The Khan’s Riddles
A new recording of a Kyrgyzstan tale – wonderful for a wedding
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Videos are provided free to view.
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The tale is told by many tellers. I first saw it performed by Karin Tscholl, who tells me she heard it from the ever-generous Canadian teller, Dan Yashinsky.
This version, recorded at the 2019 halbNeun Theater performance, has developed over the years, in particular the ending. The recording closes with Peter Wucherpfennig playing the Celtic harp.
(It is also the tale I told some years ago at the wedding celebration of my son and his wonderful wife.)
After seeing this recording, Audrey Kopp mailed:
I had recently listened to your story via the link you sent to STORYTELL when I found a book in a local library entitled: Riddling Tales from around the World, selected by Marjorie Dundas (who, by the way, thanks you in her preface). So I checked out the book.
On p. 13 is “The Clever Wife” which is the first part of your story. It’s from The Kaha Bird: Tales from the Steppes of Central Asia by Mirra Ginsburg. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc. 1971. A hasty look through the rest of the book did not turn up the second part of your story.
More deep tales
The video gallery has become very extensive. So if you would enjoy more tales like this which explore the depths of the human psyche, here are a few suggestions.
Disclaimer
The video clips here are all amateur quality, shot in various theatres.
Their intention is just to show the range of my storytelling and give a flavour of a live performance.
Permission is granted for use in non-commercial educational contexts.
The videos are © Richard Martin.
Professionally recorded CDs and DVDs are available here.
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For those who are teachers: Telling stories in the classroom: basing language teaching on storytelling