In my last post, Robin Harris shared a bit about the Yakut people and their tradition of Olonkho.  I was not familiar with that musical tradition, so I did little bit of research.  One of the things that I appreciate about the Olonkho tradition is that it honors the elders in their community.  The Olonkho tradition is similar to the Griot tradition of Africa where the elder, shares stories of wisdom and history to educate the community, particularly the young. In both of these cultures, the younger people sit down at the feet of the elders and listen. 

They just sit and listen.

I think we could benefit from sitting and listening to the elders in our community.  My grandmother will be 80 years old this year and every time I sit and listen, I eat well and learn something!;)

Take the time to look at this clip and learn a little about the culture of the Yakut people.  Think about how we can borrow from their tradition for an American contexts.  Let me know what you think.