Schelling Forum: "How the Elephant Got its Trunk"

11/25/2025

The storytellers, artists and musicians Ibrahima "Ibo" Ndiaye and Tormenta Jobarteh tell young and old on an adventurous Advent journey to Gambia and Senegal how Christmas is celebrated there.

Zum Jahresabschluss erfahren Interessierte im Schelling-Forum, wie Menschen in zwei afrikanischen Ländern Weihnachten feiern. (Image: Lea Sailer)

With Ibo's interactive children's story "How the elephant got his trunk", children can look forward to music, singing and dancing to the rhythm of traditional drums. Tormenta Jobarteh will enchant the audience with the kora, a traditional harp from West Africa, and his interactive story about friendship, building bridges between European and African culture.

In conversation with the two artists, central questions of their work will be addressed: How is a lively narrative performance created? What role does the interactive element play in working with children? What aesthetic means are used and what significance does the visual and sensory experience have for the audience? These and other questions will be explored by the two award-winning storytellers - also with the audience!

Place and Time

"How the elephant got its trunk". An Advent journey to The Gambia and Senegal for the whole family

Reading, music and end-of-year celebration

When: Friday, 5 December 2025, 4 pm

Where: Schelling-Forum, Klinikstraße 3, 97070 Würzburg

Participants

Ibrahima Ndiaye was born in Senegal near Dakar in 1963. He came to Saarbrücken in 1987 to study German language and literature. He has been working as a freelance artist and author for many years. In addition to his work as a musician, dancer, actor and cabaret artist, he is best known for his interactive storytelling for children. He has also published several children's books with his own and traditional Senegalese fairy tales. For many years, he has designed the children's programme at the Würzburg Africa Festival, where he is also the presenter. Ibrahima Ndiaye has received several international awards for his artistic and cultural commitment, including from former Senegalese President Abdou Diouf. Most recently, he was awarded the Friedrich Bödeker Prize in 2020.

Tormenta Jobarteh was born Werner Sturm in Munich in 1963. At the age of 23, he travelled to The Gambia, where he lived for eight years in a small village with the griot family of his mentor Basuru Jobarteh. There he devoted himself passionately to studying the kora and the culture and tradition of griot wisdom. He eventually became a griot himself and was adopted by his teacher. Since his return to Europe, Tormenta Jobarteh has been active as a musician with his world music band "Jobarteh Kunda" and as a storyteller. He is also committed to helping children: With a special participatory programme, he gets them singing, dancing and moving, giving them a unique stage experience. As an award-winning storyteller, he has been invited to international festivals in Europe, Africa and America, where he is celebrated as a bridge-builder between cultures.