Folklore encompasses oral traditions and beliefs of a culture, including myths, legends, jokes, proverbs, tall tales, fairy tales, and superstitions. It is diverse across cultures and constantly changing. Folklorists study and record these traditions, which can reveal interesting things about a culture’s people.
Folklore is a term referring to the collective oral traditions and beliefs of a culture. It includes myths, legends, jokes, proverbs, tall tales, fairy tales, superstitions and, of course, folk tales. All cultures have some form of folklore; some people have made the study of folklore their life’s work, and numerous texts by folklorists can be found in bookstores. These books include transcripts of folk stories, as well as analyzes of folk myths and lore, and of the ways folklore affects modern society.
The term was coined in 1846 by William Thomas, who wanted to invent a generic term to encompass the rich oral traditions of cultures around the world. “Folklore” is a compound of “folk”, as in common people, and “lore” as in knowledge or traditions. The definition of folklore is quite varied, depending on which academic you talk to about it. In general, to be considered folklore, something has to be passed down orally through multiple generations, whether it’s an adage about rain or a folktale about a folk hero like the American Paul Bunyan.
Folklore and popular beliefs across cultures are incredibly diverse. Various animals, for example, are considered bad omens in some regions of the world while in others they are welcomed as bringers of luck. Folk stories are also quite diverse and usually complement the natural features of the landscape, be it long, harsh winters in Scandinavia or endless sunny days at the equator. A look at a culture’s folklore can often reveal interesting things about the people of that culture.
Oral traditions are constantly undergoing change due to their nature. As stories repeat themselves, people embellish or alter them, sometimes changing the content to fit new ideas or the times. Consequently, folklore is an ever-expanding and changing body of material, providing a great deal of food for people interested in oral cultural traditions. Some folklore students have tracked the changes in the oral traditions they study as part of a larger study of cultural changes and trends; for example, folklore often undergoes major changes after people encounter people from other cultural backgrounds.
As the study of folklore became a more formal discipline, people began writing down folktales, even though people like the Brothers Grimm had already gotten a head start on recording their oral traditions on paper. Some museums even have a collection of popular items, along with stories about where they came from. You may have a recorded example of folklore in your home, and you can probably find some examples of classic folklore or characters that are popular in your culture.
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