WORLD MYTHS AND FOLKTALES

~ Literary Significance ~
Myths and folktale~ are the world's oldest stories. People have told myths and folktales since language was created, keeping them alive and vital through the centuries by word of mouth. Myths are stories about beginnings. They probably originally had a religious purpose, for they attempt to explain mysteries that people regard as sacred: how the world was created, why people must eventually die, why the world is imperfect. Folktales are stories told by the common people. Most folktales are told for entertainment, although they may also teach values. Legends, tall tales, fables, and fairy tales are all forms of the folktale. Myths and folktales are important in every world culture. A society without stories about its beginnings, its heroes, and its deepest values is like a person without a name, a family without roots. "

WORLD MYTHS AND FOLKTALES

yths and folktales are the world's oldest stories, passed on by word of mouth from generation to generation. Stories have always been important to people. The following story, "The Storytelling Stone," comes from the oral tradition of the Seneca Indians of North America. It explains, perhaps better than any book on mythology ever could, how stories came to be, and why people both value and need them.
n another time before this onel there was a boy who hunted every day in the forest. Oncel late in the afternoonl he stopped beside a large rock and sat down near it to fix his bow and make new points on his arrows. A manls voice spoke to him. IJ will tell you a story/I it said. The boy was startled and a little afraidl but he searched all around the stone to find the source of the voice. It could only be the rockl he thought. It must have orenda, the magic power the old men talk about. So he spoke to it. IIWhat did you say you wanted to tell me?11 IIThey are called storiesi they are traditions. But first you must give me a present for telling it to you. II IIWill this partridge do?11asked the bOYIplacing one of the birds he had hunted that day on the stone. IICome back in the evening II the stone saidl Iland you will hear a legend about the world that was. II In the evening the boy sat on the stone again. The voice told him of the people who lived in the sky abovel the llfirst peoplel II the ones with great magic. Among them lived an old woman who dreamed that the large tree with the white blossoms that stood in the center of her village should be dug up by its roots. When she told her people about thisl they followed the dreamls instructionsl uprooting the tree.

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" There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before. "

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The stone has long been a symbol of strength and unity in the beliefs of many cultures, and it is often associated with foundations and with the origins of life. any of these symbolic meanings come into play in this tale?

They were frightened and angry over the hole it left and threw the old woman into it. She fell to earthl and the earthl which was completely under water thenl ht:ld to be brought up from the depths by the animals and put upon the turtlels back and patted by the beaversl tails and allowed to grow before it could receive her who had fallen from the sky. When he finished the talel he noticed the boy had dozed off and so he saidl ITou must tell me if you become sleepYI and we can rest. If you sleep you will not hear. It is better that you come back tomorrow evening and I will tell you more. Remember to bring my present. II Next day the boy hunted and in the evening returned to the rock with a string of birds. This time he did not miss a word. He came the next evening and the one after that. IIWhere do you disappear to at night?11 his friend asked him one day when they were out hunting together. 17 go to hear storieslll he replied. IIWhat are they?11 17 donlt know how to tell you about theml but come with me tonight and you will hear for yourself II SO he brought his friend to the stonel and its voice filled their ears with the tales of Genonsgwa and the stone coatsl the Flying Headsl and the Porcupine people until the boys were sleepy and the stone sent them home to their beds.

The Pueblo Indians create storyteller dolls which depict grandparent figures telling children stories of their ancestors and tales of the past.

Soon the whole village was buzzing with the news of the stone and the tales. The boys led the tribe to the place where the stone stood. The people carried fresh game with them which they left for the stone. They marveled over the things called tales that fell from its mouth. No one had ever heard about "The Master of Life II and "He Who Is Our Grandfather or his enemy "He Who Is Clad in Ice. II They did not know about such things as the songs of the corn or the prayer for the harvest and the wisest among them knew then that they had known nothing until the stone had begun to speak. It took four years for the stone to tell all the tales but the nights passed quickly. The rock called the boy one evening after the others had left and said to him /lOne day you will become old and be unable to hunt. These tales will help you in your old age. Tell the legends to others but make sure that they give you something in return for them. II And after it had told the boy the last storYI the stone was silent and never spoke again. The boy grew up and grew old. He did not forget the legends and he told them to anyone who came to his lodge to listen. Many traveled from faraway tribes to hear the stories from the old man who had learned them from the stone when he was a boy. They gladly gave him tobacco
ll l l l l l l l

teat, and pelts, for he knew the stories of their beginnings, - ,and could te// them as we// as the ones about his own . tJe. There were few nights when his lodge did not have a d of listeners, enthra//ed and intent, catching the tales - take home with them to their own hearths. That is the way stories came to be and why there are ny stories in the world where none had been before. The pIe from the other world before ours, the ones who had strong and wonderful magic that the stone told about, the ones we cannot stop te//ing stories about, even today. -Retold by John Cech

"The Storytelling Stone" explains many of the most _ ortant things we need to know about myths and folk~ es. They tell about the beginnings of things. They include =.arvelous or supernatural events and tell of the deeds and :::: entures of gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines.

Myths and folktales remain vital to modern readers because they reveal common truths, patterns, and themes that are familiar to all ages and cultures.
-':2ey explain the origins of various rituals that people fol-

, , The study of mythology might be compared to the investigation of a sealed box. We do not know which is top or bottom, who sent it or why. "
-Mary Barnard

~',. They are passed down from generation to generation _; word of mouth. Most important of alL however, they - _lain the human experience. They tell us, in poetic, imagi~ e terms. the most important things that we can com~cate to one another: who we are, where we came from, =:' what we believe in. As mythologist Joseph Campbell ::::.e pointed out, myths and folktales are in some ways :: en "truer" than history.

hat Is a Myth?
.-. myth is an anonymous, traditional story that explains a :.=.1e, a custom, or a mysterious natural phenomenon. The -zrd myth comes from the Greek word muthos, which ply means "story."

