Folklore, and Fairytales and Bears,

Oh My!

ELE 616 Research in Children’s Literature

Fall 2011

What is Folklore?–Folklore is the traditional art, literature, knowledge, and practice that is disseminated largely through oral communication and behavioral example. Every group with a sense of its own identity shares, as a central part of that identity, folk traditions–the things that people traditionally believe (planting practices, family traditions, and other elements of worldview), do(dance, make music, sew clothing), know (how to build an irrigation dam, how to nurse an ailment, how to prepare barbecue), make(architecture, art, craft), and say (personal experience stories, riddles, song lyrics).

What about Folktales?

What are folktales?– Folktales are usually stories that have

been passed down from generation to generation in spoken form. Often we do not know who was the original author and it is possible that some stories might have been concocted around a campfire by a whole group of people. It is quite normal to discover that there are many versions of the tale, some very similar but others may have only one or two characters in common and take place in totally different settings.

And Fairy Tales?

But what are fairy tales? – Our term in English comes directly from the French,

the “contes de fées” that became popular in France at the end of the seventeenth century.

– But many, even most, of the stories we call fairy tales do not have any fairies in them. (Think of “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Snow White,” for example. Wolves that speak, magic mirrors, yes. But no fairies.)

– When we speak of fairy tales, we seem to mean several things at once: tales that include elements of folk tradition and magical or supernatural elements, tales that have a certain, predictable structure.

• E. W. Harries (2001) Twice upon a time: Women writers and the history of the fairy tale. Introduction: Once, not long ago.

Let me state this plainly:

– . . . fairy tales do not have to be stories about fairies.

– . . . fairy tales are part of folklore, but folk tales are not

necessarily fairy tales. The simplest way to explain this is to

think of fairy tales as a subgenre of folklore along with myths

and legends.

– Be aware that this website and most fairy tale studies deal with

literary fairy tales, tales that are once removed from oral

tradition, set down on paper by one or more authors. Once the

story is written down, it becomes static in that version. It is no

longer only folklore, but part of the world's body of literature.

• For info about the website‟s author, see Who is Heidi Anne Heiner?

Folktales vs Literary Fairy Tales

Folk tales:–humbler stories than the great cosmological myth

cycles or long heroic Romances, and as such have been passed through the generations largely by the lower caste portions of society: women, peasants, slaves, and outcast groups such as the gypsies.

The literary fairy tale:–began as an art form of the upper classes -- made possible by

advances in printing methods and rising literacy. Literary fairy tales borrow heavily from the oral folk tales of the peasant tradition (as well from myth, Romance, and literary sources like Apuleius‟s Golden Ass and Boccaccio‟s Decameron), but these motifs are crafted and reworked through a single author‟s imagination. • Les Contes de Fées: The Literary Fairy Tales of France by Terri

Windling

Origin of “fairy tales” in France

The salon tales (1690-1704)

– It was in the French salons that the term “fairy-tale” (conte de

fee) was coined -- a colorful but misleading label, as many of

the stories falling under it do not contain creatures called

“fairies” at all. Rather, they are wonder tales, or marchen (to

use the German word) -- tales about ordinary men and women

in a world invested with magic.

– Although Charles Perrault is the name history has singled out

from this prolific group, he was by no means the only popular

writer of French conte de fee. The majority of the works

collected and published in the Cabinet des Fees were written by

the women who ran and attended the leading salons of the day.

• by Terri Windling

Another genre of fairy tales

The Oriental Fairy Tale

A Third Type of Fairy Tale

The comic and conventional fairy tale

The Tales Return to the People

The power of cheap printing– The printing press has been considered one of

the greatest inventions in history by many, for without it the world as we know it today would not have developed. For the study of history and popular culture its invention is priceless. Printing allowed for the first time the recording of the tastes, values, and concerns of the population beyond the power structure of the Church and state. It preserved hundreds of years of oral tradition that may otherwise have been lost; without the printing press, the collectors of folktales in the nineteenth century, headed by the brothers Grimm, would not have been as fruitful.• early modern bestsellers: chapbooks and ballads

The Brothers Grimm

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

– Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm - famous for their classical

collections of folk songs and folktales, especially for

KINDER- UND HAUSMÄRCHEN (Children's and

Household Tales); generally known as Grimm's Fairy Tales.

Stories such as „Snow White‟ and „Sleeping Beauty‟ have

been retold countless times, but they were first written down

by the Brothers Grimm. In their collaboration Wilhelm, who

was the more imaginative and literary of the two, selected and

arranged the stories, while Jacob was responsible for the

scholarly work.

