Storytellers and strollers from Sologne

Short tour of discovery in the land of storytellers, Sologne.

Incredible....

There was a time (another version of the famous "Once upon a time"!), when there was no computer, not a single tablet, no laptop and no television either... incredible! 

So, when it was cold, when it was dark, when it rained, in short, in the evening, when the day was over, we would gather around the fireplace (oh yes, by the way... there was no central heating either!), for the vigil. 
We talked to each other (incredible, again!), we passed on the news, we told each other his day, and then, from time to time, a storyteller would pass by and tell magic stories!

The Sologne, with its deep woods and numerous ponds, has always had a tradition of storytelling...

Over three departments

Sologne is a natural whole, but the administration has found a way to make it overlap three departments, Loiret, Cher, and Loir-et-Cher. 

So it was these three departments that I explored a little to find some storytellers still in activity.

Just a discovery....

This article is by no means intended to be exhaustive. 
Nor does it draw up a qualitative list! 

I simply picked here and there just to show that tradition is still alive, just to propose a discovery, and to show that you can still go and listen to storytellers, or even bring them to your home for a special occasion.
Yes, it was usual, and it became unusual, but all the more reason not to let it disappear.

Some meetings...

We can, for example, start by walking along "la petite rue des contes", one of whose animators, Jean-Claude Botton, says "Le craceau de mes contes c'est un petit village de Sologne : the smell of the undergrowth in autumn, the image of the grandfather in his garden, the communal school or my native bistro... and I still hear the voices that have nourished me, the weaving of words, the warmth of patoisante expressions...".

We can go to the "Artésine" site, which draws up a "list", as far as possible, of storytellers from the Centre Val de Loire.

We can also meet the storytellers of "Dis raconte". On their website, the names of the shows alone are delicious! Their state of mind can be summarized as follows: "Storytellers tell stories to brighten up people who are too serious, to shake up the plot of preconceived ideas, to revive desire and above all to question the memory of the elders. They carry their words in nurseries, small and medium-sized businesses, hospitals, schools and libraries, book fairs, festivals and theatres. »

You can also meet Isabelle Boisseau, whose desire to do well was such that she led her to a training course at the Conservatoire Contemporain de Littérature Orale in Vendôme. If you are interested in the subject (and it must be the case since you are here from your reading!), please visit the website of this Conservatory! Easy, I just gave you the link!

There is also the "acrobat storyteller", Michel Maraone, on the Blois side and elsewhere... In addition to storytelling, he offers workshops and workshops. Ah... he also published a book "La fée, le fantôme et la petite fille aux grandes oreilles" (See cover and link at the end of the article).

And then you can take an interest in the activities of the Union pour la Culture Populaire en Sologne (UCPS), and its "tales" offer....

And then... and then... And then it's up to you!

 

La petite rue des Contes
41250 Mont-Pres-Chambord
Tél.: 02 54 78 75 80

 

Compagnie Dis Raconte
6, Belle rue Saint-Laurent
45000 Orléans
Tél. : 02 38 43 62 12

Isabelle Boisseau
Tél. : 02 54 56 01 49

isabelle.boisseau@orange.fr

 

Conservatoire Contemporain de Littérature Orale
Isabelle Desoeuvre
Tél. : 02 54 72 97 22

 

Michel MARAONE 
9, Rue Jean de La Bruyère 
41000 Blois

 

Union pour la Culture Populaire en Sologne 
1, rue de la grotte 
41210 La Marolle en Sologne
Tél. : 02 54 88 71 09 

 

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator

 

 

 


To go further....

Le Fabuleux Légendaire de l'Orléanais

Click on the image

Gérard Boutet est un de ces glaneurs d’histoires qui font leur moisson auprès des vieux paysans nés dans l’autre siècle. Il les écoute, il note leurs témoignages, il enregistre leurs souvenirs. Et il remplit sa besace de mille anecdotes « qui ne s’inventent pas ».
Gérard Boutet a su hériter l’inspiration et la truculence, mais aussi ce petit ton de complicité qui force à la connivence. À le lire, ce sont les veillées de jadis qui reprennent vie. Le colporteur est là, près des chenets ; il tient en haleine la nichée entière qui, bouche bée et peureuse, se serre dans les ombres mouvantes de la cheminée crépitante...
Contes populaires de Sologne

Click on the image

Le conte populaire est un conte oral traditionnel et communautaire. Il a longtemps régi la création et la circulation des histoires. C'est en fait la littérature de nos ancêtres, il a présidé les veillées de nos campagnes depuis la nuit des temps jusqu'aux années 1950. Il a aujourd'hui presque disparu.
Tout au long de ces pages, vous découvrirez ces récits authentiques qui faisaient le charme des veillées d'autrefois, et l'âme des campagnes : les contes animaliers, les récits sur le diable, tantôt dupé, tantôt triomphant et réellement terrifiant, ou encore les aventures merveilleuses et féeriques, de celles qu'on racontait volontiers aux enfants...
La fee, le fantôme et la petite fille aux grandes oreilles

Click on the image

Ligérienne
«Les saisons passèrent, beaucoup de saisons. Avec le temps, on ne chanta
plus la fée ligérienne, mais on la nomma Loire. Elle aima ce nom : Loire.
Elle resta là, à regarder tout ce petit monde vivre et rêver. Elle fut le
témoin de beaucoup d’aventures !»
Jean de l’onde
«Jean de l’Onde était un jeune pêcheur, en ce moyen-âge. Il n’avait pas de
maison et habitait sur son bateau. Il était grand, mince, doté d’une courte
barbe, cachant à peine un éternel sourire.
Adèle aux grandes oreilles
«Ligérienne fit ses adieux à la petite fille et Adèle regarda la naïade se
confondre avec la Loire. Elle réfléchit et prit sa décision : elle ne suivrait
pas le roi, mais continuerait à écouter les oiseaux chanter et les animaux
parler. Elle apprit beaucoup de choses rigolotes, sur les humains, mais elle
ne révéla jamais ses secrets.

Also to be seen in the department

La Ferme du Bouchot

La ferme du Bouchot, cottage and permaculture

placePierrefitte-sur-Sauldre - Loire-et-Cher  
label Huts, houses, igloos, cottages and co  

"La maison des Etangs", the Loir-et-Cher Ecomuseum

placeSaint-Viâtre - Loir-et-Cher 
label Tourism, sports and cultural activities Small trades People from here Museums & Collections  
Trôo

Trôo, water and troglos

placeTrôo - Loir-et-Cher  
label cities and villages  
Le Jardin du Plessis Sasnières - étang eaux vives

The "soup festival" in the remarkable garden

placeSasnières - Loir-et-Cher 
label Gardens, discovery and leisure activities Gastronomy[to eat] Hotels, restaurants, bars  

Discover the regions of the Great West