Folklore
Handed-down stories
Folklore is the traditional beliefs, customs, stories, and practices passed down within a culture, usually by word of mouth rather than written record.
It includes myths, legends, fairy tales, proverbs, superstitions, and folk remedies: Appalachian folklore holds that a ring around the moon means rain.
The term also applies to the academic study of these traditions.
More loosely, folklore means widely circulated but unverified beliefs: Much of what people think about wolves is folklore rather than fact.
Culture passed by speech
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
heritage · passed down · elders · ancestors · village · community · cultural memory · transmission
Moral tale with animals
- parableInstructive allegorical narrative
- epicImpressively grand in scope
- balladNarrative poem or song
- sagaExtended heroic narrative
tall tale · origin story · trickster · hero · quest · moral · archetype · motif
Traditional community music
- danceRhythmic bodily movement
- festivalOrganized public celebration
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
masquerade · puppet · mummers · carnival · procession · chant · recitation · bard
Tiny winged magical creature
- goblinMalicious folklore creature
- trollDeliberate online antagonist
- dragonLegendary fire-breathing reptile
- werewolfShapeshifting wolf-person
vampire · banshee · kappa · yeti · chupacabra · leprechaun · djinn · tengu
Folklorist brothers' surname
- CelticOf Irish-Welsh descent
- NorseAncient Scandinavian civilization
- AfricanOf that southern continent
- SlavicOf certain Eastern Europeans
Japanese · Native American · Indian · Chinese · Polynesian · Irish · Scottish · Germanic
Comparative study of peoples
- fieldworkResearch conducted on location
- documentationWritten proof or instructions
- collectionGathered set of items
- archivesStored historical documents
anthropology · comparative · classification · informant · variant · authenticity · revival · Zora Neale Hurston
oral tradition
Culture passed by speech
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
customs · heritage · passed down · elders · ancestors · village · community · cultural memory · transmission · generations
fable
Moral tale with animals
saga · tall tale · origin story · trickster · hero · quest · moral · archetype · motif · cautionary tale
folk song
Traditional community music
ceremony · masquerade · puppet · mummers · carnival · procession · chant · recitation · bard · griot
fairy
Tiny winged magical creature
- goblinMalicious folklore creature
- trollDeliberate online antagonist
- dragonLegendary fire-breathing reptile
werewolf · vampire · banshee · kappa · yeti · chupacabra · leprechaun · djinn · tengu · selkie
Grimm
Folklorist brothers' surname
Slavic · Japanese · Native American · Indian · Chinese · Polynesian · Irish · Scottish · Germanic · Appalachian
ethnology
Comparative study of peoples
- fieldworkResearch conducted on location
- documentationWritten proof or instructions
- collectionGathered set of items
archives · anthropology · comparative · classification · informant · variant · authenticity · revival · Zora Neale Hurston
- Taylor Swift AlbumsTaylor Swift, Speak Now, Red, 1989
Folklorerecorded history
Past preserved through documentation
historical record · historiography · primary sources · chronicles · academic history
Folklorehigh culture
Society's esteemed artistic traditions
elite culture · official history · formal education · academic tradition · classical tradition
Folklorescience
Systematic study through observation
scientific knowledge · hard evidence · fact · scientific method · objective truth
- British folkloreTraditional tales from Britain
- medieval folkloreTales from feudal times
- folklore traditionsInherited cultural practices and stories
- local folkloreA community's traditional tales
- Japanese folkloreTraditional myths of Japan
- folklore heroTraditional story's celebrated figure