Folklore
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| - | [[Image:Blemmyes (legendary creatures).jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Blemmyes (legendary creatures)|Blemmyes]] from [[Hartmann Schedel]]'s ''[[Nuremberg Chronicle]]'' ([[1493]])]] | + | [[Image:Blemmyes (legendary creatures).jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Headless men|Blemmyes]] from Hartmann Schedel's ''Nuremberg Chronicle'' (1493)]] |
| - | [[Image:La_fable_des_trois_souhaits_by_Wiertz.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''[[La Fable des trois souhaits — Insatiabilité humaine]]'' by [[Antoine Wiertz]], see ''[[The Ridiculous Wishes ]]'']] | + | {| class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5" |
| + | | style="text-align: left;" | | ||
| + | "[[Folklore]], in short, is perpetually running into [[mythology]]; and there are few myths which do not exhibit in some of their features points of likeness to the tales usually classified under the head of folklore." --''[[An Introduction to Mythology and Folklore]]'' (1881) by George William Cox | ||
| + | |} | ||
| + | [[Image:La main de gloire.JPG|thumb|200px|''[[Hand of Glory]]'', anonymous]] | ||
| + | [[Image:La_fable_des_trois_souhaits_by_Wiertz.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''[[La Fable des trois souhaits — Insatiabilité humaine]]'' by Antoine Wiertz]] | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| + | '''Folklore''' (or '''lore''') is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the [[tradition]]s common to that culture, subculture, or group. [[proverbs]], [[Poetry|poems]], [[jokes]], and other [[oral tradition]]s. | ||
| - | '''Folklore''' (or '''lore''') consists of legends, [[music]], [[oral history]], [[proverb]]s, [[joke]]s, [[superstition|popular beliefs]], [[fairy tales]] and customs that are the [[tradition]]s of a culture, [[subculture]], or [[group (sociology)|group]]. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called [[folkloristics]]. The word 'folklore' was first used by the English antiquarian [[William Thoms]] in a letter published in the London journal The Athenaeum in 1846. In usage, there is a continuum between folklore and [[mythology]]. [[Stith Thompson]] made a major attempt to index the [[motif (folkloristics)|motifs]] of both folklore and mythology, providing an outline into which new [[motif (folkloristics)|motifs]] can be placed, and scholars can keep track of all older [[motif (folkloristics)|motifs]]. | + | They include [[material culture]], such as traditional building styles common to the group. Folklore also includes customary lore, taking actions for folk beliefs, and the forms and rituals of celebrations such as [[Christmas]], weddings, [[folk dance]]s, and [[Rite of passage|initiation rites]]. |
| - | Folklore can be divided into four areas of study: [[Cultural artifact|artifact]] (such as voodoo dolls), describable and transmissible entity (oral tradition), culture, and behavior (rituals). These areas do not stand alone, however, as often a particular item or element may fit into more than one of these areas. | + | Each one of these, either singly or in combination, is considered a [[Cultural artifact|folklore artifact]] or [[Cultural expressions|traditional cultural expression]]. Just as essential as the form, folklore also encompasses the transmission of these artifacts from one region to another or from one generation to the next. Folklore is not something one can typically gain from a formal school curriculum or study in the [[fine arts]]. Instead, these traditions are passed along informally from one individual to another, either through verbal instruction or demonstration. |
| - | ==Artifacts== | + | ==Folklore studies== |
| - | Objects such as dolls, decorative items used in religious rituals, [[vernacular architecture|hand-built houses and barns]], and handmade clothing and other crafts are considered be ''folk artifacts'', grouped within the field as "material culture". Additionally, figures that depict characters from folklore, such as statues of the [[three wise monkeys]] may be considered to be folklore artifacts, depending on how they are used within a culture. The operative definition would depend on whether the artifacts are used and appreciated within the same community in which they are made, and whether they follow a community [[aesthetic]]. | + | '''Folkloristics''' is the formal academic study of [[folklore]]. |
