Folklore I INTRODUCTION Folklore, general term for the beliefs, customs, and knowledge of any culture, transmitted orally,

by obser ation, or by limitation! "eo#le sharing a culture may ha e in common an occu#ation, language, ethnicity, age, or geogra#hical location! This body of traditional material is #reser ed and #assed on from generation to generation, with constant ariations sha#ed by memory, immediate need or #ur#ose, and degree of indi idual talent! The word folklore was coined in $%&' by the (nglish anti)uary *illiam +ohn Thoms to re#lace the term #o#ular anti)uities! II FO,-,OR( .ND "O"U,.R CU,TUR( Folklore scholars today distinguish between true folklore and material such as #o#ular songs or oft/ re#eated anecdotes! 0uch things, commonly referred to by the media as #art of the folk heritage, are defined by some folklorists as #o#ular lore or #o#ular culture! Folk tradition and #o#ular tradition do intermingle, howe er1 #o#ular forms continually draw on genuine folklore forms for ins#iration, and #o#ular lore occasionally becomes so widely known that folk grou#s ada#t it to their own oral tradition! III FO,-,OR( 0OURC(0 .ND C.T(2ORI(0 Folklorists ha e reali3ed that folklore is not restricted to rural communities, as might be belie ed, but may commonly be found in cities, and that, rather than dying out, it is still #art of the learning of all grou#s, from family units to nations, albeit changing in form and function! Folklore as a creati e acti ity and as a body of unscrutini3ed or un erifiable assertions and beliefs has not anished! The arious research aims and #rocedures of anthro#ologists, sociologists, #sychologists, linguists, and literary scholars ha e considerably modified the former tendency to look u#on folk literature and folk customs either as )uaint and romantic or as somehow 4inferior5 to high culture! Folklore has come to be regarded as #art of the human learning #rocess and an im#ortant source of information about the history of human life! Folklore materials may be roughly classified into fi e general areas6 ideas and beliefs, traditions, narrati es, folk sayings, and the folk arts! Folk beliefs include ideas about the whole range of human concerns, from the reasons and cures for diseases to s#eculation concerning life after death! This category therefore includes folkloristic beliefs 7su#erstitions8, magic, di ination, witchcraft, and a##aritions such as ghosts, and fantastic, mythological creatures! The second classification, that of traditions, includes material dealing with festi al customs, games, and dances1 cookery and costume might also be included, by e9tension! The third category, narrati es, includes the ballad and the arious forms of folktales and folk music, all of which may be based in #art on real characters or historical e ents! The category of folk sayings includes #ro erbs and nursery rhymes, erbal charms, and riddles! Folk arts, the fifth and only non/ erbal category, co ers any form of art, generally created anonymously among a #articular #eo#le, sha#ed by and e9#ressing the character of their community life! I: (.R,; FO,-,OR( 0TUDI(0 The formal study of folklore began about <== years ago! One of the earliest books to take u# the sub>ect was Trait? des su#erstitions 7$'@A87Treatise on 0u#erstitions8, by the French satirist +ean/Ba#tiste Thiers! Ciscellanies 7$'A'8, by the (nglish anti)uary +ohn .ubrey, dealing with #o#ular beliefs and customs regarding such things as omens, dreams, second sight, and ghosts, was another early work! The first im#ortant work on the general sub>ect of folklore was .nti)uitates :ulgares1 or, The .nti)uities of the Common "eo#le 7$@DE8, by the British clergyman and anti)uary Fenry Bourne, which was largely an account of #o#ular customs in connection with religious festi als! Reli)ues of .ncient (nglish "oetry 7< olumes, $@'E8, edited by the (nglish #oet, anti)uary, and bisho# Thomas "ercy, was an im#ortant collection of (nglish and 0cottish ballads! In $@@@ the British clergyman and anti)uary +ohn Brand #ublished Obser ations on the "o#ular .nti)uities of 2reat Britain! The book catalogued and described the origins of many customs and became the standard British work on folklore!

In 2ermany, the #hiloso#her +ohann 2ottfried on Ferder and the #hilologists +acob and *ilhelm 2rimm did #ioneering work in folklore! Ferder #ublished a collection of 2erman folk songs in $@@%1 the 2rimm brothers com#iled the collection of folktales Fousehold Tales 7D olumes, $%$D/$%$E1 translated $%%&8! : COD(RN FO,-,OR( 0CFO,.R0FI" The collection and analysis of folklore increasingly occu#ied the attention of scholars in (uro#e during the $Ath and early D=th centuries! Numerous >ournals and societies de oted to the recording and #reser ation of the folk heritage were founded! The research of the $Ath/century 2erman #hilologist and 0anskrit scholar Theodor Benfey formed the basis for all later com#arati e studies in the field! Fis iews were es#oused by such scholars as the 0cottish classicist and folklorist .ndrew ,ang, who wrote Custom and Cyth 7$%%&8 and Cyth, ,iterature and Religion 7D olumes, $%%@8, and the British anthro#ologist 0ir +ames 2eorge Fra3er, author of The 2olden Bough 7$%A=1 e9#anded to $< olumes, $A$E8! Their works were landmarks of the so/called anthro#ological school of folklore study! .s early as $A=E the Danish Folklore .rchi es used the (dison #honogra#h to record songs from Denmark, 2reenland, and the Faroe Islands! .mong a number of 0candina ian scholars #rominent in the field of folklore was the Finnish folklorist .ntti .arne, who hel#ed to de elo# #rocedures for ascertaining the com#onent elements, #lace of origin, and a##ro9imate date of #o#ular narrati es! In $A$= .arne created an im#ortant system of folktale inde9ing, later translated and enlarged by the .merican folklorist 0tith Thom#son in The Ty#es of the Folk Tale 7$AD%1 $A'$8! :I FO,-,OR( 0OCI(TI(0 Folklore societies in (uro#e and the United 0tates ha e fostered the collection 7by ta#e recording and #hotogra#hy8 and classification of e9tensi e archi es of folklore materials! These scholarly societies, which ha e hel#ed to make the study of folklore a aluable tool in anthro#ological, ethnological, and #sychological research, as well as a burgeoning field in its own right, include the (nglish Folklore 0ociety, founded in $%@%1 the French 0oci?t? des Traditions "o#ulaires, which in $%%' began the #ublication of the >ournal Re ue des Traditions "o#ulaires1 and the .merican Folklore 0ociety, founded in $%%%! .lso of im#ortance