Module 1 Introduction to Mythology and Folklore PDF

MODULE 1 INTRODUCTION TO MYTHOLOGY AND FOLKLORE Time Frame: 2 hours Introduction Of the many cultural artifacts we have received from the ancient Greeks, it may be argued that it is their rich and complex mythology---as conveyed via poems, dramas, paintings, and statues---that has exercised the gre...

MODULE 1 INTRODUCTION TO MYTHOLOGY AND FOLKLORE Time Frame: 2 hours Introduction Of the many cultural artifacts we have received from the ancient Greeks, it may be argued that it is their rich and complex mythology---as conveyed via poems, dramas, paintings, and statues---that has exercised the greatest influence on modern Western culture. The extent of this influence---from Renaissance art to nineteenth-century psychoanalysis; from classical composers to modern filmmakers---results in part from the vibrancy of the ancient literary and artistic tradition that has transmitted the mythology to us and in part, frankly, from the captivating and universal nature of the myths themselves. Even a basic familiarity with Greek mythology, therefore, significantly enriches one's appreciation of art, of literature, of music, and of film, while the myths themselves---if read carefully---provide fascinating insights into both the individual psyche and the societal concerns of the time. Finally, of course, the myths are in and of themselves exceptionally entertaining (if often not quite suitable for children!). The Greek myths---and indeed all myths---are also fascinating because they may speak to our own dilemmas, impulses, anxieties, and fears. In this sense, then, they may be viewed to represent archetypes of human behavior, or perhaps even universal truths about human action, fate, and responsibility. The hero archetype, for example, speaks not of an average person who has striven to "do good things", but rather of an individual---usually semi-divine---who is fated to do what he must, and is inevitably faced with those who would destroy him. As you read the Greek myths, then, think about the various themes and archetypes as they appear in the story and the ways in which they may be reflected in modern works of literature or cinema. Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the students are able to: 1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding on the terms mythology and folklore. 2. Describe knowledge and understanding on the terms mythology and folklore. 3. Identify the different types of myths and folklore. 4. Compare the different types of folklore. Pre-test: What is myth? Folklore? Can you cite example of a myth? Of a folklore? Learning Activities Concept Mapping Make a conceptual map of the two terms- myth and folklore. The Theogony ("Birth of the Gods") is attributed to Hesiod, who lived in Boeotia in central Greece circa 700 B. C. The Theogony also includes stories of newer gods not mentioned in the Iliad or Odyssey. Hesiod describes how the gods were created, their struggles with each other, and the nature of their divine rule; his poems are our earliest sources for the famous myths of Prometheus and Pandora. Another ancient source of myths are the Homeric Hymns, an anonymous compilation of 33 hymns written over a period of a few centuries (700 B.C. to perhaps 400 B.C. ). The poems were attributed to Homer in antiquity because they are written in the language and meter associated with the Iliad and Odyssey. In fact, we know neither the authors of these hymns nor the specific region in which the hymns were produced. The works are called "hymns" because of their poetic form. The majority of the hymns---some of which are quite fragmentary (meaning we do not possess the entire original poem) celebrate members of twelve Olympians, the gods and goddesses who dwelled on Mount Olympus. Interpretations of Myths How should people of the twenty-first century interpret myths that grew out of ancient Greek culture? Several principles should guide us as we attempt to decipher the meaning of a myth. First, we should be aware of the circumstances surrounding its production---the time period, location, political situation, and so on. We must also consider its source and be sensitive to the nature of the source, whether it is tragedy, lyric poetry, a historical text, vase painting, sculpture, etc. We should ask, too, if our interpretations of myths tell us more about ourselves than about the original meanings of the myths. If we fail to take account of these factors, we run the risk of making false inferences not only about classical mythology in general but about the people and culture that produced it as well. One of the most controversial questions surrounding the interpretation of myths is whether or not we can extrapolate from myth to history. For example, the Theogony describes a divine generation overseen by a female divinity, Gaia. Some scholars interpret this to mean that ancient Greek society must at one point have been matriarchal. However, we should remember that Hesiod wrote in the eighth century and came from Boeotia. It would be wrong, therefore, to conclude that Hesiod speaks for all Greeks, at all times, in all places---much less Greek peoples who would have existed many centuries before his time. It is even problematic to argue that Hesiod reflects views prevalent in his own state of Boeotia; an author does not necessarily mirror the views of his peers. It is wise to keep this perspective in mind when thinking about your own interpretations of myths, or reading the interpretations of others. Multiple Versions of Myths The Theogony recounts stories of different generations of gods and goddesses. If