[ OLELÊ ]
Aperte o PLAY +
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Here you will find: ► Illustrations ► Story (text, audio, video) ► Lesson plan
ZAKI IS A YOUNG BOATMAN. Every day he crosses the rivers that surround his village in Congo in search of food. Alone, he gets up before sunrise and rides his boat to fish and pick fruit along the river. One day he heard a little giggle coming from behind a thicket.
– Hehehe!
He searched the place but found nothing. He thought his mind was playing tricks on him, picked up the food and followed his course. The next day, he heard the giggle again.
– Hehehe!
Where’s it? Where’s it? Zak couldn’t find anything. Maybe I’m tired, he thought. And he resumed his hard work routine. When he woke up again, he thought it might be a good idea to have some helpers. He looked up at the sky, said thanks for the day, and said to the Universe: I would be able to feed many more mouths if I were more than just one. If fate smiles at me, help will come. And there he went, down the river, rowing, rowing. That was when he heard the unmistakable giggle a third time.
– Hehehe!
This time, though, the giggling being did not hide. Zaki got such a scare when he looked at the river bank and saw a child giggling. Not one child, but EIGHT!
– We want to go with you.
The young boatman could not believe what he saw. When he was going to answer ‘No’, he remembered the wish he had made to the Universe. Help has come after all! But they don’t know how to row…
–You can teach us! We’re smart! Hehehe!
Zaki smiled and put the eight children one after the other on the boat. How would he teach them the rhythm of rowing? How could he show them the wisdom of the waters? He closed his eyes once again and felt the wind brushing against his face. That was when he heard one of the children singing a lullaby he used to hear when he was very young.
– Olelê! Moliba Makasi! Olelê!
Deeply moved, Zaki looks at the child. He remembered his grandparents used to sing this song to him. “Olelê! Moliba Makasi!” means “Olelê, the stream is strong”. He felt his heart beat faster and started to sing the whole song together with the children.
Olelê! Moliba Makasi! Olelê!
Olelê, Olelê moliba makasi
Olelê Mboka na ye, mboka, mboka kasai-ï
Mboka na ye, mboka na ye, mboka, mboka, kasai-ï
Olelê, Olelê moliba makasi
Eeo, eeeeo,
Benguela aya
Oya oya, oya oya…
Olelê, Olelê moliba makasi
When they sang together, the oars were all aligned, linked to the rhythm, with everyone rowing in perfect harmony: children, water, tune.
– Hey, boatman! Get your oars and push the water behind you, they chanted.
Zaki felt stronger, the children singing together, putting more and more energy as they rowed. If before the boatman could take five fish, with the kids on the boat he could take twice as many. The stream may be strong, but if we are together, we can go farther. Alone, he could even go more quickly. But in the company of the children, he reached unimaginable spots.
Can you sing along with us?
– Olelê! Moliba Makasi! Olelê!
At dusk, the group got off the boat and unloaded all the food they had gotten. Joyfully, they all celebrated their feat. Zaki lay on the grass and watched the sky for a while. He remembered the story his ancestors told about the bundle of sticks. One stick alone can be easily broken. But if we put several bunches together, no-one will break them. That is union. We can not walk apart. Zaki looked to his side and saw the eight children lying around him. One of them let out a giggle and started chanting… Olelê…
And everyone joined in one voice.
Would you like to sing along with us?
[ LESSON PLAN AND RESOURCES ]
[ LESSON PLAN AND RESOURCES ]
PEDAGOGICAL AIM
PEDAGOGICAL AIM
TO TAKE CARE OF THE OTHER ONE
To establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships in environments with diverse individuals and groups.
Socioemotional skills
Understanding oneself as powerful and realizing that the lives of Black individuals are both possible and relevant.
Recognizing and valuing historical and sociocultural elements that constitute the identity of people of African descent.
Appreciating the black contribution to the construction of society and acknowledging the potential of the various black ways of life that exist in the world.
Maker skills
Remaining curious to learn and act positively in the world;
Experimenting, testing, making mistakes, learning, and creating in unusual ways with the available materials;
Perceiving the needs and perspectives of others;
Seeing connections and opportunities;
Expanding the repertoire of ideas and concepts to create;
Calmly observing and seeing possibilities.
The environment
The environment as a promoter of educational experiences that reinforce the power of African culture.
1) ACTIVATE TO ENGAGE:
>> Before the story
Prepare the environment by placing blue fabrics and rugs on the floor as if it were a river. Outside the "river," leave some materials that can serve as boats, such as boxes, baskets, basins, and other available materials. Also, leave different materials that can serve as paddles, such as pool noodles, bamboo poles, long tubes, among others. In the background, you can play water sounds and invite the children to navigate the river. Let them explore the materials freely and encourage them to use their imagination in this pretend play. You can also display images on a TV or projector so that they imagine they are sailing through Africa.
Depois que elas se cansarem de brincar, junte-as em uma roda e explique que na África as pessoas usam muito a dança e o movimento do corpo para se expressar. Mostre o vídeo The Great African Take Away: African Dancing e incentive as crianças a dançarem junto.
Then tell the children that they will create dance steps and use their bodies to express themselves. Ask:
How would we express the movement of a boat?
And a bicycle?
And an airplane or bus?
Let them express the movements through dance while African beats (batidas africanas) play in the background. When they have finished their dance, ask them to sit down and do some breathing exercises if they need to calm down.