| - | ==Oral tradition== | + | It is well-documented that the term ''folklore'' was coined in 1846 by the Englishman [[William Thoms]]. He fabricated it for use in an article published in the August 22, 1846 issue of [[The Athenaeum (British magazine)|''The Athenaeum'']]. |
| - | Folklore can contain religious or mythic elements, it equally concerns itself with the sometimes mundane traditions of everyday life. Folklore frequently ties the practical and the esoteric into one narrative package. It has often been conflated with [[mythology]], and vice versa, because it has been assumed that any figurative story that does not pertain to the dominant beliefs of the time is not of the same status as those dominant beliefs. Thus, [[Rome|Roman]] religion is called "myth" by today's dominant religions. In that way, both "myth" and "folklore" have become catch-all terms for all figurative narratives which do not correspond with the dominant belief structure. | + | |
| - | Sometimes "folklore" is religious in nature, like the tales of the [[Wales|Welsh]] ''[[Mabinogion]]'' or those found in [[Iceland]]ic [[skaldic poetry]]. Many of the tales in the ''[[Golden Legend]]'' of [[Jacobus de Voragine|Jacob de Voragine]] also embody folklore elements in a Christian context, as well as the tales of Old Mr. Brennan. Examples of such [[Christian mythology]] are the themes woven round [[Saint George]] or [[Saint Christopher]]. In this case, the term "folklore" is being used in a pejorative sense. | + | Thoms consciously replaced the contemporary terminology of ''popular antiquities'' or ''popular literature'' with this new word. Folklore was to emphasize the study of a specific subset of the population: the rural, mostly illiterate peasantry. |
| - | "Folktales" is a general term for different varieties of traditional narrative. The telling of stories appears to be a cultural universal, common to basic and complex societies alike. Even the forms folktales take are certainly similar from culture to culture, and comparative studies of themes and narrative ways have been successful in showing these relationships. Also it is considered to be an oral tale to be told for everybody. On the other hand, folklore can be used to accurately describe a figurative narrative, which has no sacred or religious content. In the [[Jungian psychology|Jungian]] view, which is but one method of analysis, it may instead pertain to unconscious psychological patterns, instincts or [[archetypes]] of the mind. This may or may not have components of the [[fantasy|fantastic]] (such as [[magic (paranormal)|magic]], [[ethereal being]]s or the personification of inanimate objects). These folktales may or may not emerge from a religious tradition, but nevertheless speak to deep psychological issues. The familiar folktale, "[[Hansel and Gretel]]", is an example of this fine line. The manifest purpose of the tale may primarily be one of mundane instruction regarding forest safety or secondarily a [[cautionary tale]] about the dangers of famine to large families, but its latent meaning may evoke a strong emotional response due to the widely understood [[theme (literature)|themes]] and [[motif (folkloristics)|motifs]] such as “The Terrible Mother”, “Death,” and “Atonement with the Father.” | + | In his published call for help in documenting antiquities, Thoms was echoing scholars from across the European continent to collect artifacts of older, mostly oral cultural traditions still flourishing among the rural populace. In Germany the [[Brothers Grimm]] had first published their "[[Kinder- und Hausmärchen]]" in 1812. They continued throughout their lives to collect [[Volkskunde|German folk tales]] to include in their collection. In [[Danish folklore#History|Scandinavia]], intellectuals were also searching for their authentic [[Teutons|Teutonic roots]] and had labeled their studies ''Folkeminde'' (Danish) or ''Folkermimne'' (Norwegian). |
