Before one can begin
to study a particular text as folklore, one must determine what,
exactly, folklore is. Folklore is distinguished from other forms of literary and oral
tradition by six characteristics. Using several texts as examples, we may explain and
define these characteristics to make a useful set of parameters for folklore. The
Tuscan Veglia (a gathering in rural Italy) and the stories of the ""Star Husband""
and
the ""Three Bears"" provide us with the examples we need to define and explain
these characteristics.
1
Folklore texts are designed by people to achieve a particular end, probably in an
unusual, less-than-straightforward manner.
The Veglia may be used
to provide an example for this in each of its four phases.
In its first phase,
the 'players' tell fairy tales to one another which describe and
encourage the proper process of maturation. The characters in these stories, which
are told by anyone in the group, become separated from society only to go through a
liminal period from which they emerge as new members, reintegrated back into the
community. However, this reintegration is accompanied by a change of status-
usually newly married, the characters become mature and productive members of
society. Telling stories of this nature allows for the society to reinforce its ideals of
societal inclusion to the maturing audience; children and young adults are given a bit
of encouragement through their difficult times between a young dependent and a fully
independent adult.
In the second phase,
the Veglia continues its indirect provision of wisdom to the
participants through its phases of formula tales and riddles, lyric songs, and legends
and ballads.
- formula tales
and riddles encourage values such as reciprocity and stimulates
mental activity;
- lyric songs allow
for men and women of courting age to interact on an emotionally
intimate level;
- legends and ballads
provide a warning to the young about the dangers they will face
as they age, preparing them for the future.
2
The stories and games in which the villagers participate are intended to serve
given, specific purposes.
They are not random
assortments of characters that provide the listeners with
nothing; rather they are designed to teach people certain values and provide them
with particular village wisdom that cannot be accrued through a straightforward
lecture.
In order to accomplish
these goals, folklore represents its images in stereotypical
images.
In the Native American
tale of the "Star Husband", the desires of a young girl are
constantly represented by heaven and the stars in the night sky. In retelling after
retelling, that motif will not change. For whatever it may say about human motivation,
the image of the sky continues to be an easy representation of the maturing girl's
desires. The girls in the story are looking for husbands and their new, adult futures.
They look to the sky and admire what they see there; they crave it. If a storyteller
were to alter that image, the story would lose much of its ability to interact with the
listener. The tale would become nonsensical because people could not identify with
it.
3
Folklore can adapt to different contexts, giving it meaning to a vastly different
potential audience.
The "Star Husband",
which contains certain unchanging facets, also has patterns of
alteration. In certain retellings, when the girls return to their homes on Earth, the sky
people come down and take some form of revenge. This may be due to the frequent
occurrence of conflict in that society, or it may be reflective of something else;
regardless, the stories do alter so that they can make sense to a new audience.
The European story
of the "Three Bears" has altered over time to be more
sympathetic toward Goldilocks. Our perspective does not include the predilection to
vengeance that would have been more common in the story's original environment;
therefore, the disturbing violence of the bears, and the mischievousness of the thief
have been reduced as the principal character became human.
4
From within its own given context, folklore is the product of a social act.
The Tuscan Veglia is
once again a prime example. As the winter months result in
shorter working days, the villagers gather in small, intimate groups with their friends
and family to share in the Veglia. Families invite guests to come and join them for the
event, which could last well into the night. The stories within are not just thrown
casually about in the farm's fields or in the marketplace; instead they are saved for
the right social occasion.
The story of the "Three
Bears" has become integrated into a particular modern social
event: the bedtime story. The "Three Bears", and other stories like it, are told by
parents specifically to their children at specific times. Bedtime stories provide a
social environment for parents and their young in contemporary times.
5
While these stories are reserved for particular events and times, their meaning
goes beyond that particular moment and applies fully to daily life.
Though it is a special
social occasion, the Veglia provides meaningful information for
people of all ages (though particularly the young) about how to live in and interact with
society. Its messages are intended to give the participants the information necessary
to live socially on an everyday basis, not just on given, specified evenings.
Similarly, the "Star
Husband" deals with the issues faced by young women in Native
American society. It deals with the real thoughts and feelings of a maturing girl.
The "Three Bears"
teaches positive norms to listeners.
Through the avenue
of the folktale, useful, everyday knowledge is disseminated.
These stories are not
escapist; they do not try to carry the listener away to some
imaginary world with no connection to the current environment. Folklore is
contextualized in that it applies to the surrounding world.
6
Folklore is stimulated by moments of strong conjunction or strong disjunction in
society.
Although the telling,
singing, etc. of folklore is relevant to the entire need structure of
the society, it is only during certain times (as has been noted) that it occurs. When
parents put their children to sleep, a very intimate event occurs. When we fall asleep
we are at our most vulnerable, so humans only do so in the presence of someone
who makes them feel safe and loved. Having the parent-child relationship is one of
utmost emotional connection; the presence of that connection encourages a
storytelling time.
For the Veglia, it
is when people come together for intimate moments that the stories
are told. Family and friends join each other in a very connected and close manner.
However, there are certain members of Tuscan society who do not quite fit the mold
that the Veglia represents. Whether it is because they are unmarried, or unhappily
so, or of unpopular political ideas, these people are separated from society and
relegated to the escape of the tavern. In what Alessandro Falassi labeled the counter-
Veglia, these disjoined individuals partake of their own social act; they tell tall-tales,
sing ribald songs, and parody the established norms of the village. Their own folklore
is the direct result of their separation from village society. Folklore comes from these
moments of powerful connection with, or distance from others. The feelings of
conjunction or disjunction encourage the development and spread of folklore in a
reoccurring and reinforcing manner over time.
These six characteristics
enable scholars to distinguish folklore from other texts.
They give folklore its uniqueness and make discernible what might otherwise remain
in the realm of confusion. By understanding these characteristics we are able to
understand and analyze how folklore has evolved over time, and how it affects
human society by distinguishing it in this manner.
In the modern context
of globalisation of popular culture it has been said that the
study of folklore promotes international peace and brotherhood by contributing to the
international, intercultural and inter-religious understanding.
In recent times, South
Asia, in spite of basic unity of values, has diversity of religions,
ethnicities and cultures and is witness to communal riots, political strifes, military
conflicts and acrimonious diplomacy, both historically. The world, on the other hand,
is moving towards globalisation- politically, economically and technologically. The
foundation of this globalisation, however, will not be stable without a cultural
understanding and social tolerance. Folklore may provide a much needed arena for
this to occur. Reflecting this international perspective, at a recent international
gathering in Nepal, the themes of the sessions were; folklore literature, performing
arts; oral poetry, epics and ballads; oral and written traditions, folklore gender and
power; folklore, cultural studies and folk practices; and folklore, multiculturalism and
expression of identity.