is the international organi3ation Folklore Fellows, founded in $A=@, with head)uarters in Felsinki, Finland! Through a series of #ublications, Folklore Fellows Communications, the organi3ation has brought out more than D== #ublications, including almost &= inde9es! The International 0ociety for Folk/Narrati e Research, founded in $AEA, with head)uarters in Turku, Finland, has also hel#ed ad ance the study of com#arati e folklore! Folk Art I INTRODUCTION Folk .rt, term used for a distincti e ty#e of art that is created within local or regional traditions, usually 7but not always8 in the conte9t of rural agricultural communities! It includes the making and decoration of a wide range of ob>ects used in these communities, such as clothing, furniture, childrenGs toys, sho# signs, household utensils and #ottery, agricultural ehicles, and #ro#s used in religious festi als and entertainments! It also embraces styles of architecture, scul#ture, and #ainting! The ery idea of folk art im#lies the attitude of a social elite to art #roduced in and for the workaday world of the general #o#ulace! Thus the term can effecti ely be used only with reference to a society with a clearly stratified aesthetic culture, where the art of the ruling classes is concei ed as fundamentally different from that of the 4folk5! This has historically been the case on (uro#e since the Renaissance, when the ruling classes of all nations ado#ted an international artistic language deri ed from Classical 2reece and Rome! The term 4folk art5 is not a##lied, therefore, to the arts of medie al (uro#e or to those of most cultures outside the *estern tradition!

*orks of fine art are made to be a##reciated for their own sake, and are often commissioned or bought by wealthy #atrons who set a #ersonal alue on a #articular artistGs work! 0uch works are >udged by academic and intellectual standards! Folk art, on the other hand, aims to beautify ob>ects in daily use in a household or community! Nor can it be industrially mass/#roduced, since )ualities of craftsmanshi# and #leasure in the handling of materials are also im#ortant as#ects of folk art! Today traditional craft skills are often used to #roduce s#urious folk art for the tourist market! In the de elo#ing world es#ecially, traditional craft items are made for international e9#ort1 they are sold as folk art but do not belong to the true conte9t of this art! It should also be said that art historians today increasingly a oid using a label such as 4folk art5, for the reason that it im#lies the iew of a su#erior cultural le el 7urbane, metro#olitan, international8 towards an inferior one 7#ro incial, rustic, unso#histicated8Ha iew that is clearly unlikely to be ob>ecti e! Other slightly more #recise termsHfor e9am#le 4#o#ular5, 4#rimiti e5, 4nai e5, 4#easant5, or 4 ernacular5 art Ho erla# with folk art and are often #referred! Ne ertheless, 4folk art5 remains a ery useful descri#ti e term, #articularly when dealing with traditions that ha e their roots in the regional cultures of #re/ industrial (uro#e! II 2(N(R., CF.R.CT(RI0TIC0 Unlike the signed or documented works of a named artist, folk art is usually #roduced anonymously by artisans who follow dee#ly rooted traditional forms and styles associated with their #articular region! "arado9ically, howe er, while folk art eschews inno ation, it is marked by a freshness and itality to which academically trained artists ha e often turned for ins#iration! The makers of folk art may be #rofessional #ractitioners who ha e been trained in a local or family/run worksho#, or they may be members of a household or small community! Thus skills in embroidery, wea ing, and other te9tile art are traditionally learnt by women in many societies, and members of religious communities throughout the world #roduce de otional #aintings! Folk artists are not always anonymous! .mong the most accom#lished e9am#les of folk art are 0icilian two/wheeled carts co ered in brightly #ainted decoration, including i id narrati e scenes on the rectangular side #anels! In some cases, the names of the artists are recorded6 for e9am#le, the Ficano brothers from "alermo, who were acti e in the $Ath century! 0imilarly, entries in $%th/ and $Ath/century British trade directories list #ro incial #ainters whose skills might be ariously turned to house decoration, sho# or inn signs, and e en #ortraits! These #ainters often worked at one or more other trades! The materials used in folk art tend to be those that are #lentifully a ailable and can be worked using relati ely sim#le #rocesses1 for e9am#le wood, clay, and te9tiles, as well as horn, straw, leather, and glass! *ooden ob>ects that often recei ed fine car ed decoration include items of furniture, utensils such as s#oons and clothes/beaters, and yokes for o9en! Ceramics range from #lain ser iceable earthenware essels through a ast ariety of decorated wares to delightful ornamental figurines, and te9tile arts co er wea ing, embroidery, ta#estry, lacemaking, and the creation of the distincti e regional styles of dress that are the best/known as#ect of folk art! For centuries the agricultural economy in many regions relied on the ser ices of the blacksmithGs forge, and traditions of decorati e metalwork are also wides#read! In (uro#e and North .merica decorati e iron weather anes were es#ecially #o#ular! Folk designs make bold, isually satisfying use of line and colour! Cotifs are traditional 7some can be traced from ancient and e en #rehistoric art8, or may be ada#ted from the decorati e ocabulary of fine art, to which they add a new sim#licity and e9#ressi e strength! These )ualities are enhanced by symmetrical com#ositions based on dramatic geometric and cur ilinear forms! Figure #ainting uses shar#ly defined contours, and communicates its narrati e or symbolic content ery directly! Car ed or