| - | There can be both a moral and psychological scope to the work, as well as entertainment value, depending upon the nature of the teller, the style of the telling, the ages of the audience members, and the overall context of the [[performance]]. Folklorists generally resist universal interpretations of [[narrative]]s and, wherever possible, analyze [[Public speaking|oral]] versions of tellings in specific contexts, rather than print sources, which often show the work or bias of the [[writer]] or [[editing|editor]]. | + | Throughout Europe and America, other early collectors of folklore were at work. [[Thomas Crofton Croker]] published fairy tales from southern Ireland and, together with his wife, documented [[keening]] and other Irish funeral customs. [[Elias Lönnrot]] is best known for his collection of epic Finnish poems published under the title [[Kalevala]]. [[John Fanning Watson]] in the United States published the "Annals of Philadelphia". |
| - | Contemporary narratives common in the Western world include the [[urban legend]]. There are many forms of folklore that are so common, however, that most people do not realize they are folklore, such as [[riddle]]s, children's [[rhymes]] and [[Ghost story|ghost stories]], [[rumor]]s (including [[conspiracy theories]]), [[gossip]], [[ethnic stereotype]]s, and [[religious holiday|holiday]] customs and life-cycle [[ritual]]s. [[UFO abduction]] narratives can be seen, in some sense, to refigure the tales of pre-Christian [[Europe]], or even the Ascent of [[Elijah]] to heaven. [[Adrienne Mayor]], in introducing a bibliography on the topic, noted that most modern folklorists are largely unaware of classical parallels and precedents, in materials that are only partly represented by the familiar designation ''[[Aesopica]]'': "Ancient Greek and Roman literature contains rich troves of folklore and popular beliefs, many of which have counterparts in modern contemporary legends" (Such as Mayor, 2000). | + | With increasing industrialization, urbanization, and the rise in literacy throughout Europe in the 19th century, folklorists were concerned that the oral knowledge and beliefs, the [[Oral traditions|lore]] of the rural folk would be lost. It was posited that the stories, beliefs and customs were surviving fragments of a cultural mythology of the region, pre-dating Christianity and rooted in pagan peoples and beliefs. |
| - | [[Vladimir Propp]]'s classic study '''Morphology of the Folktale''' (1928) became the basis of research into the structure of folklore texts. Propp discovered a uniform [[structure]] in [[Russian fairy tales]]. His book has been translated into English, Italian, Polish and other languages. The English translation was issued in USA in 1958, some 30 years after the publication of the original. It was met by approving reviews and significantly influenced later research on folklore and, more generally, structural semantics. Though his work was based on syntagmatic structure, it gave the scope to understand the structure of folktales, of which he discovered thirty one functions. | + | This thinking goes in lockstep with the rise of [[nationalism]] across Europe. |
| - | ==Cultural== | + | Some British folklorists, rather than lamenting or attempting to preserve rural or pre-industrial cultures, saw their work as a means of furthering industrialization, scientific rationalism, and [[disenchantment]]. |
| - | Folklorist [[William Bascom]] states that folklore has many cultural aspects, such as allowing for escape from societal consequences. In addition, folklore can also serve to validate a culture (romantic nationalism), as well as transmit a culture's morals and values. Folklore can also be the root of many cultural types of music. [[Country music|Country]], [[blues]], and [[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]] all originate from American folklore. Examples of artists which have used folkloric themes in their music would be: [[Bill Monroe]], [[Flatt and Scruggs]], [[Old Crow Medicine Show]], [[Jim Croce]], and many others. Folklore can also be used to assert social pressures, or relieve them, for example in the case of [[humor]] and [[carnival]]. | + | |
| - | In addition, folklorists study medical, supernatural, religious, and political belief systems as an essential, often unspoken, part of expressive culture. | + | As the need to collect these vestiges of rural traditions became more compelling, the need to formalize this new field of cultural studies became apparent. The British ''[[Folklore Society]]'' was established in 1878 and the ''[[American Folklore Society]]'' was established a decade later. These were just two of a plethora of academic societies founded in the latter half of the 19th century by educated members of the emerging middle class. |
| - | ==Rituals== | + | For literate, urban intellectuals and students of folklore the folk was someone else and the past was recognized as being something truly different. |
