Folklore and history are in the current set apart as two disciplines separate to each other in approach to study and method. However both history and folklore originated from the same base subject; both are concerned with the recording of the human record. This Essay will discuss if folklore can be utilized by historians and if so what problems does it present in terms of reliability and usefulness in the context of evidence for historians. Before analysing this however it is important to define the difference between folklore and history to starting with their independent definitions. One definition of folklore given by the Oxford dictionary is “the traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community, passed through the generations by word of mouth. ” However this definition ignores non-verbal traditions such as Folk art and Folk Architecture. However the most important part of this definition is in the method of transcription through time by word of mouth. Comparatively one definition of the study of history is “The bodies of knowledge about the past produced by historians, together with everything that is involved in the production, communication of, and teaching about that knowledge. ” These definitions highlight a crucial difference between folklore and history; History is the study of the past by historians for deciphering and recording the past; comparatively to this Folklore is the passing down of: beliefs, traditions and practises, through the generations not out of academic intrigue but rather from tradition itself. In short it can be described as Elite History vs ‘common peoples history’. In an attempt to discuss the usefulness of folklore to historians this essay will first look to the relationship between Histo...
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...as direct evidence for the study of specific event or the biography of a individual; however its strength is in reflecting the thoughts and beliefs of everyday people on a subject. This can be seen to looking to specific examples were folklore has been used by historians in a beneficial way. Firstly looking to using folklore as a way of recovering trace literary history
Works Cited
A.L.Campa, Folklore and History, Western folklore, Volume.24, No.1 (Jan, 1965), pp.1.
‘ http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/folklore’ (last accessed 10/01/2014)
A.Marwick, The fundimentals of History,’ http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Whatishistory/marwick1.html’
P.Burke, History and Folklore: a historiographical Survey, Folklore, Vol.115, .No.2 (august, 2004). Pp.134
A.L.Campa, Folklore and History, Western folklore, Volume.24, No.1 (Jan, 1965), pp.4.
But first I need to define what folklore in the movies is. Folklore in the movies has five main points which the hero or heroine goes through. The call to adventure: something has to happen to the hero or heroine in order to get them involved in some situation which concerns them greatly. Refusal of the call: the hero or heroine has to disobey something or someone. Supernatural aid: the hero or heroine gets help from an outside force, someone wiser than the hero or heroine, and someone who understands the situation better. The crossing of the first threshold: once involved with the situation before them, the hero or heroine has a conflict which causes them to get caught in the belly of the whale. The belly of the whale: the hero or heroine gets caught in some place, of which they try to escape.
The significance of oral tradition is stories that are told in which people formulate, pick up, and carry along as part of their cultural freight and these stories are told by people through folklore which is a form of oral tradition. Oral tradition helped shape our culture because we continue to do what we have been told orally by our ancestors as they passed it down through the generations. Culture shaped folklore by using
Over the recent centuries, the definition of myth has decayed into a word synonymous with falsehoods and lies. This idea of myths being completely false and therefore useless is a fairly modern one. To combat the rise of empirical science in the 1900s, theologians brought the idea of wholly literal, fundamental religion into being to combat ideas that did not perfectly align with the tenants of the religion (May 24). This was the final death blow to the idea of the metaphysical myth that was already wounded from thousands of years of being denounced as pagan or barbaric. The rise of empirical science also lent to the decay of the meaning of myth. Science was able to explain the natural world far better than a myth ever could; however, it lacked the metaphysical aspect. Due to these rising ideologies, myths hav...
Markale, Jean. The Celts, Uncovering the Mythic and Historic Origins of Western Culture. Rochester, VT. Inner Traditions. 1993.
al., Peter N. Stearns et. Documents in World History, volume I: The Great Traditions: From Ancient Times to 1500, 6th edn . Boston: Pearson, 2012.
Folklore is traditional stories within cultures that are passed down through generations some of which are myths, legends, and, fairy tales. Legends are stories based on historical facts that have been exaggerated or changed up over time. Myths are stories of gods demigods and other supernatural characters. Fairy tales involve creatures that are completely out of the ordinary. These stories are hard to believe because most of it is nonexistent. African folklore is heavily concentrated on fairy tales because because it has to do so much with their customs and traditions. African folklores involve more animals than people to entertain young ones more that older ones. The kids are the future of the culture so their values have to do with the children
Tidwell, James N. "Folklore in the News." Western Folklore 14 (1955): 213-14. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.