modelled forms gi e the im#ression of igorous working, though without subtle ariations in the )uality of line and handling! Folk architecture often balances strong, sim#lified forms with res#onsi e detailing! Thus the stee# #itched roof used in farmhouses throughout northern (uro#e create almost triangular front and back ele ations that may be articulated with decorati e brickwork or woodbrick! The basic log/cabin of Russian illage houses is similarly com#lemented by elaborately car ed window frames! III 0T;,(0 .ND TR.DITION0 In the United 0tates folk art #lays a ma>or role in defining what is #ercei ed as a )uintessential .merican domestic style! .fter Inde#endence , the newly constituted United 0tates sought a national style that would embody an amalgam of the many di erse folk traditions that the early settlers had brought with them, Today certain traditions of North .merican folk art ha e ac)uired the status of national icons 7and command high #rices at auction8, notably the austerely graceful furniture #roduced in the 0haker community or the )uilts made by the .mish women of "ennsyl ania, with their beautifully balanced colour schemes and geometric designs! Cany of these traditions ha e a (uro#ean lineage that can be traced to settlers from the Netherlands, Britain, 2ermany, and elsewhere! These #eo#le, a ery heterogeneous 4folk5 were originally sim#ly trying to re/create surroundings in the New *orld by using the art styles and craft skills that they had brought with them! In .merica, distinct regional folk/art traditions that in (uro#e had #ersisted for centuries were soon influenced both by each other and by the new en ironment! On the (ast Coast, wood was #lentiful and was used for #arts of buildings that in (uro#e would ha e been constructed of stone or brick! 0ur i ing .merican houses of the $@th century clearly show the de elo#ment from the imitation of (uro#ean styles to a distincti e new idiom! In ,atin .merica, #articularly Ce9ico, the fusion of Catholicism with indigenous customs and festi als has #roduced a #articularly e9uberant folk art! This is seen nowhere more clearly than in the festi al of the Day of the Dead, which is celebrated with striking and elaborate skeletal figures some life/si3e, some made as toys in #ottery or #a#ier mIch? and dressed in brightly coloured fabrics! Other figures, such as that of +udas, are made for feast days more closely associated with Christianity! The retablo 7an e9/ oto #ainting of a religious figure8 is another outstanding form of folk art in Ce9ico and the south/western United 0tates! In (ngland the term 4folk5 carries o ertones of a #re/industrial agricultural idyll, sim#le life, imagined to ha e e9isted before the Industrial Re olution, to which the middle classes of the $Ath and D=th centuries looked back with yearning! ;et some of the most ital (nglish folk art, for e9am#le the decorati e #ainting and ro#ework found on canal narrowboats or the car ed and #ointed horses on steam/#owered fairground carousels, belong to an industriali3ed, essentially urban world! There are rich traditions associated with #articular trades and occu#ations, such as the straw roof ornaments created by thatchers, decorated and beautifully fitted out gy#sy cara ans, and the many ob>ects #roduced by mariners that range from car ed whalebone 7scrimshaw8 to shi#s in bottles! 0ome industrially #roduced #ottery, such as the gla3ed earthenware 0taffordshire figures, has the colouring and nai e igour of folk art! (astern (uro#ean folk art has a ery aried re#ertoire of designs, many of which can be traced to Classical of Islamic motifs! . bold gra#hic element is es#ecially strong in the folk art of Russia, which has been o#en to influences both from the *est and, ia the ancient 0ilk Route, from (ast .sia! Folk art in Russia has long #layed a role in different #olitical agendas6 during the $Ath century the folk idiom was seen as a irile symbol of im#erial Russian nationhood, and at the time of the Russian Re olution, artists and designers ada#ted elements of folk art to e9#ress the new #olitical order!

Cany museums worldwide ha e good collections of folk art, and nation museums dedicated to folk art include the Cuseums of Folk .rt, Coscow1 Cuseo de .rte "o#ular, Ce9ico City1 Cuseum of .merican Folk .rt, New ;ork1 0taatliches Cuseum fJr :Klkerkunde, Cunich1 Cuseum fJr :olksunde, :ienna1 and Cuseo Na3ionale delle .rti e delle Tradi3ioni "o#olari, Rome! Folktales I INTRODUCTION Folktales, generic term for the arious kinds of narrati e #rose literature found in the oral traditions of the world! One of the many forms of folklore, folktales are heard and remembered, and they are sub>ect to arious alterations in the course of retellings! .s they are diffused 7transmitted through a culture8, some folktales may #ass in and out of written literature 7for e9am#le, the 4Ri# :an *inkle5 story8, and some stories of literary origin may cross o er into oral tradition! Ne ertheless, an essential trait of folktalesH and all folk literatureHis their diffusion, and their #assage from one generation to another, by word of mouth! The #rinci#al kinds of folktales are myths 7see Cythology8, legends, and CLrchen, or fairy tales! In common usage, these terms are interchangeable1 they refer to any highly imaginati e conce#t or narrati e and usually carry an im#lication of falsehood and incredibility! To folklorists, howe er, each of the three re#resents a distinct form of the folktale! Other forms include animal tales and fables, tall tales, formula tales, >okes and anecdotes, as well as cante fables 7folk stories #artly in song or erse8! 0ee .lso Ballad! II FO,-T.,( 0CFO,.R0FI" In the early $Ath century great interest in folktales was created by the #ublication of Fousehold Tales 7D ols, $%$D/$%$E1 trans! $%%&8 by the 2erman #hilologists +acob and *ilhelm 2rimm 7see 2rimm Brothers8! Their work stimulated writers of many other nations, including the 0cottish classicist and folklorist .ndrew ,ang and the Danish author Fans Christian .ndersen, to #ublish and retell similar materials of their own #eo#les! The 2rimm brothers noted great similarity in themes and characters among 2erman and other (uro#ean folktales1 later folklorists disco ered resemblances between (uro#ean folktales and those of other continents! Cuch $Ath/century scholarshi# concentrated on attem#ts to account for these similarities! 2enerally, the $Ath/century scholars were unaware of the ast store of .frican, Nati e .merican, and Oceanic lore that e9isted inde#endently of the Indo/(uro#ean tradition! They sought their e9#lanations in those #arts of the world that seemed im#ortant to them! Thus, the 2rimms #ostulated a common Indo/(uro#ean origin for folktales, and the 2erman #hilologist Theodor Benfey as well as the 0cottish writer *illiam Clouston belie ed that stories diffused by way of tra ellers migrating east and west from India! 0uch theories, howe er, ha e #ro en incom#lete and inade)uate! Ne ertheless, the research of these and other scholars greatly stimulated interest in folklore and folktales! The 2erman scholar Ca9 Culler held that myths originated when 0anskrit and other ancient languages began to deteriorate, and when the 0cottish classicist and folklorist .ndrew ,ang attacked this iew, folktales became the sub>ect of additional attention! Research was further stimulated by the immense #o#ularity of The 2olden Bough 7$%A=8, a $D/ olume com#endium of ancient lore by the British anthro#ologist 0ir +ames 2eorge Fra3er! Core recently, researchersHmany of them influenced by the 2erman/.merican anthro#ologist Fran3 BoasHha e collected and made in/de#th studies of tales and lore from e ery #art of the world! 0ome, following the leads of the Finnish folklorist .ntti .arne and the .merican folklorist 0tith Thom#son, ha e #re#ared full geogra#hical and historical sur eys of all the known ariants of widely disseminated tales, always with an eye to disco ering and cataloguing the basic tale ty#es and motifs! .arne #roduced a catalogue in $A$=, which Thom#son enlarged and translated in $AD%! This catalogue became the Ty#e/ Inde91 it classifies the #lots of a ariety of folktales! Thom#sonGs Cotif/Inde9 catalogues narrati e

