Folklore

Folklore encompasses traditional beliefs and customs, narratives and sayings, and activities that are preserved among cultures. Although folklore originally only referred to what were considered "peasant" traditions, it has since expanded to include modern traditions in both urban and rural populations.

Folklore includes but is not limited to legends, riddles, songs, tales, proverbs, fables, urban legends, nursery rhymes, songs, rituals, festivals, dramas, traditional cooking and customs, fairy tales, and folk art. It stems from an oral tradition that existed to preserve indigenous culture and identity in the face of foreign influence and occupation.

The cultural identity of a group, social class, or country can be explored by its folklore. Games, agricultural traditions, rhymes and counting chants, practical jokes, tall tales, and riddles all preserve the history and experiences of a particular group.

Folklore Studies

William John Thoms, a British writer, first used the term "folklore" in 1846. He was greatly interested in superstitions, legends, traditions, and mythologies, studying them at length. Thoms was inspired by the work Deutsche Mythologie, by Jacob Grimm. Thoms referred to folklore as just that: the lore of the people.

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, known as the Brothers Grimm, were born in late eighteenth-century Germany. After attending law school, the brothers joined a movement among university students that collected and published folktales. Wilhelm Grimm was a devoted folklorist throughout his life, while Jacob Grimm also wrote about German history. Although fairy tales may be included in the definition of folklore, it is important to recognize that these stories were relayed orally, often differing slightly by region or village. In an attempt to make the stories more readable, the Grimms added flowery language that made the tales longer and more enjoyable to read. The Grimms had systematically studied and recorded tales from das volk (the folk or the people). The Grimms published Kinder-und Hausmärchen (Children's and Household Tales) in 1812.

In 1878, the Folklore Society was established in Great Britain. The American Folklore Society followed it ten years later. Such organizations research, study, and compile folklore from countries and cultures worldwide. Scholars such as Max Müller, James Frazer, Laurence Gomme, Bronislaw Malinowski, Alfred Radcliffe-Brown, and Thoms studied folklore and its role in society throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the twenty-first century, the examination of folklore continues and expands, as the Internet and other means of communication and interaction have developed. The American Folklore Society publishes a quarterly journal, and there are college courses, websites, and books dedicated to the appreciation, enjoyment, and preservation of folklore.

Some folktales offer morals or lessons to the audience, while others educate the next generation about ethnic or national traditions. Folklore often provides fodder for cultural tourism and those seeking knowledge about cultures differing from their own. Although many folktales and folk songs have become seemingly universal, there remain differences between versions. Regardless, much of folklore offers a glimpse into the past.

The Role of Folklore

The role of folklore is important in global history. Folk music and folk dancing serve the same purpose as the more widely recognized folktale. Songs and rituals, along with traditional clothing, are all a part of folklore that is an intrinsic part of rural life, and to a larger extent, national identity. Occasions such as births, marriages, deaths, or harvests are shared by a community that celebrates and passes the traditions down from generation to generation. Although the origins of many folktales and songs have been lost to history, they continue into the modern age through oral and written tradition.

Folklore is still very much an active and oral tradition; however, written records have been compiled and preserved. There have been exchanges between written texts and folklore in the past, such as the Buddhist Jataka tales, which were told by the Buddha to his disciples. They traveled orally along the trade routes and influenced many other works, such as Aesop's Fables and The Canterbury Tales. The best example of this is The Thousand and One Nights (The Arabian Nights), which is a collection of Middle Eastern and Indian stories. The tales relayed by the princess Scheherazade were legends, fairy tales, romances, and stories that had been passed down orally until the stories were compiled within the Scheherazade–King Shahryar narration. Many of the stories from this volume containing characters such as Aladdin, Sinbad, and Ali Baba have since become mainstream cultural favorites worldwide.

Folklore is a necessary tool for teaching language, literature, and history. Anthropologists argue that each tier of society has its own folklore. The knowledge of folklore is passed on informally within each particular group. By sharing a common past and ensuring the survival of an ethnic identity, such groups enrich the world and enable for a better understanding of human history and culture. New folklore evolves along with civilization and world events.

Bibliography

Acocella, Joan. "Once Upon a Time." New Yorker. Condé Nast. 23 July 2012. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/07/23/once-upon-a-time-3

Bascom, William. "The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives." Journal of American Folklore 78.307 (1965): 3–20. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~jjl5766/share/Bascom‗1965.pdf

Bronner, Simon J. "Folklore." Encyclopedia of Humor Studies. Ed. Salvatore I. Attardo. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2014. Print.

Brunvand, Jan Harold. American Folklore: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge, 1998. 285–287. Print.

Thoms, William J. "Origins of the 'Word Folk-Lore.'" Notes & Queries (1872). Web. 24 Jan. 2016. http://www.academia.edu/1940404/WJ‗Thoms‗Origins‗of‗the‗word‗Folk-Lore‗N‗and‗Q‗1872‗

"What Is Folklore?" American Folklore Society. American Folklore Society. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. http://www.afsnet.org/?WhatIsFolklore

"What Is Folklore?" New York Folklore Society. New York Folklore Society. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. http://www.nyfolklore.org/tradarts/folklore.html

"What Is Folklore?" University Library. University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. http://www.library.illinois.edu/sshel/specialcollections/folklore/definition.html