| - | Many [[ritual]]s can sometimes be considered folklore, whether formalized in a cultural or religious system (e.g. weddings, baptisms, harvest festivals) or practiced within a family or secular context. For example, in certain parts of the United States (as well as other countries) one places a knife, or a pair of scissors, under the mattress to "cut the birth pains" after giving birth. Additionally, children's [[counting-out game]]s can be defined as behavioral folklore. | + | |
| + | Folklore became a measure of the [[Social progress|progress of society]], how far we had moved forward into the industrial present and indeed removed ourselves from a past marked by poverty, illiteracy and superstition. The task of both the professional folklorist and the amateur at the turn of the 20th century was to collect and classify cultural artifacts from the pre-industrial rural areas, parallel to the drive in the life sciences to do the same for the natural world. | ||
| - | ==Categories of folklore== | + | "Folk was a clear label to set materials apart from modern life…material specimens, which were meant to be classified in the natural history of civilization. Tales, originally dynamic and fluid, were given stability and concreteness by means of the printed page." |
| - | <div style="-moz-column-count:3; column-count:3;"> | + | Viewed as fragments from a pre-literate culture, these stories and objects were collected without context to be displayed and studied in museums and anthologies, just as bones and potsherds were gathered for the life sciences. [[Kaarle Krohn]] and [[Antti Aarne]] were active collectors of folk poetry in Finland. The Scotsman [[Andrew Lang]] is known for his 25 volumes of [[fairy tales|Andrew Lang's Fairy Books]] from around the world. [[Francis James Child]] was an American academic who collected English and Scottish popular ballads and their American variants, published as the [[Child Ballads]]. In the United States, both [[Mark Twain]] and [[Washington Irving]] drew on folklore to write their stories. One [[Samuel Clemens]] was also a charter member of the American Folklore Society. |
| - | ===Genres=== | ||
| - | {| | ||
| - | |----- valign="top" | ||
| - | | | ||
| - | * [[Archetype]]s, [[stereotype]]s and [[stock character]]s. | ||
| - | * [[Ballad]] | ||
| - | * [[Blason Populaire]] | ||
| - | * [[Childlore]] | ||
| - | * [[Children's street culture]] | ||
| - | * [[Counting rhyme]]s | ||
| - | * [[Costumbrismo]] | ||
| - | * [[Craft]] | ||
| - | | | ||
| - | * [[convention (norm)|Custom]] | ||
| - | * [[Epic poetry]] | ||
| - | * [[Factoid]]s | ||
| - | * [[Festival]] | ||
| - | * [[Folk art]] | ||
| - | * [[Folk religion|Folk belief]] | ||
| - | * [[Folk magic]] | ||
| - | * [[Folk medicine]] | ||
| - | | | ||
| - | * Folk narrative | ||
| - | * [[Folk play]] | ||
| - | * [[Ethnopoetics|Folk poetry]] and [[rhyme]] | ||
| - | * [[Folk song]] | ||
| - | * [[Game]]s | ||
| - | * [[Holiday]] lore and customs | ||
| - | * [[Idiom]] | ||
| - | | | ||
| - | * [[Mythology]] | ||
| - | * [[Riddle]] | ||
| - | * [[Saying]] | ||
| - | * [[Superstition]] | ||
| - | * [[Taunts]] | ||
| - | * [[Weather lore]] | ||
| - | * [[Xerox lore]] | ||
| - | |} | ||
| - | ===Folk narratives=== | + | == See also == |
| - | {| | + | * [[Folk]] |
| - | |----- valign="top" | + | * [[Gershon Legman]] |
| - | | | + | |
| - | * [[Anecdote]] | + | |
| - | * [[Fable]] | + | |
| - | * [[Fairy tale]] | + | |
| - | | | + | |
| - | * [[Ghost story]] | + | |
| - | * [[Joke]] | + | |
| * [[Legend]] | * [[Legend]] | ||
| - | | | + | * [[The law of conservation of misery]] |
| - | * [[Mythology|Myth]] | + | * [[European folklore]] |
| - | * [[Parable]] | + | * [[Morphology of the Folktale]] |
| - | * [[Tall tale]] | + | * [[Morphology (folkloristics)]] |
| - | | | + | * [[Motif-Index of Folk-Literature]] |
| - | * [[Urban legend]] | + | * [[Toward a Motif-Index of Erotic Humor]] |
| - | * [[Maxim (saying)|Maxim]] | + | *''[[Popular Antiquities]]'' (1777) by John Brand |
| - | * [[Proverb]] | + | |
| - | |} | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ===National or ethnic=== | + | |
| - | {{See|List of mythologies}} | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | {| | + | |
| - | |----- valign="top" | + | |
| - | | | + | |
| - | * Americas | + | |
| - | **[[Folklore of the United States]] | + | |