elementsHsuch as ob>ects, s#ecial animals, conce#ts, actions, or charactersHfound in folktales! .s a result of the work of #ast researchers, few folklorists today belie e that any one theory is satisfactory in e9#laining the similarities and ariations in the folktales and folklore of the world! 0ome modern authors, critics, and literary scholars, hea ily influenced by the writings of the #sychoanalysts 0igmund Freud and Carl +ung, use the term myth in a more generali3ed way than defined here! In this usage 7which aries from writer to writer8, myth refers to recurring symbols and motifs that are shared by all #eo#le in all #laces and that ser e as a common language for the e9#ression of ideas, alues, and emotions! *hen used in this way, myth is not shar#ly distinguished from legend or CLrchen, or e en from literary genres such as no els and dramas, which are all considered more recent forms assumed by humanityGs urge to e9#ress itself through myths! III C;TF0 *hen strictly defined, myths are folktales that are religious and e9#lain the uni erse and its inhabitants! 0uch stories are considered true by both the narrator and the audience and tell of the creation and regulation of the worldHtasks usually #erformed by a deity 7god or goddess8 who e9ists in chaos, in a oid, or in some other world! *ith a series of offs#ring and com#anions, the deity gi es form to the world and introduces life to it, then #roceeds on a series of ad entures and struggles in which he or she does such things as liberating the sun, the moon, water, or fire1 regulating the winds1 originating corn, beans, or nuts1 defeating monsters1 and teaching mortals how to hunt and #lough! Called a culture hero, the being who #erforms these tasks may take the form of a human 7as does Meus in ancient 2reek myths8 or an animal 7as do Coyote and Ra en in Nati e .merican tales8! Fe or she may fre)uently change sha#e! 0ome mythologies, such as those of the Nati e .mericans and the *est .fricans, in ol e whole cycles in which the culture hero is a trickster who is small and resourceful, as well as greedy, #retentious, deceitful, and stu#idHa #arado9ical creature who is tricked or tricks himself as often as tricking others! Thus, .nansi the 0#ider, the trickster/hero of a great body of *est .frican folktales, seems both to instruct human beings in what not to do and to illustrate the #rice of such rebellion from the #ro#er way! .nalogous figures in folktales of other cultures are Brer Rabbit in .frican/ .merican folktales, as well as Coyote, Ra en, and Fare in North .merican tales! I: ,(2(ND0 ,egends are folk history, and e en when dealing with religious sub>ect matter they differ from myth in that they tell about what has ha##ened in the world after the #eriod of its creation is o er! They are belie ed by both narrator and audience and encom#ass a great ariety of sub>ects6 saints1 werewol es, ghosts, and other su#ernatural creatures1 ad entures of real heroes and heroines1 #ersonal reminiscences1 and e9#lanations of geogra#hical features and #lace names 7called local legends8! ,egend differs from formal history in style of #resentation, em#hasis, and #ur#ose! ,ike other folktale forms it tends to be formulaic, using clich?s and standardi3ed characteri3ation! ,ittle effort, for e9am#le, is gi en to recording what a hero was really like! +esse +ames, an actual .merican outlaw, is #resented as a modern/day Robin Food6 a good/hearted character who stole from the rich to gi e to the #oor! The .merican wilderness scouts Da y Crockett and -it Carson are irtually the same character in legends! ,ikewise, Felen of Troy and Cleo#atra 7of ancient (gy#t8, Deirdre 7of Irish legend8, and more recently the modern actress Carilyn Conroe ha e #assed into folklore as symbols of female beauty with almost no indi iduality! . similar #atterning of characters and #lots occurs in ghost stories, local legends, and in some cases e en in family reminiscences! 0uch stories, though they may be #resented as history, are too #atterned to be trusted as ob>ecti e historical accounts! Urban legends are contem#orary stories that are set in an urban en ironment and re#orted as true 7sometimes in news#a#ers8 but that contain #atterns and motifs that re eal their legendary character! The

conte9t of these legends may be contem#orary, but the stories reflect timeless concerns about urban li ing, including #ri acy, death, decay, and ermin! : CNRCF(N Fairy tales, or CLrchen 7the 2erman word #referred by scholars to designate this genre8, are fiction! Taking #lace in a wonderland filled with magic and strange characters, they are belie ed by neither narrator nor audience! .lthough the su#ernatural abounds in CLrchen, few of them ha e to do with fairies 7see Fairy and Fairy Tale8! .lthough CLrchen deal with a great range of sub>ect matter 7as stories such as 4Cinderella5, 40now *hite5, or 4,ittle Red Riding Food5 demonstrate8, a ty#ical #lot in ol es an underdog hero or heroine who is #ut through great trials or must #erform seemingly im#ossible tasks, and who, with magical assistance, secures his or her birthright or a suitable marriage #artner ! Fre)uently, such stories begin 4Once u#on a time5 and end 4.nd they li ed ha##ily e er after5! Often 7es#ecially in the United 0tates8 called 4+ack Tales5 after the name commonly gi en to the hero, CLrchen ha e become #o#ular stories for children, although originally adults and children alike en>oyed them! :I O:(R,.""IN2 OF FORC0 .ttem#ts at clear/cut definitions such as those gi en abo e for myth, legend, and CLrchen may be useful, but must not be taken too literally, for