Storytellers
The "Storytellers" were a very important part of a tribe. Traditionally, there were no formal schools; wisdom and knowledge about all areas of life were handed down in stories. The older generation would be responsible for passing on the legends of the tribe so that the children would remember their heritage.
"I kept seeing my grandfather [Santiago Quintana]. That one, he was a really good storyteller and there were always lots of us grandchildrens [sic] around him." (Babcock, The Pueblo Storyteller, pp. 21-22.)
These figures represent the honored tradition of story telling among Native Americans. The first contemporary storyteller doll (1964) was made by Helen Cordero of the Cochiti Pueblo in honor of her grandfather Santiago Quintana, a storyteller. The clay figurine showed a man with five children on his lap and shoulders. This doll was patterned after an existing "singing mother" figurine.
Chris Fragua of Jemez made this lovely singing mother figurine. The mother holds her baby nestled in a cradleboard and sings the child a lullaby.
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