ON OUR SQUARE ISLAND

A creation story by the children of the Class 3, Pedro A’lvares Cabral School, Porto Salvo-Lisboa, Portugal, April 2008
Teacher : Vanessa
MUS-E storyteller and singer :  Celina Pereira

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(Words in italics are the words spoken by the children themselves.)

“Story, story…..
Heaven sent!
It happened on an island.

It was at the time when the island where we lived was already square. With all its sides equal, full of light and color and its inhabitants themselves forming the most beautiful rainbow. Each was showing their color and wanting it to be the most beautiful.

On that day, in school, many questions were on everybodys mind.

“How did we appear? And the Earth? And the other planets how did they come into existence?”

 All of us, boys and girls, were guessing and asking more questions.  “Who has created the animals, people and planets? How is god? Is he transparent or of all colors? How were the colors of the people made? Where did the sounds and music come from?”

 When the talking starts you keep on talking and one question raises another untill one person makes a statement.

” I know, in the beginning there was a big god, very powerfull and with forceful words, and everything he wanted appeared by magic. It was enough that he spoke! He was transparent.” concluded Sophia.

“No, no, for me I am sure that he is made of all colors. It is enough to have a look at the human beings on our island. As my grandmother says we all are made in the image of god.”

At that moment José enters the conversation by saying:

” I found it, I found it! In order to make the colors he mixed milk and coffee, sometimes more coffee, sometimes a little more milk. Then he put  a lot of animals near us, and trees and stars of all sizes.”

But Flavia suddenly interrupted.

“Yes, I discovered something else. I love music and it was the birds plus the wind in the trees and the voices of all animals that made and brought music.”

Like magic, at that moment we all started singing the same music we had learned in nursery school. On our square island by the magic of the word of that god, we are definitively a rainbow and we sing the same song and are very happy.

“Benito e louvado seja quem fez o conto para contar.”
“If someone wants to tell a story, let him tell it”
A traditional way, in Portugal, for a storyteller to start telling a story.

“Sapatinho mar arriba, sapatinho mar abaxo, quem qui sabê mas ta conta midjor.”
“Little shoe on the sea, little shoe under the sea, the one who knows more can tell best”
In Cape Verde, a traditional way to start telling a story. The little shoe is a metaphor for the ship.