the three forms o erla#! Bodies of tales such as those relating the e9#loits of Fercules or -ing .rthur are mi9tures of myth and legend, ho ering between the two forms, fre)uently using conce#ts and motifs common to CLrchen as well! . ma>or reason for this is that tales are continually shifting function 7and so definition8 as societies con)uer one another, mingle, and change beliefs! . story no longer acce#ted as religious and e9#lanatory may sur i e as history or e en fancy! On the other hand, legendary heroes and heroines may assume godlike )ualities, and their ad entures may become encrusted with mythological significance! The definition of any folktale de#ends on its function in a society and the way the narrator and the audience think of it at the time of #erformance! Brer Rabbit stories were recited as #art of the mythology of *est .fricans before .fricans were brought as sla es to the .merican 0outh! In .merica, howe er, *est .frican religion was almost obliterated by Christianity, and although .frican/.mericans continued to tell Brer Rabbit stories, these tales no longer functioned mythologically! :II OTF(R FO,-T.,( FORC0 The other forms of folktales are also wides#read throughout the world! .nimal tales fall into two ma>or categories6 those, such as the trickster tale, in which animals are actually belie ed to ha e the #ower of s#eech and the ability to conduct themsel es as humans1 and those in which the animalsG human )ualities are sim#ly a con ention that is acce#ted during the course of the narrati e such as in the medie al beast cycles 7for e9am#le, the tales of Reynard the Fo98, or in the fable, with its moralistic ending! *hen they are not mythological, animal tales ha e often been a means to hide #olitical or social satire! .lthough the #oint is sometimes dis#uted, the Brer Rabbit stories may ha e ser ed a similar function! Certainly the medie al beast cycles were filled with criticism of church and state that would ha e been dangerous to #resent directly! Tall tales, stories that the narrator does not belie e but that are su##osed to du#e the nai e listener, are #articularly associated with the U0 frontier, although ariants of such stories were well known in earlier times in (uro#e and .sia! In the United 0tates, tall tales were #resented to the city dweller as true #ictures of life out *est! They rely for their comic effect on the incongruity between sober narration and fantastic elements in the stories themsel es! They feature two #rotagonists whose character traits are fre)uently interchangeable6 the Roarer, a bragging, swearing, hard/drinking brawler1 and the ;ankee, a )uick/ thinking trader who is a rogue beneath a bland e9terior! The .merican frontier scouts Da y Crockett and

Cike Fink are two of the most famous characters in .merican tall tales, but many of these stories do not feature a hero1 they sim#ly tell of such #henomena as corn that grows so fast it knocks #eo#le down or hoo# snakes that roll in #ursuit of their #rey! Formula tales include endless stories 7a #erson carrying grains of wheat across a ri er one at a time81 cumulati e tales, in ol ing additions to a re#eated basic statement 7for e9am#le, the well/known 4Fouse That +ack Built581 and catch stories, with sur#rise endings that often shift the story from serious to #unning or cle er! Cany formula tales, and a good many tall tales as well, are related to the ast body of >okes and facetious anecdotes that circulate in all societies! This genre com#rises a huge range of material Hboth inoffensi e and ris)u?Hfrom ignettes about numbskulls and fools, se9ual encounters, and confusions caused by dialects, to the modern shaggy/dog story! .nother folktale form is the cante fable, a form that has always been more #o#ular in the Caribbean region than in mainland North .merica! The cante fable is a story, often an animal tale or a CLrchen, in which song or rhyme is inters#ersed into the s#oken #rose narrati e! The CLrchen 4+ack and the Beanstalk5 has such a rhyme6 4Fee/fi/fo/fumOI smell the blood of an (nglishman5! *here Caribbean influence is strong in the United 0tates, singers may #erform songs such as 4Frankie and +ohnny5 or 4+ohn Fenry5 as cante fable, reciting more than they sing! :III TF( RO,( OF FO,-T.,( Fuman beings ha e always been storytellers! *here they ha e not had a Bible, history books, no els, or short stories, and before such literary forms were de ised, they ha e entertained themsel es, instructed younger generations, and ke#t their records with the many/faceted folktale! Folk Music I INTRODUCTION Folk Cusic, music that is transmitted orally 7handed down through #erformance rather than with notation, and learned by hearing8! It is com#osed by indi iduals who remain anonymous or, at any rate, are not remembered by name! Folk music is found in most of the worldPs societies, and it e9ists in different guises and under a ariety of social and cultural conditions! (m#hasis in this article is on the folk music of *estern nations, but ariety is so great that the statements gi ing locations and characteri3ations are illustrati e rather than com#rehensi e! II R(,.TION TO TF( COCCUNIT; "erformed by members of the folk community who are not highly trained musical s#ecialists, folk music is often closely associated with the calendrical cycle and with key e ents in a #ersonPs life as well as with such acti ities as ritual, work, and child/rearing! Folk music is said to be the music of largely rural, untutored masses in societies where an educated, economic, #olitical, as well as musical, elite also e9ists, the music of the latter, by contrast, being called 4classical5 or 4art music5! *hen a folk song is #assed from singer to singer, it tends to undergo change arising from creati e im#ulses, faulty memory, the aesthetic alues of those who learn and teach it, and the influence of the styles of other musics known to the singers! . folk song thus de elo#s ariants, gradually changingH #erha#s beyond recognitionHand e9isting in many forms! 0ince many #eo#le #artici#ate in determining the sha#e of a song, this #rocess is called communal recreation! Folk music is normally affected by the art music of nearby cultural centres 7for e9am#le, cities, courts, monasteries8, and it fre)uently functions as a kind of cultural backwater that retains characteristics of older art music for long #eriods! Folk music may also be defined as the music with which an ethnic community most closely identifies itself! It is music that generally flourishes outside institutions such as school and church!