gods and goddesses are immortal, though, why is more than one generation needed? And what happens to the deities of earlier generations? Scholars think that the Theogony represents an attempt to make sense out of different divine systems that were prevalent in Greece at different times. It has therefore been argued that, at one point, various populations of Greeks gave primacy to Gaia and her generation; and that at another point, much later on, to Zeus and his generation. This change may have come about as new populations entered Greek society, either through migration or invasion. The new peoples brought with them their own stories, which merged with, or in some cases supplanted, those of the Greeks. The Theogony takes these seemingly disparate groups of divinities and rather than assert the superiority of one over the other, accommodates them by means of a mythological account that views them as similar to a human dynasty or regime. Moreover, in the view of Hesiod and other authors, these older divinities do not "die"; they simply yield their power and influence to the subsequent generation. The Three Types of Myth There are actually many different types of myth, not just three. In fact, there are several entire theories of myth. The theoretical study of myth is very complex; many books have been written about theories of myth, and we could have an entire class just on theories of myth (without studying any of the myths themselves). The problem with theories of myth, however, is that they are not very good; they don't do a great job of explaining the myths or in helping us understand them. Furthermore, the myths themselves are much more interesting than the theories. For this reason, this module will not say very much about the theories of myth. But we don't want to ignore the theoretical study of myth entirely, so we will limit ourselves to discussing only three types of myth. Aetiological Myths Aetiological myths (sometimes spelled etiological) explain the reason why something is the way it is today. The word aetiological is from the Greek word aetion (αἴτιον) meaning "reason" or "explanation". Please note that the reasons given in an aetiological myth are NOT the real (or scientific) reasons. They are explanations that have meaning for us as human beings. There are three subtypes of aetiological myths: natural, etymological, and religious. A natural aetiological myth explains an aspect of nature. For example, you could explain lightning and thunder by saying that Zeus is angry. An etymological aetiological myth explains the origin of a word. (Etymology is the study of word origins.) For example, you could explain the name of the goddess, Aphrodite, by saying that she was born in sea- foam, since aphros is the Greek word for sea-foam. A religious aetiological myth explains the origin of a religious ritual. For example, you could explain the Greek religious ritual of the Eleusinian Mysteries by saying that they originated when the Greek goddess, Demeter, came down to the city of Eleusis and taught the people how to worship her. All three of these explanations are not true: Zeus' anger is not the correct explanation for lightning and thunder; Aphrodite's name was not actually derived from the Greek word aphros; and Demeter did not establish her own religious rituals in the town of Eleusis. Rather, all of these explanations had meaning for the ancient Greeks, who told them in order to help them understand their world. Another example, in Egyptian mythology the sycamore tree looks the way it does because it is home to the goddess Hathor, the Lady of the Sycamore. Etiological myths can offer explanations for why the world is the way it is -- as in the story from Greek mythology of Pandora&\#039;s Box which explains how evil and suffering was released into the world -- or how a certain institution came to be -- as in the Chinese myth of the goddess Nuwa who kept creating human beings over and over and over until she grew tired and instituted the practice of marriage so humans could reproduce themselves. Agamemnon and refuses to fight any longer resulting in the death of his beloved Patroclus and many others of the Achaean host. Although there are many different stories told in the Iliad, this central theme of the dangers of pride is emphasized as a cultural value. A certain amount of pride in one&\#039;s self was considered a virtue but too much brought disaster. In China, this theme was explored in another way through the tale of Fuxi (foo-shee), the god of fire. As a god, Fuxi had many responsibilities but when his friend, the goddess Nuwa, asked for his help, he did not refuse. Nuwa had created human beings but found they did not know how to do anything and she did not have the patience to teach them. Fuxi brought humans fire, taught them to control it, and how to use it to cook food and warm themselves. He then taught them how to weave fishing nets and draw food from the sea and, afterwards, gave them the arts of divination, music, and writing. Fuxi is thought to be based on an actual historical king who lived c-2736 BCE and possibly provided the order necessary for the rise of the Xia Dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BCE), the first historical dynasty in China. In this story, Fuxi sets aside his pride as a god and humbles himself to the service of his friend Nuwa and humanity. 