Out of all my siblings, I’m the only one who sits down with the family elders and listens to them tell stories about what happened in the family and extended family 50, 100, or 200-plus years ago.
These are stories that explain how people got to be where they were, what led to marriages or rifts in the family, who moved abroad, who changed, how they changed. I personally love knowing all of this, I find it not just fascinating but important to know the origins to understand the now.
Do you think it’s important to know about the past and to share it with future generations or should the past be left in the past? Is it enough to tell stories or should it be written down as well?
I believe its important at least to know from whence you came. More important however is to decide where you want to go... but in the end try not to do anything that makes your step of the journey tarnish the journey of those before or after you.
If life was an endless road in the making make sure you try and keep a clear cut path and dont try and do anything that would make it difficuilt for the people following you while at the same time try and keep the aesthetic and moral values of bygone days.
I'm like that too. I would love to know more but my grandfather was the one who kept up with the family chronicles and he passed away a few years ago. None of his kids were that interested so the family history's kind of lost. :(
My nani is gone (may Allah swt grant her Jannah) but when she was alive...it was the thing to do. Sit around and listen to her stories...amazing stories about her life, our family, her upbringing, her childhood, migration, Partition, etc.
I learned a lot from her...more than I think she even knew. Or maybe she did. I just know that when elders pass on this knowledge...these stories...they're priceless.
My phuppo (elder sis of abbu - she is no more :( ) used to tell us all these stories and family tree. She also had the family tree on paper going back to 8-9 generations (may be more). She gave me one copy but unfortunately I left it in Pakistan while moving here.
She also used to tell us the stories of migration a lot. She was in her late teen at the time of migration so she remembered everything pretty well.
Its always good to know who you are and who your ancestors were
