WEEK 38 - Ainhoa Merino

NORSK FOLKEMUSEUM

DOCUMENTARY

EGUZKILOREA

While we were visiting the first old house inside the museum and I heard the guide say that the drawing on the doors was not just decoration, but a belief to ward off evil spirits, I immediately thought of the sunflower, or Eguzkilore in Euskera. It is a very ancient tradition of the Basque Country that has been maintained to this day. It comes from the rich Basque mythology. It is believed that the Eguzkilore protects the houses from evils, diseases, storms, witches, evil spirits...

BUT WHAT IS ITS MYTHOLOGICAL ORIGIN?

Thousands of years ago, when life began on Earth, there was no sun or moon.

Men and women lived in darkness, frightened by the creatures that came out of the bowels of the earth.

Human beings decided to ask the Earth for help.

- Amalur, Mother Earth, we ask you to protect us from the creatures that stalk us.

- My children," Mother Earth said to them, "I will create a luminous being whom you will call Moon.

And the Earth created the Moon.

At first, the creatures were frightened and remained in their caves, not daring to come out, but they soon became accustomed to the moon's light.

Once again the humans came to Earth.

- Amalur, Mother Earth, thank you for creating the moon, but we still need something more powerful, as the creatures do not stop harassing us.

- All right," Mother Earth replied, "I will create an even more luminous being that you will call the Sun. The Sun will be the day and the Moon will be the night.

The human beings rejoiced, the Sun was so bright and warm that thanks to it, plants grew.

However, the creatures and witches could not get used to the brightness of the day and could only come out at night.

Distressed, the humans again asked the Earth for help.

- Amalur, Mother Earth, we are very grateful for your gifts, the Moon and the Sun, but we still need something more. During the day we have no fear, but when night comes the creatures come out of their caves and stalk us in the shadows.

Again, Amalur listened to their pleas.

- It is all right. I will help you one more time, but this will be the last. I will create for you a flower so beautiful that, upon seeing it, the creatures of the night will believe it to be the Sun itself and leave you alone.

And the Earth created the flower of the Sun, Eguzkilore, which to this day defends the houses from evil spirits, witches, lamias, genies, disease, storm and lightning.

AND WHAT IS THE BELIEF TODAY?

The Eguzkilores are placed on the doors of houses and farmhouses to prevent lightning from striking the home, as well as to scare away witches (sorginak), in the belief that they could not enter it before having removed all the leaves from this plant, a task in which they will run out of time and dawn will break, having to return to their shelters. 

I find it incredible how two cultures that have so little to do with each other somehow believe in the same things. It is something that I really find very beautiful and at the same time, it really makes me wonder. 

In addition to this, I would like to add one last thing about this fantastic flower that has had, and still has, so much prominence in Basque mythology. We all know that sunflowers, or Eguzkilores, turn to look for sunlight depending on the time of day.

BUT... what we didn't know is that on cloudy days they look to each other in orther to get energy. 

HOW TO TELL A STORY IN A GOOD WAY?

What makes a good story to begin with? How do you tell a good story? Does it depend only on the story or also on the storyteller? It's a difficult question...

We have debated a lot on what makes a good story and, at the end of the day, a good story is a story that you want to hear over and over again. That is, you don't get bored of it for whatever reason. 

But as future teachers, and at the same time, storytellers, we must have several formulas in our heads to be able to tell our stories in a way that engages the audience, or in our case, our little students. Because, as we know, group activities of role-playing and story reading and analysis are fundamental for preschoolers (García, Solovieva & Quintanar, 2013). 

That is why, based on this story, we can identify several formulas such as: the introduction, the presentation of the character, the character doing something daily, repetitions, the differents event, the super important BUTs, the sounds, questions to get the attention of the people, voices, rhythm...

Once upon a time

There was a little boy

Walking down a road

After having walked for a while

He found a box

There must be something interesting in that box

He said

But

no matter how he turned and twisted it

He was unable to open it

It must be something really interesting, he said

After walking a little more

He found a key

Then he got weary

And sat down

Then he thought: 

Wouldn’t it be funny if the key fit the hole?

First he put his hand in his pocket

And pulled up the key

Then he blew in the key pipe

Then he blew in the keyhole

He put the key in the hole 

And twisted it

“Klick” it said

And when he touched the lid, the box was open

Can you guess what it was that was in the box?

It was a calf’s tail

And if the tail was longer

This story would also be longer.

Thanks to stories like this, and based on the formulas that this entails, we will be able to create our own narratives. After all, we will be able to create endless different good stories based on this story, of course, considering the formulas.

STOPMOTION

Honestly speaking, the first time they told us about stop motion, I didn't really know what they meant. It didn't seem at all interesting to me, let alone something I could use in the future as a teacher. Now, however, after working on it, my opinion has completely changed. 

We have been able to work with our own hands and minds on how stop motion works, and thanks to that I have realized that in the future we can use it in many different ways as teachers. For example, we can use it to tell stories, explain new things to the students, or we can use it with them to internalize different concepts. Moreover, slowmation enables preservice teachers to create a narrated stop-motion animation (Nielsen, 2013).

In addition to this, I have been able to do some research on the subject, and I have learned that it is very beneficial for children. For example, stop motion gives children ownership, security and autonomy during the process of creating their films. In addition, children constantly use their creativity in order to express their ideas, while at the same time it favors children's imagination, encouraging the creation of stories and enhancing their storytelling and communication skills.

Finally, it is very important that children learn as soon as possible the importance of working in groups, as it will be very valuable in the future and I would say that stop motion can be a very valuable tool. By working in groups, each student can participate and work in unison with the rest of the team, being all important in the process. This methodology requires the direct and active participation of each individual, whose purpose is to obtain common objectives (Johnson, D., Johnson, R. and Holubec, 1999).