.lthough this #icture of folk music is basically correct, #articularly for the rural cultures of *estern (uro#e before the D=th century, many e9ce#tions to this model must be noted! The boundaries between folk and other kinds of music are not clear! 0ongs from the realm of classical music are sometimes ada#ted by the folk community! "o#ular music, de elo#ed in urban cultures and transmitted through the mass media, bears some of the characteristics of folk music! Folk cultures sometimes de elo# musical s#ecialists, #articularly instrumentalists and singers of lengthy e#ics! The words of folk songs may be #assed on through written or #rinted tradition, e en if the music is oral! .lthough something like folk music e9ists in many cultures that also #ossess a learned musical tradition, for e9am#le, India, China, and the Ciddle (ast, its role in society and among other kinds of music aries! Thus, in India, a shar#er line is drawn than in the *est between classical and folk music, while in the Ciddle (ast, a musician is likely to #artici#ate in both folk and classical genres! In Iran, folk music is called 4regional music5, and it is #erformed by musicians who are actually more s#eciali3ed than those of the classical tradition! The term folk music is not accurately used to describe the music of cultures that ha e no musical stratification, that is, no classical music as a contrast! In general, folk music is known by the way it is taught and learned, by its relati e sim#licity, and by its association with an ethnic or national grou#! III CU0IC., 0TRUCTUR( .lthough the folk musics of (uro#ean cultures ary enormously, they share some general characteristics! The music is relati ely sim#le, usually consisting of songs with stro#hic forms1 that is, a short stan3a is re#eated with different words, se eral or many times! The most common stan3a ty#e has four lines, sometimes all different 7.BCD8, but more fre)uently with some re#etition 7..B., .BB., and so on8! The use of anti#hony, or alternation between a leader and a chorus, each singing one line or stan3a, is common throughout (uro#e! Cuch instrumental folk music #resents successions of lines, each re#eated or aried once 7..BBCCDD or ..GBBG, and so on8! (#ic songs, with great em#hasis on telling a com#le9 story, may re#eat a single musical line many times! .lthough the com#osers are unschooled, the ways of relating musical materials are often so#histicated! Thus, in Central and (astern (uro#e, the techni)ue of trans#osition 7re#eating a line at different #itch le els8 is wides#read, as in a ty#ical Fungarian form in which the second half re#eats the first a fifth lower 7.E.E..8! The melodic material of (uro#ean folk music is closely related to that of art music! 0e en/tone scales, sometimes using tonalities and modes 7like those of medie al church music8, are widely used! The Dorian and Ci9olydian modes are common in (nglish folk song1 the "hrygian, in 0#anish! (s#ecially common throughout (uro#e are #entatonic scalesHfi e notes arranged like the black keys of the #iano! Core sim#le scales with three or four notes are found in childrenPs ditties, counting/out rhymes, and songs of #re/Christian rituals! Rhythm is sometimes related to ersification 7the metric structure of #oetry8! (nglish folk song te9ts fre)uently use lines of four iambic feet, and the accom#anying melodies are often set in one of three rhythmic #atterns6

In (astern (uro#e, com#le9 rhythms such as DQDQDQ< beats, as well as measures of fi e, se en, ele en, and thirteen beats, may be found, #articularly in the Balkan countries! Instrumental folk music tends to be rhythmically re#etiti e, a characteristic that may also be found in Central (uro#e, where com#le9 structuresHsuch as the irregular alternation of four and three beats in Ba arian dancesHare used!

Cost folk music is mono#honic, unaccom#anied melody! Instrumental accom#animent may #ro ide sim#le chords or, fre)uently, a drone 7one note or chord re#eated under a melody8! "oly#honic singing, with two or three oices #ursuing inde#endent melodies, is found #articularly in 2ermany and .ustria, Italy, 0#ain, the Balkans, and other Central and (astern (uro#ean countries! Cost fre)uently, singers relate the oices to one another by singing the same tune at different #itch le elsHin thirds or si9ths 72ermany, Italy, 0#ain, the *estern 0la ic countries81 fourths or fifths 7Russia, Ukraine81 or seconds 7the Balkans8! Drones 7Italy8, rounds or canons 7uni ersal8, and more com#le9 relationshi#s 7Russia, the Balkans8 are also known! "oly#honic folk music is rare in .sia1 in some countries such as Iran and .fghanistan, howe er, #oly#hony is more common in folk music than in classical music! . striking contrast between folk and art music is in the use of the oice and the tone colour of instruments! The bel canto style of lyrical, smoothly #hased singing is rarely used! In each culture or area, a characteristic ocal sound has been de elo#ed and is fa oured! In areas of 0#ain, Italy, and the Balkans, a tense, nasal sound and highly ornamented melodies are used! In 2ermany, the C3ech Re#ublic, 0lo akia, "oland, and Russia, a more o#en/throated, clear sound and unembellished melodies are #referred! . mi9ed style lying between the two is found in industriali3ed regions, including #arts of Britain and France! 0imilarly, folk fiddlers do not use the ibrato or the slurred method of bowing of concert iolinists, but instead gi e each note a fresh stroke of the bow! In U0 folk music, singing style is the #rimary element that distinguishes among eastern, western, southern, and black .merican traditions! I: TF( 0ON20 The style traits described abo e characteri3e regions and countries! The folk tunes themsel es, while de elo#ing ariants, usually also remain in their homelands! Occasionally, howe er, they #ass from one country to another, their style changing in the #rocess! . song may be sung solo in one country, and its ariant may be choral in another! It may be #entatonic in one and use the ma>or scale in another! Indeed, ery similar tunes are found in nations as far a#art as 0#ain and Fungary, but in each country the tune reflects the local style! This may be the result of the diffusion of tunes, or of the e9istence of a standardi3ed way of com#osing that is bound to #roduce