19th April 2019

The Art of Storytelling with Mdicini

By Grant Fowlds

Story Telling defined…the Old way

Describes the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with Improvisation, theatrics, or embellishment. Oral story telling is an ancient and intimate tradition between the story teller and their audience.

The Art of Story telling

Mdiceni Gumede is a Wilderness Trails Guide from Esiyembeni in Kwazulu Natal. He is now in his mid-Eighties and has given 6 decades of life in the Wilderness and Conservation. He has unique skills in animal sounds and visual actions that are well told around the Campfire.

In his quest to keep oral history alive, Grant Fowlds, a conservationist has commenced a partnership with this humble octogenarian in a walk in the wilderness taking you to the scene of lion encounters, black rhino attacks and elephant mock-charges. When legend Ian Player refused to obey mentor Magqubu Ntombela at the Isivivane (Cairn) it nearly cost him his life with a black mamba encounter.

They walk in virtual reality, down the banks of the Black and White Imfolizi, regaling in Zulu history and Shaka’s hunting pits, to life under the giant figs on the banks-with baboon interaction in the shade of these amazing eco-systems. The chat is alive, humorous and enlightening. Only to end in tragedy when they finally stumble across a Rhino Carcass, which gets them back to reality.

This is not a bad dream –it is real on how humans are interfering with our threatening eco-systems. The fire is glowing, we burn more sickle bush to keep the flames flickering.

The story ends.

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