Understanding Folk Literature

• Folk literature, also known as folklore or oral tradition, encompasses the traditional knowledge and beliefs of cultures without a written language.
• It includes myths, legends, epics, fables, and folktales passed down orally through generations.
• Authors of folk literature are typically unknown.

Mythology vs. Folklore

• Both are ancient forms of storytelling.
• Folklore can be considered a subset of mythology.
• Mythology often comes from sacred texts and explains creation and the time before existence.
• These stories were once considered the truth and part of religion, discussing deities and supernatural figures.
• Folklore focuses on a smaller scale, often specific to a village, town, or city.
• Folktales may include gods and goddesses but emphasize specific meanings or morals, not necessarily creation or divinity.
• Both traveled similarly, by word of mouth.
• Japan has both mythology related to Shinto and Buddhism and folklore with more local creatures and cryptids.
• Mythology explains the universe, while folklore focuses on specific areas and individuals.

Folk Literature as a Relevant Historical Artifact

• An artifact is an item made or shaped by humans, of archaeological interest.
• Folk literature preserves traditions through written oral traditions.
• Literature reflects human life and daily experiences.
• It has been present since the beginning of human life, from stone carvings to hieroglyphics to scrolls and ancient texts.
• Folk literature is a living legacy that evolves with time and serves as a historical artifact.
• It teaches literary heritage through stories, providing insights into other cultures and one's own.
• Folklore is the expressive body of culture shared by a group of people.
• It encompasses oral traditions, material culture, and customary lore.
• Transmission of folklore artifacts occurs from one region or generation to the next.
• Folk literature illuminates the traditional values and lifestyles of a culture.
• It arose to meet needs such as explaining mysteries, articulating fears and dreams, imposing order, and providing entertainment.
• It develops over time and place due to orality.
• Folklore is typically learned informally through verbal instruction or demonstration.
• It manifests man's civilization and experiences.
• Folk literature includes myths, legends, epics, fables, and folktales.
• These stories endure because they are entertaining, embody cultural beliefs, and contain human truths.

Genres of Folk Literature

• Stories can have different forms that are sometimes similar.
• Myths are traditional stories dealing with gods, goddesses, and supernatural beings.
• They explain creation, life, death, and queries with the natural world and are closely related to religious stories.
• Main characters are human or human-like heroes with religious beliefs and values.
• Myths explain natural occurrences.
• Legends are narratives believed to have taken place in human history.
• They are written as potentially real or true, without impossible events.
• Legends portray historical heroes, not gods or goddesses.
• Legends transform over time, with facts changing, hyperbole entering the plot, and details becoming more colorful.
• Legends are set in a known place and time in the recent past.
• They were regarded as non-fiction at the time of narration.
• Although the main characters are human, legends often contain supernatural elements.
• Folktales are brief stories passed down orally through generations, containing ordinary people.
• They are any belief or story passed on traditionally, considered false, or based on superstition.

Significance of Studying Folk Literature

• It helps explain the natural world and uncover truths and phenomena.
• It promotes morality, showing the division between good and evil in folk stories.
• It helps discover the roots of communities, the past, cultural commonalities, and ethnic identities.
• "Folk" refers to people sharing language, religion, culture, and traditions.
• Folklore is often used by marginalized groups to voice their predicaments.
• Folklore theories delve into the deep meaning of folklore and attempt to find its origin.
• Folklore study raises awareness of one's culture.
• It is all-inclusive, covering spiritual and material aspects of culture.
• Folklore has been used to reconstruct ancient beliefs, customs, and rituals.
• It helps understand the rich folklore and mystic tradition of ancestors.
• Understanding and appreciating the folklore of ancestors develops an understanding of their culture.
• Nationalism reinforces ethnic identity and figures in struggles for political independence.
• Folk culture establishes unity among people in the same country.
• Traditional culture is proof of distinctiveness among societies and based on oral traditions.
• Folklore study utilizes various theories and methods.

Explore folk literature, encompassing myths, legends, fables, and folktales passed down orally. Differentiate between mythology and folklore, understanding their origins, purposes, and cultural significance. Uncover how these narratives reflect societal values and beliefs across generations.