Folklore in Culture

Aug 6

3 min read

Folklore is referred to as the oral tales or knowledge of a culture, often cultures without a script that utilize it to preserve their culture (1). These oral tales can vary from tales, myths, legends, proverbs, poems, and jokes. Folklore reflects the traditions and morals of that particular culture.

While many of the cultures in the modern era have written pieces of their folklore, much of a culture's traditions and oral tales have been lost because they weren't written. This is true for cultures that existed before 4000 BCE since all of their folklore was oral due to the non-existence of any written scripts. It wasn't until later, in 3000 BCE, when Egyptians and Mesopotamians. Eventually, most cultures from all over the world adopted their own form of a written script, and the oral traditions of that time were finally being written down. (2)

Different Types of Folklore

There are three different categories of folklore: verbal, customary, and material. (3)

Verbal Folklore

Verbal folklore often deals with traditions that are often sung or spoken that are passed down through generations. Verbal folklore often deals with different forms of storytelling and oral traditions.

Folk Tales: traditional stories passed, often containing moral lessons, that are shared to entertain, educate, or transmit different values in a culture.
Proverbs: short sentences that are meant to express concise expressions of wisdom
Riddles: passes on entertaining brain teasers for younger generations
Rhymes/Poetry: entertainment purposes
Songs/Ballad: preserving cultural history and heritage

Customary Folklore

Customary Folklore mainly deals with rituals, customs, and cultural practices that are done by a specific community. They also include festivals, which bring together members of that community/culture to celebrate important or religious events/occasions. Dances are often accompanied by activities considered as customary folklore. All of these activities improve the relations within a community and provide a sense of belonging to each individual that belongs to that group.

Material Folklore

Material folklore deals with the physical manifestations of folklore. These can be found in many different forms:

Artwork: Ranging from sculptures to crafts, artworks express the creative side of a community
Architecture: the techniques affiliated with architecture have been passed down and showcase the unique techniques of different communities.
Textiles: this embodies the cultural identity of a community, traditional wear, and the techniques used by these craftsmen in this specific culture

Oral Vs. Written Folklore

Oral folklore is only spread through word of mouth, while written folklore is only spread through written communication (4). Oral communication is older than writing due to previous generations not having a written script but with the existence of written, many wonders, which should be the primary mode of transmitting folklore. The main points for each form of communication are:

Literacy: Oral communication does not require either party to be literate, while written communication requires both parties to be literate, limiting the number of people who can transmit or understand a culture's folklore.
Transaction of knowledge: Oral communication can transfer information faster than written communication, which gives it a bit of an edge in this sense since many don't like drawn-out explanations or stories.
Proof: There is no proof for any oral communication since it isn't written down like written communication. This provides a basis of evidence that the story or piece of folklore is actually real and not made up.
Verbal cues: Some people, when relaying information, tend to emphasize certain words or make gestures with their hands to infer something, while written communication lacks that aspect entirely since the person has to take everything literally.
Misunderstanding: It's very easy to misunderstand any oral information because the information may not be clear in your mind or because you fill in any missing gaps with your own perspective. Written communication prevents this entirely since everything is on the page for the person to understand.

Role of Folklore in Modern Society

Cultural Identity: helping individuals of society understand where they come from
Transmission of knowledge: allowing younger generations to take the knowledge of previous generations and apply it to their lives.
Community Bonds: aiding the community relationships by strengthening them

Conclusion

Folklore is a vital part of a culture, reflecting their beliefs and values through different forms of expression. It plays a huge role in advising younger generations and helping those generations understand where they came from. By understanding your culture and your folklore, you gain a deeper understanding of both yourself and your community as a whole.

Folklore in Culture

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