similar tunes sometimes! The relationshi# of similar tunes in far/a#art communities cannot be traced! Ne ertheless, among the thousands of folk tunes known in one country, it is #ossible to identify those that a##ear to be related! They all seem to ha e come from a single #arent tune through the #rocess of oral tradition and communal recreation! . grou# of such related tunes is called a tune family! .lthough many folk tunes are centuries old, most of the ersions now known come from records or #rinted collections rarely more than a hundred years old! Com#arisons of these ariants can re eal how a tune family may ha e de elo#ed! Tunes may be shortened1 for e9am#le, when the four/line 4"retty Cohea5 of .nglo/ .merican tradition became 4On To# of Old 0moky5, it seems to ha e lost its first two lines! . shortened ersion may then ha e new lines added! In the interior of a musical line, the second of two contrasting bits of melody may be forgotten and re#laced by a re#etition of the first! . tune may borrow a line from a com#letely unrelated family1 thus, in C3ech folk songs, which often use the form ..B., the line B may mo e to other tunes as an inde#endent unit! The number of tune families in a gi en folk music re#ertory seems to ary greatly! Fungarian folk music seems to ha e hundreds! The .merican scholar 0amuel Bayard stated in $AE= that .nglo/.merican folk music is dominated by some &= or E= families, of which @ account for the ast ma>ority! In Iran, each genre of te9t, such as songs about heroic warlords, or songs about the martyrdom of Cuslim holy men, seems to be associated with one ty#e of melody1 thus, the total number of families is ery small! . set of words such as a ballad, with its characteristic story, may be sung consistently with one tune and its ariants! Ty#ically, howe er, it will sometimes also be sung to tunes from se eral families, and the arious members of a tune family will be sung to a ariety of te9ts! Because these te9ts, such as ballad

stories, diffuse, they are held in common by a number of countries in (uro#e and the .mericas1 the same is true of members of a tune family! The two do not, howe er, usually mo e together! The ballad 4,ady Isabel and the (lf/-night5, common in (nglish folk music, is found all o er (uro#e, but in each country it is sung to a distinct grou# of tunes! The large number of tunes in a ty#ical folk music re#ertory is the basis for arious systems of tune classification! Because oral tradition is so un#redictable, what remains constant when a tune is changed differs markedly from culture to culture! For these and other reasons, no satisfactory way has yet been de elo#ed to classify all the tunes that are generically related members of one family! In (nglish folk song, for e9am#le, contour 7the general outline of melodic mo ement8 remains constant, whereas in Fungarian folk music, the consistent elements are the rhythm and the configuration of final notes of the se eral 7usually four8 #hrases! : T;"(0 OF 0ON20 One way to e9amine the function of folk songs is to define the uses in society of different ty#es of folk song! .mong the best/known kinds of folk music is the ballad, which can best be described as a song that, in a set of stan3as, tells a story in ol ing one main incident! In the (nglish/s#eaking world, 4Barbara .llen5 and 4,ord Randall5, both sung in countless ariants, are among the best known! The .merican scholar Francis +ames Child collected <=E of the oldest (nglish and 0cottish ballads, which he classified and numbered 7because ariants ha e no standard titles8! These songs are thus called 4Child Ballads51 4Barbara .llen5 is Child @%, 4,ord Randall5 Child $D, and so on! Child ballads ha e been #articularly well #reser ed in the United 0tates and Canada, and they constitute an es#ecially large #ro#ortion of the body of folk songs in .##alachia! 0ung mostly to rather old tunes, which are fre)uently #entatonic, they show little influence from art or #o#ular music! Core recently com#osed ballads, often circulated in #rinted form on large sheets called broadsides and then #assed on orally, fre)uently use tunes in ma>or or minor! They are often sung with instrumental accom#animent and are closer to #o#ular song and modern "rotestant hymn styles! Their te9ts concern unha##y lo e, murders, e ents of war, and tragedies such as railway wrecks! In contrast to the Child ballads, broadside ballads are s#ecific and consistent in gi ing names, #laces, and dates, at one time ser ing as a way of disseminating news! .lthough (nglish ballads are best known in North .merica, the ballad as a ty#e is found in all *estern cultures! .nother ty#e of narrati e folk song is the e#ic, a drawn/out account focusing on the e9#loits of a heroic figure in wars and other conflicts! Found mainly in the Balkans, Russia, Finland, and the Ciddle (ast, e#ics are usually organi3ed in lines or cou#lets rather than stan3as! Best known are the 0erbian e#ics telling about conflict between Christians and Cuslims 7c! $D==/$'==8! 0ung by #rofessional singers in caf?s, and sometimes taking se eral hours to com#lete, they are #artially im#ro ised with the use of melodic formulas and are accom#anied by the gusle 7a fiddle with a skin belly and one string of horsehair8! In Iran, e#ics concern #re/Islamic kings and the deeds of the early leaders of Islam! (#ic folk traditions are found throughout .sia! Related to the narrati e songs are genres of folk theatre, found throughout .sia and in #arts of (uro#e! 0imilar to the medie al mystery #lays, they can be illustrated by narrations of the Christmas story in dialogue form1 in these genres, the style of the music is ty#ically sim#le, in ol ing re#etiti e melodies with short formulas and few tones! . large grou# of folk songs may be called calendric, that is, they accom#any rituals that mark ma>or e ents in life or in the yearPs arious cycles! Included are songs sung at the birth of infants and at #uberty, wedding songs, and funeral dirges! In the *est the year is marked by songs of #re/Christian rituals such as those celebrating summer and winter solstice, #lanting and har est1 by music for Christian feasts such as Christmas, (aster, and *hitsun1 and by combinations such as New ;earPs 7with winter solstice8 and 0t +ohnPs 7summer solstice8! Calendric songs are fre)uently archaic, using short forms and restricted scales,

