In many different cultures around the world storytellers, court jesters, magicians, and the like all have a very mysterious role. They are entertainers yes but there is another level to their purpose. They are a type of historian and they preserve the culture. They are also secret keepers, those who know things that have been passed down and protected through generations. But the secrets that they hold are not ones that they seek to hide from all, but rather ones that they share, ones that they whisper to the listeners. These performers and informers reveal their secrets and this revelation comes in the form of the performance and is often mistaken only as entertainment.
The word revelation can be traced back through the Old French word 'revelacion' all the way to its Latin roots in the word 'revelationem' or 'revelare' the base word for "reveal." A revelation is in its most basic form just a disclosure of facts, but as time has progressed and the word has changed it has been attached to religious secrets and divine information that is given by a deity to a devout follower. While I do not deny the religious context of the word as I am a Christian believer I do think the original meaning of the word as a disclosure of facts and information in a basic sense is still not only appropriate but also useful.
What it means to storytelling: As storytellers, keepers of lore, historians, cultural preservationists, and any other title we choose to attach to ourselves we have an opportunity to reveal to our listeners secrets and information that is not only entertaining but also in many cases enriching to their lives. As we begin to reveal stories to our audiences a certain rapport develops between them and us that is developed around and through our revelations to them as well as our own ability as storytellers.
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