• Wilhelm (Carl) Grimm (1786-1859)

• see also Jacob Grimm

A Bear-tale from the Grimm brothers

The Willow-Wren and the Bear

Once in summer-time the bear and the

wolf were walking in the forest, and the bear

heard a bird singing so beautifully that he said:

“Brother wolf, what bird is it that sings so

well?” “That is the King of birds,” said the

wolf, “before whom we must bow down.” In

reality the bird was the willow-wren.

• Read the rest of the story here!

Another tale-collecting pair!

A Norwegian pair(not brothers this time, though)

Peter Christen

Asbjørnsen

(1812-1885)

Jørgen Moe

(1813-1882)

In 1842-1843 the first installment of

their work appeared, under the title of

Norske Folkeeventyr (Norwegian Folk

Tales), which was received at once all

over Europe as a most valuable

contribution to comparative mythology

as well as literature. A second volume

was published in 1844, and a new

collection in 1871. Many of the

Folkeeventyr were translated into

English by Sir George Dasent in 1859.

• Peter Christen Asbjørnsen ,

Wikipedia

A Native American version of the same tale

Why all these similar tales?

Native American Folktales

Encyclopedia of Myths

– The Native American or Indian peoples of

North America do not share a single,

unified body of mythology. The many

different tribal groups each developed

their own stories about the creation of the

world, the appearance of the first people,

the place of humans in the universe, and

the lives and deeds of deities and heroes.• Native American Mythology

Some Sources for Native American

mythology

Tales of the North American Indiansby Stith Thompson [1929]The classic cross-cultural Native American folklore study.

• Chapter VI: Animal Wives and Husbandse.g. LVIII. Bear-woman and Deer-woman

The Path on the Rainbowby George W. Cronyn [1918]A ground-breaking collection of Native American oral literature: poetry, chants and rituals.

• Includes Bear Song (Haida)

Evaluating Folktales

1) Is the person listed as the author listed as a

"reteller"? That is, on the cover, is the book

"By xxxx" or "Retold by xxxx.“

2) In the author's note, does the adapter say where

he/she heard the story, or what source he/she

found it in?

3) If the adapter provides info about source, does

he/she provide enough detail so that I could

find the source if I wanted to?

4) In the author's note, does the adapter tell the

reader the ways in which he/she changed/edited

the story and why?

More advice on evaluation

5) Does the adapter make clear on the

title page or the front matter

(preface, etc.), or imply in the story

itself which Native American group

this story comes from?• Adapted from a post entitled “Recommended

Children's/YA/Reference/Resource Books in

Debbie Reese‟s blog:

See also Debbie‟s lesson plan on

Good advice

Debbie Reese:– Elements of Native religion are misunderstood,

maligned, and romanticized when they are removed from their tribal contexts and appear in American society. In the process, the spiritual significance of ceremony and artifacts is lost. For example, feathers hold deep significance in most Native settings. To understand why it is inappropriate for children to make construction-paper feathers and headbands, it may be useful to consider parallels to one's own deeply held religious experience. Catholics, for example, would object if schoolchildren across the U.S. made a chalice out of a Styrofoam cup and glitter.

• Goals for writing and reviewing books with Native American themes School Library Journal 45 (11), pp. 36-37

Native American Legends: Abenaki - Blackfoot

Native American Legends: Caddo - Crow

Native American Legends: Eskimo - Hupa

Native American Legends: Inca - Lumbee

Native American Legends: Maidu - Ottawa

Native American Legends: Paiute - Squamish

Native American Legends: Tewa - Ute

Native American Legends: Wabanaki - Zuni

Where do The Three Bears come in ?

More here!

See this porridge will

never be just right!

What about the violence and horror?

Jenni Cargill, professional storyteller:

– Children instinctively respond emotionally and unconsciously to the metaphors embedded in stories, if they are allowed to. Unconsciously and emotionally they recognize the witch, the giant and the wolf as the scary aspect of adults and/or themselves.

– Folktales can give children access to ways of dealing with their natural fears, furies and frustrations. Even those with violent images, can give children important ways to deal with these confusing feelings.

• Frightful Witches and Kissable Toads…Why Folktales?

Illustration for a

Bulgarian folktale from

Scary for Kids

“Disneyfying” the folktales

• See also: Walt Disney‟s Sleeping Beauty: A

Literary Approach

And: