Why bother with folklore?

It feels natural to start this blog by talking about why I care so much. My interest in folklore is more than idle curiosity, and it’s not just because the stories on their own are interesting and fun (though they certainly often are!); folklore, to me, is the way that we connect with our past. Our stories hold meaning, and they tell us who we are. By understanding our stories, we can understand why we act and think the ways we do.

Humans are creatures of narrative. Story mnemonics are one of the best ways to remember a list of information. Even when we don’t realize it, the stories we’ve consumed influence our actions and beliefs far more than any abstract numbers or facts. That’s part of the reason we tell stories in the first place.

The ways that stories are transmitted and change leave their mark in our cultural history. The tendrils of the past twist around everything we see and do, and the ways in which our stories change show us parts of ourselves that might be difficult or unpleasant to find. Stories, art, and iconography worms their way into the subconscious and help us make sense of our surroundings.

So why folklore specifically? Oral tradition has been on the decline since the invention of the printing press, and industrialization especially helped expedite the process. Some folklorists, like the famous Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, took to documenting the stories of their cultures as a way to preserve their identities in the face of this decline, but even now we wield such collections as a way to destroy the oral tradition. These collections are expounded as the most real and most valid versions of the stories, often to put an end to variant tellings that oral tradition thrives on.

But even if many people don’t tell each other myths and fairy tales in the ways we used to, artists will always be influenced by the art that came before them. Tales and images swirl in the mind, and the artist adds to the conversation. Maybe they subvert the images that came before, and maybe they embrace them; either way, they comment on those stories and contribute to how people see the world.

Iconography plays another role. When we depict Death with a scythe, we call to mind images of farmers indifferently mowing down fields as a matter of course. When the ancient Greeks depicted Death with a sword, it rather called to mind violence, intent, and malice. Understanding these images and their origins helps us get in touch with the culture we exist in.

Traditions and folktales place us into a long conversation, a cultural tradition. Through them, we see ourselves as part of a greater whole, and we can find comfort in knowing that we have that place. No matter who we are, and no matter how we feel about our stories, we are valid and important parts of the conversation. If folklore can teach us anything, it can teach us that.

What folktales, myths, and legends do you enjoy? What does that say about how you interact with your culture and your history? I think everyone should think about those questions. They can tell you a lot about yourself.