During the primeval era, when humans walked nude and anything beyond the borders of man’s immediate territory was inconceivable, people didn’t know how to read and write. Storytelling was the only method for relaying events; information was orally passed down from one generation to the next.
Ancient cultures all over the world used sounds, gestures and often musical instruments to tell their tales. Since literacy was not prevalent across societies, storytelling was used as a means of preserving cultures and educating youth.
On Saturday, audiences present at the Oriental Hall of the American University in Cairo’s downtown campus were taken back 1,400 years to the mystical time of the Pharaohs as Samira Kirolos acted out four stories from the ancient Egyptian era.
Kirolos is an internationally acclaimed storyteller. She’s also a ballet dancer, a violinist and a published author, and has captivated audiences for more than 24 years with her talent in numerous venues across the United Kingdom and the United States, along with performances in Cairo and Alexandria.
“Shew, the god of air was created, whispered Kirolos through an audio recording of “The Creation Myth that kicked off the show. The ancient world emerged from an endless sea and Ra’ sailed from east to west for the first time, bringing the 12-hour daylight.
“The Tale of the Doomed Prince chronicled the life of a lonely prince whose fate to die follows him from the land of the Pharaohs to Nahrin. How the story ends remains unknown since the papyrus was lost, a disclosure that generated ahs of disappointment from the audience.
Fidelity, revenge and brotherhood are all explored in “The Tale of the Two Brothers while “The Lost Amulet was one of three stories told to King Khufu (Cheops) while he was watching the great pyramid, which carries his name, being built.
Dressed in a glittery purple cloak, Kirolos used every inch of the stage, walking from one end to the other, pausing as she rested her shoulder on walls of the column on each corner of the stage.
She occasionally hopped off the stage and onto the isles, walking up and down. Her body movements were quick and smooth, constantly turning heads as she held her audience’s full attention.
What is remarkable about Kirolos is her ability to capture the essence of all the different characters at play: she was a disgruntled father, a deceitful wife, a desired princess hoping to marry a commoner, a dog and a crocodile.
Her voice is melodic, powerful and engaging. Even when she was assuming the role of the narrator, she was constantly interacting with the audience and allowing each one to embark on a different interpretation.
That is what’s magical about live storytelling. Along with the compelling mystery in each myth, the readers (members of the audience) form their own frames for each story, putting faces to characters and a soundtrack to each scene.
The storyteller’s gestures also set the atmosphere for the audiences’ interpretation of the storyline, a technique Kirolos has clearly mastered.
The venue was packed with Egyptologists, artists, friends and Ancient Egypt enthusiasts. Having never carried the genes of interest for such a fascinating era, I knew I was strictly on a work assignment – last time I read about Ancient Egyptian civilization I was in a grade four social studies class.
Maybe what put me off was the way we were taught Egyptology at school; maybe it was the rigid nature of our curriculum, but something about Kirolos’s performance last weekend has opened my mind to this world once again.
