Folklore
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Folklore, in short, is perpetually running into mythology; and there are few myths which do not exhibit in some of their features points of likeness to the tales usually classified under the head of folklore." --An Introduction to Mythology and Folklore (1881) by George William Cox |
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Folklore (or lore) is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture, or group. proverbs, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions.
They include material culture, such as traditional building styles common to the group. Folklore also includes customary lore, taking actions for folk beliefs, and the forms and rituals of celebrations such as Christmas, weddings, folk dances, and initiation rites.
Each one of these, either singly or in combination, is considered a folklore artifact or traditional cultural expression. Just as essential as the form, folklore also encompasses the transmission of these artifacts from one region to another or from one generation to the next. Folklore is not something one can typically gain from a formal school curriculum or study in the fine arts. Instead, these traditions are passed along informally from one individual to another, either through verbal instruction or demonstration.
The academic study of folklore is called folklore studies or folkloristics, and it can be explored at the undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. levels.
See also
- Folk
- Legend
- The law of conservation of misery
- European folklore
- Morphology of the Folktale
- Morphology (folkloristics)
- Motif-Index of Folk-Literature
- Toward a Motif-Index of Erotic Humor
