艾米·S.

Its said there isnt anyone you couldnt learn to love， once youve heard their story. Dave Isay knows that. The ability to honor every human by listening to what they have to say about themselves is central to StoryCorps1， the nonprofit he founded in 2003.

The premise of StoryCorps is simple： One person interviews another and their conversation is recorded for posterity2. Its a strikingly straightforward proposition. But then， storytelling has always been less about glitz or gadgetry and more about connection and communication. No matter the tech， humans have invariably figured out a compelling way to tell each other stories.

Thats not to say we all tell stories the same way. Far from it. As Kay Turner， a folklorist and independent scholar whos on the board of the New York Folklore Society， notes， “Even if a story is the same， each culture will tell it differently， because each one has its own genres and cultural rules.” Thats led to a host of different traditions and practices beloved around the world. Here are just some of them.

Hula

You might not know it while on an island vacation luau3， but traditional hula dancers dance not to a beat， but to language， Hawaiian-language chants or songs. Without the words， the dance loses meaning as a story. Hula shares traditional stories as well as mythology and creation tales， including those of the gods and goddesses of the islands.

Chinese Shadow Puppetry

Traditional shadow puppetry tells folk stories， issues moral lessons， and projects specific local customs. Most often seen at celebrations such as weddings or religious festivals， the puppets are silhouettes shaped from leather or paper that are manipulated on long rods by storytellers. The puppeteers either sing， often in falsetto， or are accompanied by singers and musicians. Though it originated in China during the Han dynasty， the tradition has spread to countries throughout Southeast Asia.

Zajal

The classical Arabic version of a poetry slam4 or rap battle， Zajal originated in Lebanon and is practiced across the Middle East and the United Arab Emirates. Competitions pit one poet or spoken-word artist against5 another. One poet recites a stanza （often insulting the opponent）， then the other responds with a stanza using the same meter and rhyme.

Cunto

This ancient Sicilian storytelling method draws from Greek theatre and relies heavily on improvisation. It alternates between sung verse and spoken prose and is often performed on a small wooden platform. The stories can occasionally include marionettes， though are typically told with a single prop or none at all. The storytellers， known as cuntisti， traditionally tell stories of epic heroes and their struggles， though these days they also include tales of daily Sicilian life.

Rakugo

This Japanese tradition is performed in monologues by a single storyteller， called a hanashika6. The storytellers are similar to comedians， and they tell tales of daily life and reinforce historical and moral lessons， though they generally avoid making direct reference to particular events or figures.

Griot

Griots， or Jelis， are the traditional keepers of a societys history in West African cultures. Griot storytellers often play instruments such as the kora， similar to a lute7， and preserve family and cultural histories in the manner of a genealogist. In some West African cultures， griots were at once singers of praise and messengers for nobility.

Bharatanatyam

Indian temple dancers， or devadasis8， perform bharatanatyam， a dance that is considered a form of prayer. The dances tell the stories of specific deities， such as Krishna or Shiva， and are unique to different temples and spiritual days. While the bharatanatyam， which originated in Tamil Nadu， in South India， has been in existence for millennia， it has experienced a renaissance in the past century.

Calypso

Calypso developed in the early 20th century in Trinidad， where the lyrics， which described local life and neighborhood dramas， were used as a tool to share news and shine a light on everything from the challenges of a banana farmer to local political corruption. As a political tool， calypso was often subject to censorship by the government. “Song is a popular form of expression in all Caribbean storytelling，” says Maxine Alexander， a Jamaican-American artist and storyteller. “Reggae9 and calypso deal very heavily in political injustice and social disparity， so storytellers use this musical platform to express things that couldnt be spoken about. Were singing about the stories around us in daily life.”

據说，人人都有可爱之处，听过他们的人生故事就会爱上他们。戴夫·伊赛深谙此道。他于2003年创立了非营利性组织StoryCorps，该组织的核心宗旨就是通过倾听个体的人生自述来表达对每一个生命的尊重。

StoryCorps的设想极为简单：一人与另一人访谈，记录谈话内容传于后世。这一做法格外简洁明了。不过，讲故事始终没有多少浮华雕饰，更多侧重联系沟通。无论技术如何发展，人类总能找到方法将彼此的故事讲得引人入胜。

这并非意味着我们述说故事的方法千篇一律，实际上远非如此。纽约民俗学会理事凯·特纳是一位民俗学家，亦是一位独立学者。正如她所指出的那般，“即便故事内容一式一样，每种文化的陈说之道也会各有不同，因每种文化均有其特有的体裁与文化准则”。这便使世上有了许多各不相同但同样深受喜爱的传统与习俗。以下仅为其中几例。

草裙舞

在尽情享受夏威夷度假中的美馔盛宴时，你或许还不知道，传统草裙舞舞者们的翩翩舞步，附和的并非节拍，而是语言——夏威夷语的圣歌或歌曲。若有曲无词，舞蹈便失去了叙事性。草裙舞讲述的是传统故事及神话和创世故事，包括群岛之上男女诸神的故事。

中国皮影戏

传统的皮影戏讲述民间故事，传达道德训诫，展现当地特有的风土人情。皮影戏多见于婚礼、宗教节日等庆典。皮影剪影由皮革或纸板制成，说书人以长竿操纵。皮影戏艺人要么以假声歌唱，要么由歌者或乐师进行伴奏。……