Myths relate to events, conditions, and deeds of gods or superhuman beings that are outside ordinary human life and yet basics to it” ("Myth," 2012). Mythology is said to have two particular meanings, “the corpus of myths, and the study of the myths, of a particular area: Amerindian mythology, Egyptian mythology, and so on as well as the study of myth itself” ("Mythology," 1993). In contrast, while the term myth can be used in a variety of academic settings, its main purpose is to analyze different cultures and their ways of thinking. Within the academic setting, a myth is known as a fact and over time has been changed through the many different views within a society as an effort to answer the questions of human existence. The word myth in an academic context is used as “ancient narratives that attempt to answer the enduring and fundamental human questions: How did the universe and the world come to be? How did we come to be here? Who are we? What are our proper, necessary, or inescapable roles as we relate to one another and to the world at large? What should our values be? How should we behave? How should we not behave? What are the consequences of behaving and not behaving in such ways” (Leonard, 2004 p.1)? My definition of a myth is a collection of false ideas put together to create
Storytelling has a special importance in culture throughout the African continent; Anansi the spider in Ghana, is one great example of an African fable that teaches children important lessons including respect for elders, the importance of wisdom, and the importance of culture. These stories have been retained and perpetuated by oral tradition, despite the western emphasis on written records; African tribes have preserved history and culture well thorough oral historians. The translator, D.T. Niane, explains the validity of oral history well by stating that written text can contain inaccuracies as well (xv). The importance of the oral aspect of djelis method relays the information in a personal manner, as Djeli Mamoudou Kouyate states, “writing lacks the warmth of the human voice,” therefore by creating a written text of an oral story it “does violence” to it (xvi). I was raised in an African community, here in DC and was lucky enough to attend Djeli performances by family friend, Djimo Kouyate, and later his son Amadou. Although I do not speak Manding, Djeli Djimo Koyate, performed the music in such a way that I was able to relate and...
Bentley, Jerry H., Herbert F. Ziegler, and Heather E. Streets-Salter. Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History, Volume II, From 1500 to the Present, Second Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 411-29
What values are reflected in this culture’s lore and why are they important to the bedrock the culture itself? This is your thesis statement. You will be proving the importance of values in all aspects of Folklore throughout this research paper.
Folklore is very important on a culture relating to legends, myths and fairy tales. The generations will keep telling the legends, myths and fairytales to the next
Personal cultural heritage is a significant part of who we are. In this paper, I will discuss the cultural heritage of my own family, including topics such as, artifacts, familial ties, patterns, and the influences of our heritage on our family today.
Throughout history, and all over the world, mythology has been developed as a way of explaining the unknown and coping with one’s existence. Why does the sun shine? Well, seemingly, to generations past, something is controlling the universe, so there must be a god in charge of the sun and many other natural phenomenon. During the creation of Native American myths, “there was much in the way of free-range food, but hunting wasn't as easy as getting up in the morning, taking a stroll and shooting a few passing bison with your bow” (Godchecker). Times were tough, “even Plains societies who lived off the prolific buffalo fell under the threat of starvation at times” (Godchecker). Finally, “when herds were found, the people were grateful and thanked the Gods profusely” (Godchecker). In Native American myths, “animals had powerful spirits and it was necessary to thank them and placate them if you wanted to make a meal of them” (Godchecker). They believed “you could see into the souls of the BEAVER, BADGER and Buffaloes as they went about their business,” or “feel the THUNDER-BIRD fixing the weather, and revel in the rascality of RAVEN, MANABOZHO and COYOTE with their tantalising tricks” (Godchecker). How can there be any doubt as to whether or not the Native American legends can be considered myths?
Fairytales and folktales have been told around the campfire, in the living room, the class room, and before bedtime for centuries. First told orally, the “… stories had to have remarkable features in order to remain memorable (Nodelman 246).” These stories were passed down from storyteller to audience until they were eventually written down and collected for consumption by the public. Due to the passing of time and fallibility the stories have changed throughout the years and slightly differ from culture to culture, however, “Stories similar to “Cinderella” can be found in historical records from as far back as the seventh century, and from a variety of places around the world (Nodelman 246).” Although the classic tales differ in various ways from their modern counterparts (such as Disney films, etc.), the characters and their journeys are still very much identifiable.