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Folklore
Origins• Impossible to trace origins – people began telling
stories as soon as spoken language emerged, thousands of years before writing developed
• The telling of stories is a cultural universal, common to all societies
• Telling effective and relevant stories was vital for those who wanted power to influence society (kings, priests, healers, etc)
• By being retold and accepted, tales were handed down and became central to a culture’s identity
General Attributes
• Traditionality – deals with ancient themes and customs
• Irrationality – often deals with supernatural
• Rurality – generally from communities that are close to nature
• Communality – created and shared together as a community; not private stories
• Universality – themes are common to the human condition
Common Types of Folklore
• Fairy tale – fictitious stories of ordinary people that often incorporate magic and use stark themes of good and evil to teach moral lessons (EX Hansel and Gretel)
• Fable – a short narrative making a moral point, often with anthropomorphized animals (EX The Ant and the Grasshopper)
Common Types of Folklore
• Legend – romantic adventure believed to be historically true, usually concerned with heroes and villains, great feats of courage and epic battles (EX King Arthur)
• Myth – typically ancient stories that depict figures of epic proportions, but contain supernatural, often religious elements and non-human creatures; often explain origins of things or of humanity (EX Prometheus stealing fire from the gods)
Functions
• Maintains the continuity of a culture
–Establishing group cohesion and group feeling
–Validates certain aspects of culture and justifies its rituals and institutions
–Teaches history and values of a people –transmitting wisdom between generations
–Teach why things are as they are
Functions
• Because the information transmitted in folklore is not transmitted as a fact or a single answer, but is open to listener interpretation, it helps develop flexibility of thinking
• By providing us with a sense of place, folklore helps to give our lives meaning
Common Motifs
• What common threads of meaning do you see in the following images, each from different cultures?
• What basic human emotions and experiences do they tap into?
• Why would cultures separated geographically and culturally focus on similar themes?
Minaksi Temple at MaduraiMithuna (loving couple) ivory carvingCa. 16th century
Mali and Burkina-FasoDogon peoplesAncestor coupleWood
Embracing CoupleTerracotta Precolumbian (700 – 900 CE)
Adam and EveSouth GermanyStone carving1520
American GothicGrant Wood, 1930
Common Motifs
• What common threads of meaning did you see in the images, each from different cultures?
• What basic human emotions and experiences do they tap into?
• Why would cultures separated geographically and culturally focus on similar themes?