3. Psychological Myths Psychological myths try to explain why we feel and act the way we do. A psychological myth is different from an aetiological myth because a psychological myth does not try to explain one thing by way of something else (such as lightning and thunder can be explained by Zeus' anger). In a psychological myth, the emotion itself is seen as a divine force, coming from the outside, that can directly influence a person's emotions. For example, the goddess, Aphrodite, is sometimes seen as the power of erotic love. When someone said or did something that they did not want to do, the ancient Greeks might say that Aphrodite "made them" do it. Psychological myths present one with a journey from the known to the unknown which, according to both Jung and Campbell, represents a psychological need to balance the external world with one&\#039;s internal consciousness of it. However that may be, the story of the myth itself usually involves a hero or heroine on a journey in which they discover their true identity or fate and, in so doing, resolve a crisis while also providing an audience with some important cultural value. Probably the best-known myth of this type is that of Oedipus the prince who, seeking to avoid the prediction that he would grow up to kill his father, leaves his life behind to travel to another region where he unknowingly winds up killing the man who was his actual father who had abandoned him at birth in an attempt to circumvent that same prediction. A red-figure tondo showing Oedipus and the sphinx of Thebes. Vulci, 470 BCE. (Vatican Museums, Rome) The oldest myth in the world is, not surprisingly, a psychological myth relating to the inevitability of death and the individual&\#039;s attempt to find meaning in life. The Epic of Gilgamesh (written c. 2150-c BCE) developed in Mesopotamia from Sumerian poems relating to the historical Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, who was later elevated to the status of a demi-god. In the story, Gilgamesh is a proud king who is so haughty that the gods feel he needs a lesson in humility. They groom the wild man Enkidu as a worthy opponent to the king and the two fight but, when neither can get the best of the other, they become best friends. Enkidu is later killed by the gods for affronting them and Gilgamesh, grief-stricken, embarks on a quest for the meaning of life embodied in the concept of immortality. Although he fails to win eternal life, his journey enriches him and he returns to his kingdom a wiser and better man and king. This is the 11th tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh Joseph Campbell has famously called the best-known psychological myth type "the Hero&\#039;s Journey" in which the story begins with a hero or heroine, usually of royal birth, separated from their true identity and living in a chaotic world or kingdom. The hero goes through various stages in the story, which usually takes the form of a journey, until they find out who they really are and are able to right some great wrong which re-establishes order. This narrative progression is best known in the modern-day as the plot of Star Wars and the overwhelming success of that film franchise attests to the enduring power of mythological themes and symbols. To understand more about the topic, please visit the link: youtu/HeX6CX5LEj Functions of myth and mythology Explanation The most obvious function of myths is the explanation of facts, whether natural or cultural. One North American Indian (Abenaki) myth, for example, explains the origin of corn (maize): a lonely man meets a beautiful woman with long, fair hair; she promises to remain with him if he follows her instructions; she tells him in detail how to make a fire and, after he has done so, she orders him to drag her over the burned ground; as a result of these actions, he will see her silken hair (viz., the cornstalk) reappear, and thereafter he will have corn seeds for his use. Henceforth, whenever Abenaki Indians see corn (the woman's hair), they know that she remembers them. Obviously, a myth such as this one functions as an explanation, but the narrative form distinguishes it from a straightforward answer to an intellectual question about causes. the god Odin wins for gods and humans the "mead of song" (a drink containing the power of poetic inspiration), can be said to be celebrating the origins of their own art and, hence, renewing it. The poetic aspect of myths in archaic and preindustrial traditions is considerable. Societies in which artistic endeavour is not yet specialized tend to rely on mythical themes and images as a source of all self- expression. Mythology has also exerted an aesthetic influence in more modern societies. An example is the prevalence of themes from Greek and Roman Classical mythology in Western painting, sculpture, and literature. FOLKLORE Folklore refers to the tales people tell -- folk stories, fairy tales, "tall tales," and even urban legends. Folklore is typically passed down by word of mouth, rather than being written in books (although sometimes people write down collections of folklore in order to preserve the stories of a particular community). The key here is that folklore has no author -- it just emerges from the culture and is carried forward by constant retelling. Some stories, such as the Grimm's fairy tales, are mistakenly referred to as folklore, but actually they are not: they have a specific author, and therefore don't fit the definition of folklore. Such stories include Pinocchio, Hansel & Gretel, and Rapunzel. These are all fairy tales, but they aren't folklore, because they have specific authors. Folk literature, also called folklore or oral tradition, the lore (traditional knowledge and beliefs) of cultures having no written language. It is transmitted by word of mouth and consists, as does written literature, of both prose and verse