by Steve Gregory

Created on: November 05, 2009   Last Updated: November 06, 2009

What is Folklore?

There is a strict, no-nonsense, dust-off-my-college-doctorate-from-an-Ivy-League-uni versity definition of folklore. But to define folklore by some scientific classification that is technologically cold and aloof is as short-sighted as defining the creatures who created it by simply referring to them as homo sapiens. It misses the real mark. Folklore is the oral and written (modern day) rendition of a culture without the use of facts.

When a person thinks about American folklore, there are a few pieces that come to mind. From the west there are the stories of Pecos Bill, Wyatt Earp, and a host of ruffians who often straddled the line between outlaw and lawful. From the middle portion of the country you get tales like Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed. And from the east and south you get Brer Rabbit, John Henry, and Rip Van Winkle. Given this encyclopedia, it's easy to draw conclusions about American culture. Americans pride themselves on being rugged individualists who don't let anyone or anything (even laws and morality) stand in their way when they want something. They take whatever means are at hand to subdue and control their environment. They value the fight and plight of the overmatched. And they think a lazy person deserves to be rewarded for his lack of action.

Moving to another culture, the pattern repeats itself. In Japan, some of the most famous stories are Momotaro (the Peach Boy), the Crane Maiden, the Inch-High Samurai, and the Tongue-Cut Sparrow (all of which you can find online for your reading pleasure). Momotaro and the Inch-High Samurai illustrate the value of striving and success not just for you, but for your family and country. The Tongue-Cut Sparrow speaks to expected behavior and the rewards (and punishment) for violating that code. And the Crane Maiden shows a depth of kindness, gratitude, and honor that is, sadly, being lost in almost every culture.

Traveling to the Middle East, the most famous collection of folklore is found in A Thousand and One Arabian Nights. From there the world has received such marvelous stories as Sinbad the Sailor and Ala-al Din and the Magic Lamp (Aladdin, if you prefer). Just as American folklore speaks to dominating American environment, Middle Eastern folklore recognizes that man is just not up to dominating the desert. It is therefore STILL a deeply religious, and even superstitious, culture because there is a real need for coming to grips with incidents for which there is no human way to

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