| - | **[[Latin American folklore]] | + | |
| - | ***[[Brazilian folklore]] | + | |
| - | ***[[Caribbean folklore]] | + | |
| - | ***[[Colombian folklore]] | + | |
| - | *[[Australian folklore]] | + | |
| - | *East Asian | + | |
| - | **[[Chinese folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Japanese folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Korean folklore]] | + | |
| - | | | + | |
| - | *[[European folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Paganism in the Eastern Alps|Alpine (Austrian and Swiss) folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[English folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Estonian folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Dutch folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Finnish mythology|Finnish folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[French folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[German folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Hungarian mythology|Hungarian folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Irish mythology|Irish folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Italian folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Lithuanian mythology|Lithuanian folklore]] | + | |
| - | | | + | |
| - | *[[European folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Maltese mythology|Maltese folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Montenegrin folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Romanian folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Scandinavian folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Scottish mythology|Scottish folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Slavic folklore]] | + | |
| - | ***[[Polish folklore]] | + | |
| - | ***[[Russian folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Spanish mythology|Spanish Folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Culture of Nepal|Nepali Folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Swiss folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Welsh mythology|Welsh folklore]] | + | |
| - | | | + | |
| - | *[[Near Eastern]] | + | |
| - | **[[Aggadah]] | + | |
| - | **[[Arab folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Iranian folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Jewish folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Turkish folklore]] | + | |
| - | *[[South Asian]] | + | |
| - | **[[Indian folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Maldivian folklore]] | + | |
| - | **[[Pakistani folklore]] | + | |
| - | *[[Southeast Asian]] | + | |
| - | **[[Philippine folklore]] | + | |
| - | |} | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ==See also== | + | |
| - | * [[Applied folklore]] | + | |
| - | * [[Appropriation (music)]] | + | |
| - | * [[Chinook wind#Chinooks and tall tales (folklore)|Chinook wind]] | + | |
| - | * [[Folk]] | + | |
| - | * [[Folklife]] | + | |
| - | * [[Folkloristics]] | + | |
| - | * [[Intangible Cultural Heritage]] | + | |
| - | * [[Petrosomatoglyph]] (image of parts of a human or animal body incised in rock) | + | |
| - | * [[Signifying monkey]] | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | + | ||
| - | === Folklore by region=== | + | |
| - | *[[European folklore]] | + | |
| - | *[[Morphology of the Folktale]] | + | |
| - | *[[Morphology (folkloristics)]] | + | |
| - | *[[Motif-Index of Folk-Literature]] | + | |
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Current revision
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"Folklore, in short, is perpetually running into mythology; and there are few myths which do not exhibit in some of their features points of likeness to the tales usually classified under the head of folklore." --An Introduction to Mythology and Folklore (1881) by George William Cox |
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Related e |
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Featured: |
Folklore (or lore) is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture, or group. proverbs, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions.
They include material culture, such as traditional building styles common to the group. Folklore also includes customary lore, taking actions for folk beliefs, and the forms and rituals of celebrations such as Christmas, weddings, folk dances, and initiation rites.
