folklore
Handed-down tales
Folklore is the traditional beliefs, customs, stories, and practices passed down through generations within a community or culture.
It encompasses myths, legends, fairy tales, folk songs, proverbs, and superstitions—the unofficial knowledge that exists alongside formal education and official religion.
Local folklore warns against swimming in the lake at night.
Folklore often reflects a community's values and attempts to explain natural phenomena or teach moral lessons.
Spoken or written narrative
- fableMoral tale with animals
- parableInstructive allegorical narrative
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
ballad · epic · saga · moral · fairy-tale · tall-tale · legend · bard
Recorded firsthand accounts
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
- elderSenior figure of authority
- grandmotherMother of a parent
- grandfatherFather's or mother's father
generation · memory · preservation · revival · collection · fieldwork · ethnography · documentation
Traditional explanatory tale
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- pantheonAll gods of a religion
- deitiesWorshipped supernatural beings
- tricksterCunning deceiver in myth
hero · demigod · underworld · cosmos · titans · coyote · dreamtime · epic
Study of human cultures
- ethnographySystematic study of peoples
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- identityWho someone is
diversity · folkways · mores · beliefs · values · practices · worldview · indigenous
Habitual group practice
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- festivalOrganized public celebration
- handicraftManual skill or product
artisanry · craftsmanship · observance · pageantry · commemoration · ritual · celebration · maypole
tale
Spoken or written narrative
- fableMoral tale with animals
- parableInstructive allegorical narrative
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
storytelling · ballad · epic · saga · moral · fairy-tale · tall-tale · legend · bard · narrator
oral-history
Recorded firsthand accounts
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
- elderSenior figure of authority
- grandmotherMother of a parent
grandfather · generation · memory · preservation · revival · collection · fieldwork · ethnography · documentation · recording
myth
Traditional explanatory tale
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- pantheonAll gods of a religion
- deitiesWorshipped supernatural beings
trickster · hero · demigod · underworld · cosmos · titans · coyote · dreamtime · epic · saga
anthropology
Study of human cultures
- ethnographySystematic study of peoples
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
identity · diversity · folkways · mores · beliefs · values · practices · worldview · indigenous · regional
custom
Habitual group practice
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- festivalOrganized public celebration
handicraft · artisanry · craftsmanship · observance · pageantry · commemoration · ritual · celebration · maypole · carnival
superstition
Baseless belief in omens
charm · amulet · talisman · divination · prophecy · fortune-telling · luck · taboo · blessing · hex
dragon
Legendary fire-breathing reptile
- unicornMythical one-horned horse
- phoenixSelf-immolating, regenerating bird
- mermaidFish-tailed ocean woman
goblin · fairy · elf · troll · werewolf · vampire · banshee · leprechaun · yeti · chupacabra
- fantasywizard, witch, magic, dragon, elf
- historyancient civilizations, past events, historian, epochs, era
- cultural heritagetraditions, customs, museum collections, museums, language revival
- cultural traditionsflamenco, tango, kabuki, hula, capoeira
- Literary traditionsmythology, fairy tales, fables, legends, epics
- communityneighbors, neighborliness, neighborhoods, kinship, community centers
folklorerecorded history
Past preserved through documentation
archives · historiography · official records · journalism · official history
folklorefact
Verifiable piece of information
science · scientific knowledge · empirical evidence · objective reality · objective truth
folkloreinvention
New device or method
creation · original composition · innovation · avant-garde · modernism
- 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