narratives, poems and songs, myths, dramas, rituals, proverbs, riddles, and the like. Nearly all known peoples, now or in the past, have produced it. Until about 4000 BCE all literature was oral, but, beginning in the years between 4000 and 3000 BCE, writing developed both in Egypt and in the Mesopotamian civilization at Sumer. From that time on there are records not only of practical matters such as law and business but increasingly of written literature. As the area in which the habitual use of writing extended over Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean lands and eventually over much of the whole world, a rapid growth in the composition of written literature occurred, so that in certain parts of the world, literature in writing has to a large extent become the normal form of expression for storytellers and poets. Nevertheless, during all the centuries in which the world has learned to use writing, there has existed, side by side with the growing written record, a large and important activity carried on by those actually unlettered, and those not much accustomed to reading and writing. Origins And Development Of the origins of folk literature, as of the origins of human language, there is no way of knowing. None of the literature available today is primitive in any sense, and only the present-day results can be observed of practices extending over many thousands of years. Speculations therefore can only concern such human needs as may give rise to oral literature, not to its ultimate origin. The nature of oral traditions Nor can any evolution in folk literature or any overall developments be spoken of explicitly. Each group of people, no matter how small or large, has handled its folk literature in its own way. Depending as it does upon the transmission from person to person and being subject to the skill or the lack of skill of those who pass it on and to the many influences, physical or social, that consciously or unconsciously affect a tradition, what may be observed is a history of continual change. An item of folk literature sometimes shows relative stability and sometimes undergoes drastic transformations. If these changes are looked at from a modern Western point of view, ethnocentric judgments can be made as to whether they are on the whole favourable or unfavourable. But it must be remembered that the folk listening to or participating in its oral literature have completely different standards from those of their interpreters. Nevertheless, two directions in this continually changing human movement may be observed. Occasionally a talented singer or tale-teller, or perhaps a group of them, may develop techniques that result in an improvement over the course of time from any point of view and in the actual development of a new literary form. On the other hand, many items of folk literature, because of historic movements or overwhelming foreign influences or the mere lack of skilful practitioners of the tradition, become less and less important, and occasionally die out from the oral repertory. The details of such changes have been of great interest to all students of folk literature. The beginnings of written literature in Sumer and Egypt 5,000 or 6,000 years ago took place in a world that knew only folk literature. During the millennia since then written literature has been surrounded and sometimes all but overwhelmed by the humbler activity of the unlettered. The emergence of the author and his carefully preserved manuscript came about slowly and uncertainly, and only in a few places initially--- the literary authorship that flourished in the Athens of Pericles or the Jerusalem of the Old Testament represented only a very small part of the world of their time. Nearly everywhere else the oral storyteller or epic singer was dominant, and all of what is called literary expression was carried in the memory of the folk, and especially of gifted narrators. All societies have produced some men and women of great natural endowments---shamans, priests, rulers, and warriors---and from these has come the greatest stimulus everywhere toward producing and listening to myths, tales, and songs. To these the common man has listened to such effect that sometimes he himself has become a bard. And kings and councillors, still without benefit of writing, have sat enthralled as he entertained them at their banquets. Cultural Exchange In Written And Oral Traditions This folk literature has affected the later written word profoundly. The Homeric hymns, undoubtedly oral in origin and retaining many of the usual characteristics of folk literature, such as long repetitions and formulaic expressions, have come so far in their development that they move with ease within a uniform and difficult poetic form, have constructed elaborate and fairly consistent plots and successfully carried them through, and have preserved in definitive form a conception of the Olympic pantheon with its gods and heroes, which became a part of ancient Greek thinking. Not everywhere has the oral literature impinged so directly on the written as in the works of Homer, which almost presents a transition from the preliterate to the literate world. But many folktales have found their place in literature. The medieval romances, especially the Breton lays, drew freely on these folk sources, sometimes directly. It is often hard to decide whether a tale has been learned from folk sources or whether a literary story has gone the other way and, having been heard from priest or teacher or doctor, has entered oral tradition and has been treated like any other folktale or folk song. The unlettered