Each one of these, either singly or in combination, is considered a folklore artifact or traditional cultural expression. Just as essential as the form, folklore also encompasses the transmission of these artifacts from one region to another or from one generation to the next. Folklore is not something one can typically gain from a formal school curriculum or study in the fine arts. Instead, these traditions are passed along informally from one individual to another, either through verbal instruction or demonstration.
Folklore studies
Folkloristics is the formal academic study of folklore.
It is well-documented that the term folklore was coined in 1846 by the Englishman William Thoms. He fabricated it for use in an article published in the August 22, 1846 issue of The Athenaeum.
Thoms consciously replaced the contemporary terminology of popular antiquities or popular literature with this new word. Folklore was to emphasize the study of a specific subset of the population: the rural, mostly illiterate peasantry.
In his published call for help in documenting antiquities, Thoms was echoing scholars from across the European continent to collect artifacts of older, mostly oral cultural traditions still flourishing among the rural populace. In Germany the Brothers Grimm had first published their "Kinder- und Hausmärchen" in 1812. They continued throughout their lives to collect German folk tales to include in their collection. In Scandinavia, intellectuals were also searching for their authentic Teutonic roots and had labeled their studies Folkeminde (Danish) or Folkermimne (Norwegian).
Throughout Europe and America, other early collectors of folklore were at work. Thomas Crofton Croker published fairy tales from southern Ireland and, together with his wife, documented keening and other Irish funeral customs. Elias Lönnrot is best known for his collection of epic Finnish poems published under the title Kalevala. John Fanning Watson in the United States published the "Annals of Philadelphia".
With increasing industrialization, urbanization, and the rise in literacy throughout Europe in the 19th century, folklorists were concerned that the oral knowledge and beliefs, the lore of the rural folk would be lost. It was posited that the stories, beliefs and customs were surviving fragments of a cultural mythology of the region, pre-dating Christianity and rooted in pagan peoples and beliefs.
This thinking goes in lockstep with the rise of nationalism across Europe.
Some British folklorists, rather than lamenting or attempting to preserve rural or pre-industrial cultures, saw their work as a means of furthering industrialization, scientific rationalism, and disenchantment.
As the need to collect these vestiges of rural traditions became more compelling, the need to formalize this new field of cultural studies became apparent. The British Folklore Society was established in 1878 and the American Folklore Society was established a decade later. These were just two of a plethora of academic societies founded in the latter half of the 19th century by educated members of the emerging middle class.
For literate, urban intellectuals and students of folklore the folk was someone else and the past was recognized as being something truly different.
Folklore became a measure of the progress of society, how far we had moved forward into the industrial present and indeed removed ourselves from a past marked by poverty, illiteracy and superstition. The task of both the professional folklorist and the amateur at the turn of the 20th century was to collect and classify cultural artifacts from the pre-industrial rural areas, parallel to the drive in the life sciences to do the same for the natural world.
"Folk was a clear label to set materials apart from modern life…material specimens, which were meant to be classified in the natural history of civilization. Tales, originally dynamic and fluid, were given stability and concreteness by means of the printed page."
Viewed as fragments from a pre-literate culture, these stories and objects were collected without context to be displayed and studied in museums and anthologies, just as bones and potsherds were gathered for the life sciences. Kaarle Krohn and Antti Aarne were active collectors of folk poetry in Finland. The Scotsman Andrew Lang is known for his 25 volumes of Andrew Lang's Fairy Books from around the world. Francis James Child was an American academic who collected English and Scottish popular ballads and their American variants, published as the Child Ballads. In the United States, both Mark Twain and Washington Irving drew on folklore to write their stories. One Samuel Clemens was also a charter member of the American Folklore Society.
See also
- Folk
- Gershon Legman
- Legend
- The law of conservation of misery
- European folklore
- Morphology of the Folktale
- Morphology (folkloristics)
- Motif-Index of Folk-Literature
- Toward a Motif-Index of Erotic Humor
- Popular Antiquities (1777) by John Brand
