Haida woman helps break world storytelling record
Kung Jaadee took part in 80 hour event in Morocco with speakers from around the world
A storyteller from Haida Gwaii, an archipelago off B.C.'s north coast, has helped set a new world record in storytelling.
Kung Jadee was part of the event at the Marrakech International Storytelling Festival in Morocco, which took place from Jan. 19 to 26.
Over the course of 80 hours, 32 minutes and 58 seconds, more than 100 invited guests took part in the continuous storytelling event in Jemaa el-Fnaa Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, handing off from person to person.
"Everyone was, 'Are we going to do it? We're going to do it. We're going to do it,'" Jadee said. "I was really worried that I was going to mess up somehow.... It seems like such high stakes to mess up a world record."
She did not, and the record was certified by Guiness World Records as the longest storytelling show featuring multiple storytellers.
According to the organization, in order for the record to count, every performance had to be attended by at least ten people. In reality, there were far more listeners as "tall and small tales from a vast range of diverse cultures" were shared, the festival said in a release.
Jadee, who describes herself as an Indigenous storyteller belonging to the Haida, Musqueam and Squamish First Nations, is a teacher, drummer and author who participates in storytelling events around the world. She has published several books based on the stories of Raven, an important figure in coastal First Nations culture.
She said she was able to share stories and songs from her region and educate people to the fact that there are a diverse range of Indigenous cultures within Canada.
She described the experience of listening to oral traditions from her counterparts from more than 30 other countries as "absolutely magical."
"They transport you directly into another world," she said. "It was perfect."
With files from Joey Seppelt