Beautiful
Heirlooms
I grew up listening to my mother’s fantasy stories, every night she would tell us tales of animals and monsters, of love and betrayal. These stories are hand down to her through storytellers (የተረት አባት), elders who pass down these ‘beautiful heirlooms’, through generations. These stories are considered as inheritance, used as a vehicle for transmitting and preserving shared values and collective experience. They also entertain, frighten and teach life lessons. These stories have helped me in molding my character and providing me with moral values, in turn being a part of who I am. Through time, the tales have become a part of me, I dream of the places and the characters are like old friends.