make no distinctions as to origins. As the Middle Ages lead into the Renaissance, the influence of folk literature on the work of writers increases in importance, so that it is sometimes difficult to draw a sharp line of distinction between them. In literary forms such as the fabliau, many anecdotes may have come ultimately from tales current among unlettered storytellers, but these have usually been reworked by writers, some of them belonging in the main stream of literature, like Boccaccio or Chaucer. Only later, in the 16th and 17th centuries, in such works as those of Gianfrancesco Straparola and Giambattista Basile, did writers go directly to folk literature itself for much of their material. Since Classical times composers of written literature have borrowed tales and motifs from oral narratives, and their folk origin has been forgotten. Examples abound in Homer and Beowulf. In their literary form these stories have often lived on side by side with tellings and retellings by oral storytellers. Modern examples of traditions so used are found in Ibsen's Peer Gynt and Gerhart Hauptmann's The Sunken Bell. The more skilful tradition bearers take pride in the exactness with which they transmit a tale or song just as they have heard it many years before, but they only deceive themselves, for every performance differs from every other one. The whole material is fluid and refuses to be stabilized in a definite form. The teller is likely to find room for improvement and may well begin a new tradition that will live as long as it appeals to other tellers. It thus happens that in nearly all cultures certain people specialize in remembering and repeating what they have heard. There are semi-professional storytellers around whom large groups of people assemble in bazaars or before cottage fires or in leisure hours after labour. Some of these storytellers have prodigious memories and may with only slight variations carry on to a new generation hundreds of tales and traditions heard long ago. Certain bards and minstrels and song makers develop special techniques of singing or of telling epic or heroic tales to the accompaniment of a harp or other musical instrument. In the course of time in various places special poetic forms have been perfected and passed on from bard to bard. Such must have been the way in which the remarkably skillful heroic meters of the Greek epics were developed. A different kind of oral tradition is preserved by the ritual specialists: priests, shamans, and others who perform religious ceremonies and healing rites. Frequently these rituals must be remembered word for word and are not believed to be effective unless they are correctly performed. The ideal of such priestly transmitters of oral tradition is complete faithfulness to that which has been passed down to them. Not least important of the many reasons for the existence and perpetuation of folk literature is the need for release from the boredom that comes on long sea voyages or in army camps or on long winter evenings. Some folk literature is primarily didactic and tries to convey the information people need to carry on their lives properly. Among some peoples the relation of man and the higher powers is of special concern and gives rise to myths that try to clarify this relationship. Cooperative labour or marching is helped by rhythmic songs, and many aspects of social life give rise to various kinds of dance. A great many of the special forms of literature now in manuscripts and books are paralleled in traditional oral literature, where history, drama, law, sermons, and exhortations of all kinds are found, as well as analogues of novels, stories, and lyric poems. Folk literature is but a part of what is generally known as folklore: customs and beliefs, ritualistic behaviour, dances, folk music, and other nonliterary manifestations. These are often considered a part of the larger study of ethnology, but they are also the business of the folklorist. Of special importance is the relation of all kinds of folk literature to mythology. The stories of Maui and his confreres in the Pacific and of gods and heroes of African or American Indian groups have behind them a long and perhaps complicated history. This is especially true of the highly developed mythologies of India, and the Greek, Irish, and Germanic pantheons. All are the results of an indefinitely long past, of growth and outside influences, of religious cults and practices, and of the glorification of heroes. But whatever the historical, psychological, or religious motivations, the mythologies are a part of folk literature and, though traditional, have been subject to continual changes at the hands of the tale-tellers, singers of stories, or priestly conductors of cults. Eventually singers or storytellers of philosophical tendencies have systematized their mythologies and have created with fine imagination the figures of Zeus and his Olympic family and his semi-divine heroic descendants. Though the details of these changes are beyond the scope of this article, stories of the gods and heroes and of supernatural origins and changes on the earth have played an important role in all folk literature. Techniques of Folk Literature Since the tales, legends, and epic and lyric songs discussed here are a part of the experience of a preliterate group or at least of the essentially unlettered, they differ in many ways from literary works addressed to a reading public. Long forgotten are the person or persons originally responsible for the tradition that has resulted in examples of folk literature. Only the tale or song remains to be repeated and