Hard work is one of the values young adults need to be prepared for by the time they enter into adulthood. Work can also give them a sense of independence and maturity
Responsibility is another value that goes hand by hand with work but in this case, the sense of responsibility is portrayed by the girl´s determination when she decides to stay with her father.
The legend also contains values such as tolerance and respect, tolerance is noticed when the girl accepts her father´s decision of staying in the place, remaining isolated from the rest of the people. Then, the respect to older people is implicit when she accepts that decision.
It is important to mention that young adults have an special view about friendship as Koelling (2004) points out “they will seek additional friendships based on shared interests and worldview”. A good metaphorical description about what friendship is can be noticed, when is explained what does the new beverage to people...”it would be a good company in the sad hours of cruellest solitude.” For young people friendship is reason to live and a friend is the person they can trust unconditionally.
This legend has also implicit a sense of belonging, other important issue for young people as Seaberg (2003) states “young adults prefer to learn and to seek information within a social context usually prefer to learn and to seek information within a social context” for instance Jary´s it is better for her to be with the rest of the tribe and share everything.
As regards tradition, this word derives from the Latin which means “handing over”. So, tradition can be defined as a set of rituals or beliefs maintained in the present by people of a society o r a community. This can be observed when the whole tribe adopts the habit of drinking the green herb which gives strength and courage. From that time on that habit became a tradition for the community.
Taking everything into consideration it is now possible to say that “The Legend Of The Guarani” can be a good source to teach values and traditions among young adults. But adults have to bear in mind that these young adults are living in a different time and in a different context.
REFERENCES
• Herz, S & Donald, G. (1996) “From Hinton to Hamlet: Building Bridges between Young Adult Literature and the Classics”. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
• Koelling, H. (2004) “Make Sense of Teens as Growing People and as Readers”. Libraries Unlimited. Westport, CT.
• McCallum,Robyn (1999) “Ideologies of Identity in Adolescent Fiction: The dialogic construction of subjectivity” Nueva York: Garland
• De Vos, Gail (2003) “Storytelling For Young Adults: A Guide to Tales For Teens”Libraries Unlimited Westport,CT.
• www.guayaki.com/mate/1984/legends-of-yerba-mate accessed 25/10/13
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