Myths had specific purposes in their cultures. In every culture, however, the main functions of myths were:
1. To explain the creation of the world and the universe 2. To explain the human condition: how and why people

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

" Essentially, mythologies are enormous poems that are renditions of insights, giving some sense of the marvel, the miracle and wonder of life. "
-Joseph Campbell

were created, why they are flawed, why there is suffering in the world, why people must eventually die. and what happens to people after death To explain natural phenomena. such as the setting of the sun and the phases of the moon To explain the nature of gods and goddesses and how these deities and human beings interact To explain the meanings behind religious rituals. customs, and beliefs To explain historical events To teach moral lessons

Myths were created out of a human need to make sense of the universe and explain how the world and its human inhabitants came to be.
Along with rituals. cave and rock paintings, songs, and prayers, myths were the means through which human beings in ancient times tried to find order and pattern in life. Myths helped people to feel a sense of harmony with a world that could be both beautiful and dangerous.

HORSE, from the Cave of Lascaux, Montignac, France. These ancient cave paintings helped people to create a sense of order and belonging in the universe. Myths serve a similar function. CHINESE

The Differences Between Myths and Folktales

As myths were told and retold over generations, they transformed. Not only their specific details, but also the purposes they served in their cultures, changed. One of the storytelling forms that arose from the myth was the folktale. A folktale is a story that is created by the "folk"-the common people-and passed along orally from generation to generation. Folktales include legends. fables, tall tales. fairy tales. and ghost stories. Folktales differ from myths in several important ways;
1. Folktales, unlike myths. are secular. or nonreligious. 2. Folktales were created as much for their entertainment

value as for the teaching of social or moral values. 3. Folktales feature magic. transformations. and enchantments. just as myths do. But although folktales may sometimes include gods or goddesses as characters. they are usually not central actors in the story. 4. Folktale heroes tend to be common, everyday folk who don't have special powers. unlike the heroes of myths. who are the superhuman offspring of gods or goddesses and human parents. 5. Folktales are not associated with religious rituals.

Title page to the first edition of Grimm's Kinder- und Hausmarchen (Fairy Tales), 1815-1821.

Folktales are entertaining stories about ordinary people who survive by luck, by using their wits, and by relying on their own natural goodness.

The most important difference between a myth and a folktale concerns the purposes of each storytelling form. Myths are a direct expression of a culture's religious beliefs; folktales are not. But both myths and folktales explain important truths about life. They address our deepest needs and engage our sense of wonder. They are the stories of the human family.

Introduction
Tales About Beginnings
robably the very first stories human beings told were origin myths-stories that explain how things came to be. Just as individual families have stories of where they came from, so do people all over the world have stories about their beginnings. Many of the great questions people had about their lives were answered by their origin myths: How was the world created? Why do people die? Is there life after death? Why is evil allowed to exist in the world? How did various animals, plants, and geographical features come to be?
origin myths: stories that explain

The Roles of Gods and Goddesses

Gods and goddesses are nearly always associated with origin myths. It is usually a god or goddess who forms the earth and the life on it. Like human beings, gods and goddesses form family groups, or pantheons. Often, a culture's pantheon is ruled by a powerful "father" god and a "mother" goddess. There are usually offspring and other relatives. These other gods and goddesses are often associated with various aspects of life, from abstract values such as wisdom, fertility, love, and justice, to concrete forces of nature such as the wind, the sea, the moon, and earthquakes.

how things came to be. Most cultures have myths that explain how the universe was created. Many cultures also have stories about the end of a society, an era, or even of the world itself. Sometimes the end comes in the form of a great flood that cleanses the earth of evil and sets the stage for a new beginning. And many cultures have stories about a long-ago "Golden Age"-a time when the world enjoyed perfect peace, happiness, and prosperity. But this Golden Age is lost when evil. sickness, and death come into the world.

The Staying Power of Mythic Patterns

The more myths you read, the more you'll notice that certain themes, characters, and images keep recurring. These recurring patterns are called archetypes. They serve as basic models to which specific cultural details are added. Archetypes are so powerful that they Simply change a bit over time and reappear in different forms in other types of literature. Thus, the archetype of the

THE PEACEABLE K,NGDOM,

EDWARD

HICKS.

The "peaceable kingdom" is a popular vision of a Colden Age. ~ What human hopes and yearnings do you think the idea of a peaceable V kingdom symbolizes?

lost Golden Age might appear today in a novel about a woman who remembers a happy childhood in her old home town but returns to it in middle age only to find that everything has changed and ,that the joy and innocence of that ear" lier time cannot be recaptured. The
archetype (ar'ketTp'): a pattern or

novel about the end of the world in which a war, disease, or alien invasion destroys almost everything. but leaves possibilities open for the world's rebirth.

The Purpose of Origin Myths

Origin myths gave the people who told them a sense of their place in the universe. Such myths told people who they were, where they came from, and what their destiny would be. The stories we tell today serve much the same purpose. All stories are outgrowths of myths; all stories ultimately deal with the hows and whys of human existence.

model that serves as the basis for different, but related, versions of a character, plot, or theme. myth of a great flood might appear today in the form of a science-fiction