often changed by subsequent storytellers, singers, or bards. In the course of its history it is listened to by generations of the unlettered, and its success and its very survival depend on how well it satisfies their emotional needs and intellectual interests. Since in essence all folk literature is oral and subject to its survival in the human mind, it is full of devices to aid memory. Perhaps most common of all is mere repetition. Especially in folktales and epics it is common to hear the same episode repeated with little or no verbal change. As the hero encounters his successive adversaries the description changes only enough to indicate the increasing terror of the enemy, always leading to a climax and usually to the hero's success. These long repeated passages often enable the teller of tales or the singer of an epic to extend his performance as much as he desires. Aside from repetition of entire episodes, folk literature of all kinds is filled with formulaic expressions. It may be the beginning or the ending of a folktale---the "once upon a time" or the "married and lived happily ever after" or sometimes quite meaningless expressions---or standard epithets attached to certain persons or places. These formulas are so characteristic of oral literature that an abundance of such commonplaces seems to be a guarantee of authentic oral origins even of a great epic. These formulas are matters not only of words but of structure. The storyteller or singer has at his disposal a large variety of conventional motifs and episodes and may use them freely. How appropriately they are made a part of his composition depends on his skill, but his listeners are not likely to be very critical so long as he keeps them interested. Indeed it is remarkable that in spite of this apparent freedom of improvisation so many rather well-articulated plots have lived for centuries retaining all their essential features. It is this combination of a basic narrative type with a freedom of treatment within traditional limits that makes it possible to identify hundreds of versions of the same tale or song as they appear over long stretches of time and space. Though much of narrative folk literature is frankly fictional and filled with unrealistic events, the successful storyteller or epic singer gives his story credibility by the use of realistic details. Often these are merely homely touches linking the never-never land of the tale or song to everyday life or emotions. For the unlettered listeners such realistic details may allow a stretching of the imagination to embrace a larger world. Heaven or hell it may be or kingly palaces where the peasant hero rules with a splendour only known to those who have never seen a court. Often these details are given only to ensure that willing suspension of disbelief characteristic of all fiction, but sometimes a realistic touch, even in the midst of weak motivation and violence, may give nobility to a mediocre tale or song. Repetition, formulas both in words and in structure, realism enough to support the marvelous in tale or song, violent actions and simple strong emotions---these qualities are generally found in all folk literature. The varying demands of the listeners are all-important influences. In some cultures this implies that actions should be well motivated so that listeners may identify themselves with certain characters. But in others, such as in many parts of India and in many preliterate cultures, motivation is often weak or entirely lacking. For lyric songs, proverbs, riddles, and charms (and often legends), the relation of artist and audience is of little importance. The Importance of Folklore G. Chesterton, the famous philosopher and author, explains the importance of folk tales in this way: \[They\] do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already because it is in the world already. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of evil. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St George to kill the dragon. That is, folk tales speak to an innate psychological need shared by all human beings. As we encounter the world, we see pain, loss, and emptiness everywhere. How can we face such a world and not feel despair? expectations. Here some examples of fairy tales told around the world:  "Cinderella" -- a fairy tale about a servant girl who becomes a princess, thanks to a little magic and true love. Though it was first published in France by Charles Perrault, there are many different versions of this fairy tale all over the world.  "The Golden-Headed Fish" -- a Middle Eastern story of a hero who must find a king's remedy from the magical golden-headed fish  "The Little Mermaid" -- the popular Danish story about a mermaid who gave up her fins, and ultimately her life, for love  "Rapunzel" -- a German fairy tale about a kidnapped child who grew up isolated in a tower, with only her magically long hair to lift others in and out Mythology Many cultures explain everyday phenomena with tales of mythological figures. They range from stories about Greek gods, French pourquoi tales, and American tall tales. You'll typically find legendary characters doing extraordinary things in these types of folk tales. Examples of cultural mythology include:  "Prometheus Steals the Fire" -- the Greek myth that depicts how the trickster Titan Prometheus stole fire from the gods for human beings  "Why the Porcupine Has Quills" -- a Chippewa pourquoi tale that explains how the porcupine came to defend itself  "John Henry" -- an American tall tale about John Henry, a freed slave, and his hammer that beat a mechanical steel driver to give