[ LET’S SIT DOWN BECAUSE HERE COMES A STORY! ]
Tell the group that they are going to listen to a story called Olelê.
After allowing the children to explore the boxes, get them together again. Show the children the illustrations of the story which are on the site Aperte o PLAY+. The teacher may choose between telling the class the story or presenting the audiobook with the dubbed version of the story. These are different challenges to the readers: listening to the audiobook without the images, or holding a story-telling session performed by the teacher with illustrations. There is a third option: press play for the story, either in English or in Portuguese, and at the same time present its scenes. Choose the option that will suit your class best!
>> After the story
Ask the children to identify the characters from the story and inquire, using the Think, Feel, Care thinking routine:
Who is this person, and what do they do? How do you know?
Imagine you are this person: how do you feel? Why?
What do you care about? What is important to you?
Also ask:
How did Zaki teach the children to paddle?
Can we paddle too?
What movement do we need to make?
Can we paddle to the rhythm of the music?
Play the song "Olelê Oliba Makasi and encourage the children to paddle along with the music.
2) PLAY TO CREATE:
2) PLAY TO CREATE:
Ask some thought-provoking questions:
How do you think Zaki knew where to find food?
And how did he know how to get back home?
Explain to the children that, during that time, people used the stars or other natural landmarks for navigation. Nowadays, we use maps and GPS to get directions to different places.
3) REFLECT TO SHARE:
3) REFLECT TO SHARE:
HOT TIP!
In 1987, the oldest boat in Africa and the second-oldest boat in the world was discovered in Nigeria. The Dufuna canoe rewrote the history of boat construction and river navigation, which had previously only considered discoveries made in Europe. The superior technical skills applied in Dufuna indicate a long-standing tradition, where the discovered canoe is likely not the first or only one made, as skills and tools evolved over many generations. The Dufuna Canoe is a vivid reminder of Nigeria's rich cultural and historical heritage and the African continent as a whole. Its discovery allows us to reconstruct parts of the past and reminds us of the importance of preserving and studying our historical heritage to better understand our identity and evolution over time.
Sources: https://theafricanhistory.com/1606
Show a picture of the Dufuna boat and ask the children to look carefully. Ask:
How many children do you think this canoe could carry?
How many fruits do you think it could hold?
Show a piece of string, 8.4 meters long. Place it on the floor and explain that this was the length of the Dufuna boat.
Do you think we can make a boat like the Dufuna to sail together? Suggest that the students use elements from free play. They can combine these elements to form a large collective boat. Once the big canoe is ready, everyone should get on board. They should paddle while singing "Olelê." At each "stop," the children leave the boat to collect real fruits brought by the teacher and scattered around the room.
After some time repeating this structure until the children have collected enough fruits, say that they have finally reached their destination. How about distributing the fruits among the children in the school?
Encourage the children to distribute the fruits to people in the school community.
Shall we sing "Olelê" together?
Olelê! Moliba Makasi! Olelê!
[TAKING IT FURTHER]
Gallery Hour - Emicida
“It's time to blacken the references," as stated by Lélia Gonzales, philosopher, anthropologist, intellectual, and activist in the black and feminist movements. That's why we've created a GALLERY for children, bringing in prominent black figures and references that need to be present in schools. We come from a Eurocentric education, and decolonizing is a complex process. It's important to see and recognize your body, your hair, and your peers; to see successful black individuals; to understand their potential. Every time you, as an educator, are building a project, choosing a story, introducing new references, how about reflecting on these questions:
>> What representations do we present to our children when we tell them a particular story?
>> Do the stories I tell portray black characters in secondary or supporting roles? Have I ever told a story with black people as protagonists in prominent positive roles in society?
With these questions and the urgent need to enrich children's repertoires and references with black representation in mind we created Aperte o Play. And the Gallery is one of the actions we developed.
Click >>HERE<<
to download the Gallery kit.
Inside, you'll find the scenery to set up with the children. The scenery, of course, is the school, the space we want to transform! The kit includes various toy art characters. Each illustrated personality allows the children to play with it, introducing and valuing new representations.
[ Emicida ]
[ Emicida ]
Emicida, or Leandro Roque de Oliveira, is a Brazilian rapper, songwriter, and writer who uses his art to tell stories, express emotions, and encourage reflections about society. Through his lyrics, he touches on themes such as inequality, racism, and the beauty of Afro-Brazilian culture, playing a crucial role in education for diversity and in the fight against prejudice.
Imagem: Emicida com alterações | Fonte: Wikipedia
Print the toy art from our kit and build Emicida's little doll with the children. They will be collectible toy arts, and each student can have their own. The teacher may also suggest that it be a collective collection.
Present the toy to the class and ask if anyone knows that personality. Encourage conversation by asking if they can imagine what he does in life. What does he work with? Why is he important?
Right after that, present the real story of the character in question, always valuing his contribution to the world.
With this activity, we want to put into practice, in a playful way, what the Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais para Educação das Relações Étnico-Raciais e para o Ensino de História e Cultura AfroBrasileira e Africana (National Curricular Guidelines for Education in Ethnic-Racial Relations and for the Teaching of Afro-Brazilian and African Culture) say:
[...] “to strengthen, among blacks, and awaken, among whites, the sense of black awareness. Among blacks, they can offer knowledge and security to take pride in their African origin; for whites, they can allow them to identify the influences, contributions, participation, and importance of the history and culture of blacks in their way of being, living, and relating to other people, notably blacks.”
(2004, p. 16-17)
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