and they are often associated with instruments such as rattles, one/tone wooden trum#ets, and flutes without finger holes! .nother category of folk music in ol es songs for crises such as war and illness! .lthough songs of this kind were #robably common at one time, they are rare now1 their e9istence, howe er, shows the relationshi# of folk music to the music of tribal cultures! Cany work songs are found in *estern cultures and, es#ecially, in the folk music of .frican/deri ed cultures in the .mericas! The #ur#ose of some work songs is to increase the efficiency of work through rhythmic sound! Others, with te9ts that concern agricultural acti ities and other work, function to build the solidarity of the working grou#! .mong this grou# are sea shanties, cowboy songs, and railway songs, many of them narrati e and thus also ballads! Further ty#es of folk songs include lo e songs, songs of general entertainment such as those sung by young #eo#le in the Balkans while taking walks on holidays, and marching songs sung in earlier centuries by soldiers on long marches! ChildrenPs songs include lullabies, game songs, and counting/out rhymes, as well as nursery rhyme songs that ha e an educational #ur#ose! .nother ty#e is religious folk songs, that is, hymns sung in rural churches and e9isting mainly in oral tradition! The main #ur#ose of instrumental folk music is to accom#any dance and, secondarily, marching! .lthough s#ecial #ieces for instruments only are found throughout (uro#e and the .mericas, instrumentally #erformed songs are also common! Occasionally, dancing is accom#anied by singing! In 0candina ia, narrati e ballads were once used for dancing! :I IN0TRUC(NT0 (ach folk culture has a large number of instruments! 0ome, such as bag#i#es, are found throughout (uro#e1 others, such as the 0ardinian launeddas, a set of three reed #i#es #layed by one musician, are used in limited areas! *estern folk instruments can be classified by their origin and history! The folk cultures of (uro#e and .sia share their most archaic instruments with sim#le tribal societies1 they include rattles, sim#le flutes, wooden trum#ets, +ewPs har#s, and drums and are fre)uently used for archaic rituals or by children as toys! .nother category is that of instruments brought to (uro#e from other cultures, #articularly from the Ciddle (ast1 e9am#les include the hammered dulcimer, found in *estern (uro#e as well as in Fungary 7where it is known as the cimbalom8, but #robably originating in Iran! . third category is made u# of instruments de elo#ed in the folk culture itself, such as fiddles made from wooden shoes in the ,ow Countries! The largest grou# of instruments com#rises those taken from urban culture, such as the iolin, clarinet, double bass, and accordion, which were ado#ted without much change! 0ome instruments, once widely used in art music, were later relegated mostly to folk use1 e9am#les include guitars, mandolins and dulcimers, and the Norwegian Fardanger fiddle, a iolin with sym#athetic strings! The hurdy/gurdy, a fiddle using mechanical sto#s instead of fingers to change the #itches is sounded by a rosined wheel instead of a bow! The large, two/#erson ty#e was once used in church and art music1 it was later sim#lified for folk use! Folk music instruments are often #layed solo or to accom#any singing! (nsembles of instruments of many kinds are also found! They include non/#rofessional ersions of art music ensembles such as brass bands and 0candina ian grou#s of fiddles! "articularly common in central (uro#e is a combination of two iolins with double bass! Cany other grou#s combine one melody/#roducing instrument with drums and other #ercussion! (nsembles of drums and wind instrumentsH#articularly oboesHare also found in folk music of southern .sia and the Ciddle (ast! In some instances one #erson #lays two instruments, as in the #i#e/and/tabor 7flute/and/drum8 combination of *estern (uro#e and 0outh .merica and the iolin and mouth organ in Fungary! The number of ensemble ty#es is ast, but in general folk ensembles

resemble chamber music ensembles rather than orchestras, in that no two instruments #lay #recisely the same #art! :II FO,- CU0IC IN TF( COD(RN *OR,D The #icture #resented thus far a##lies to folk music as it has e9isted in the #ast centuries and continues to e9ist in a few isolated alleys and illage cultures! Cost folk cultures, howe er, ha e changed greatly in the last hundred years! "rinting and the mass media ha e gi en them access to urban culture! Cembers of folk communities ha e mo ed to cities and continued their traditions in changed form! Urban music has, likewise, been affected by folk music! Thus, many #henomena once on the border of folk music ha e taken on greater im#ortance! 0ome e9am#les6 (uro#ean ethnic grou#s now li ing in .merican cities kee# u# their traditions at festi als and #arties to #reser e their ethnic integrity 7not the original functions of the songs8! Dissenting #olitical and social mo ements of the left and the right ha e made a #ractice of writing and #erforming songs in folk style with words su##orting their causes! .merican folksingers of rural origin, such as the Carter family in the $A<=s, or with academic backgrounds, such as "ete 0eeger, ha e become ma>or urban entertainers! This is true in (uro#e, .sia, and .frica as well! "o#ular music makes use of folk styles, and mi9ed styles such as country and western music, folk/rock, soul, and gos#el music ha e emerged! In (astern (uro#e, talented rural folksingers ha e been gi en formal musical training in conser atories! The ty#ical folk community has been e9#osed to many kinds of musical influences! In the former re#ublics of the U00R, instruments once #layed solo were organi3ed into orchestras that entertained in large cities! Contests, folk festi als, and tourism ha e all made inroads into the relati e isolation of the folk community and its music! The character of folk music has changed greatly since *orld *ar II, and the lines se#arating it from other kinds of music ha e become blurred! Ne ertheless, folk music as a worldwide #henomenon, although changing, shows no sign of disa##earing! Cicrosoft R (ncarta R (ncyclo#edia D==D! S $AA</D==$ Cicrosoft Cor#oration! .ll rights reser ed!