his people their land  "Quetzalcoatl" -- the Aztec legend of the feathered serpent who created mankind in the Mesoamerican region Folk Songs Cultures often put their stories from folklore to traditional music. They range from everyday stories of common folk to heroic tales told in ballad form. Some folk songs you might recognize include:  "O Danny Boy" - an Irish ballad that tells the story of Danny going off to war and returning to a much-changed homeland  "Arirang" -- a folk song from Korea that has been sung for over 600 years  "My Country, 'Tis Of Thee" -- a traditional American folk song about the history and freedom of the country  "Waltzing Matilda" - a bush ballad from Australia that depicts a traveler who runs into trouble one fateful day Folk Dance If you've ever been to a cultural festival or wedding, you've probably seen a folk dance. They are traditional dances taught to each new generation in a specific culture. These dances often require large groups of people and are performed at community gatherings and special events. Check out these examples of folk dances from different cultures:  Tarantella -- a fast couple dance from Southern Italy  Barynya -- the traditional fast-paced Russian dance with both stomping and squatting steps  Square dance -- a moderately paced American dance in which sets of couples respond to a caller  Native American sun dance -- a celebratory dance practiced by many Native American tribes. The sun dance was forbidden by the American government until 1934. Proverbs Proverbs are one or two-sentence expressions that reinforce a society's morals and beliefs. They are meant to guide behavior within a culture. Some cultures use proverbs as adages or maxims. Common proverbs from international cultures include:  The night rinses what the day has soaped. -- Swiss proverb about consequences  In a battle between elephants, the ants get squashed. -- Thai proverb about oppression  The pen is mightier than the sword. -- English proverb about communication  It takes a whole village to raise a child. -- African proverb about community Folk Art Art created in a traditional medium by ordinary people is folk art. These artists are not professionally trained, but instead rely on traditions passed down by folk artists before them. The items they create can be displayed as artwork or used for everyday purposes. Here are some examples of folk art:  Russian nesting dolls  Italian mosaic pottery  American quilts  Mexican leatherwork Self-Evaluation Compare and contrast the different types of folklore using a graphic organizer. (Refer to Google for different graphic organizer where you can choose from) Review of Concepts A myth is a traditional utterance (muthos) originating in the pre-literate periods, which is later written down (almost always in the form of poetry), or conveyed through painting, song, drama, or other art forms. Although some myths recount the story of gods and goddesses and their relations to humans, most myths are concerned rather with the interactions of human beings with one another. The three types of myth are: Aetiological Myths. Aetiological myths (sometimes spelled etiological) explain the reason why something is the way it is today. The word aetiological is from the Greek word aetion (αἴτιον) meaning "reason" or "explanation". are traditional dances taught to each new generation in a specific culture. Proverbs. Proverbs are one or two-sentence expressions that reinforce a society's morals and beliefs. Folk Art. Art created in a traditional medium by ordinary people is folk art. Post Test Answer the ff. questions: A \_\_\_\_\_\_ is a story that probably started with something true. a. myth b. folk tale c. legend d. all of the above \_\_\_\_\_ have no specific author. a. legends b. folk tales c. myths d. all of the above When writing your own folklore, you should be sure to: a. Structure the story properly b. Write only folklore, never myths c. Make sure that the protagonist is relatable d. None of the above -- folklore has no author, so you cannot write it yourself The story of Jonah and the Whale comes from the Old Testament, so you can infer that it's an example of\... a. folklore b. legend c. mythology d. none of the above What is a body of interconnected stories told by a cultural group to explain the world consistent with a people&\#039;s experience of the world in which they live? a. mythology b. legends c. fairy tales d. non-fiction What is the role of myths in a culture? a. to encourage conflict b. to have common stories and create cohesiveness c. to determine which gods/goddesses are supreme d. to eradicated environmental waste Cultures geographically apart can have similar myths involving floods. a. True b. False Cultures across the globe have myths about the following: a. Creation b. Giants c. Man&\#039;s acquisition of fire d. All of these Myths that seek to explain how the earth came to be, usually through the death of a god or an animal, are- a. Creation myth b. Historical Myth c. Psychological Myth d. none of the above The main characters in myths were usually- a. gods b. animals c. women d. human One purpose of a myth is to explain the customs, beliefs, and traditions of an existing society. a. True b. False The word "myth" comes from the Greek word mythos, which means "false." a. True b. False Most myths have their basis in- a. natural events b. supernatural events c. powers d. marriage Like myths, legends are narratives that tell the story of supernatural beings. a. True b. False One or two-sentence expressions that reinforce a society's morals and beliefs a. Folk tales b. Folk songs c. Fables d. Proverbs