FOLK LORE

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 3967, 23 September 1930, Page 2

FOLK LORE

HOW A SCIENCE The study of traditions as they appear in fiction, custom, magic, ritual, and belief is intensely interesting, because one is here in touch with the folk,’’ the common people. The material for investigation is abundant and the workers are many. The British Folk Lore Society held its jubilee congress some time ago. By means of collecting. examining, and classifying the members aim at reconstructing a spiritual history of man, and this involves a careful evaluation of documents with proper attention to chronology. While attending the jubilee congress in London Dr Alexander Haggerty Krappe conceived the idea of furnishing a comprehensive handbook on the subject, doing for the English reader what Heims had done for the German people a few years before the Great War. The result is now before p public in the very complete and scholarly volume entitled ‘ The Science of Folk Lore (states the Melbourne ‘ Argus It is the first tiling of the kind in English, and is no mere compilation, but a vigorous presentation of the whole subject, hand in hand with a critical discussion of the various theories held by authorities on the question of genesis. The book naturally opens with the fairy tale which is defined as a continued narrative, serious on the whole, centring in one hero or heroine, usually poor and destitute at the start, who, after a series of adventures in which the supernatural element plays a con spicuous part, attains his goal and lives happily ever after. In the scientific analysis of the fairy tale it is found to be made up of a number of adventures or motives and these motives make up the plot of the tale or the type. Some of the motnes are limited to a x-ertain number of tale types, but the sum total of all motives reaches probably to about 1 1,000. Or 1 versions of many of these have been collected from the people during the nineteenth century, and collectors are still busy. These variants are found all over Europe, Asia. Africa, and America, and it is significant that none are reported from Central Africa and lative Australia. The fairy tale seems to be essentially an Old World product. Can a given fairy tale be shown to be derived from a given myth ? The famous story of Bluebeard, as known to English readers, is a version by no means among the oldest or most primitive. In another group of variants belonging to South-eastern Europe Bluebeard requests his fiancees to devour a dead man’s bone. Two of the sisters refuse, and are promptly killed ; the third gets away with a ruse. The myth which is the fasis of all the ver sions is the Greek one of Death devouring the corpses of the dead. Nevertheless, it is permissible to take the common-sense view of the fairy tale as a piece cf popular fiction prim arily designed to please and entertain. Dr Kra, pe holds to the literary interpretation rather than the more abstruse views put forward by the anthropological school or the solar myth theory deiended by Max Muller. The genuine fairy tale dispenses with preamble, usually follows a fixed formula for the beginning and the end, and the num bers most used are two or three. The third giant is always the most dan genius, and of the three king's laughters the third and youngest is always the prettiest. The merry tale came later than the fairy tale, 1 this is partly due to a feeling of prudisliness. The motives are few, but the types are quite fixed. The animal tale purports to explain a cause, and the standard example is the well-known explanation of how the bear came to lose its tail. The fox persuaded him to dip his tail into the water one winter night to catch fish, the water froze, he pulled to free himself, and the tail came off.

Local legends are attached to a definite locality, and were invented to explain some uncommon feature m the landscape. An impression in a rock is like a foot, and forthwith is pointed out as the footprint of some famous indi-' vidual. Dr Krappe explains further that local often explain -ites which have fallen into disuse. The tale of Lady Godiva was invented to explain an agricultural rite in which the procession of a naked woman formed a sort cf climax. Festivals -'re probabh sur rivals of ancient pagan rites. The local legend best : pports the claims of the anthropological school. The migntory tale is one that exists in a limited number of variants localised in quite different places, though forming part of a very definite and highly orthodox religious ystem. Exa tuples are furnished in the treachery of Delilah and her descendant Tarpeia. How is it hat a society at bottom illiterate manages to hand on traditions from generation to generation without fundamentally altering them in the pro cess? Dr Krappe points out that m an illiterate society there are men specially trained in memorising. They are found among the Maoris of New 7 land, who hand on records from lather to son. The Icelandic sagaman followed the same practice. The saga is, first of all a f uly affair concerned with genealogies, but may develop into a romantic affair. What is the difference between a toik song and .. popular song? Bioadly it is this: A folk song originates anonymously among unlettered folk, whereas the popular song has a purely literary origin. ‘ The Old Kentucky Home is a folk song, whereas ‘ Annie naunc ' is a popular song. The one tvpe often shades’ . into the other. As to popular ballads, it may be safely said that Burns, Scott, and Byron found grea,t inspiration in folk poetry, lh ron finding his in the balladry of the Levantines, chieily in the Greek language. Dr Krappe cannot be said to be so bappv in his treatment of superstition. Ho defines it a?v the sum of beliefs and practices shared by other people m so tar as they differ from our own. His. assertion that religion has its main roots in fear will he vigorously questioned. He also defines myths as tales of popular origin, modified by poets, loosely conne ted with religion, but never incorporated into creeds. They were usually attempts to explain something. and died under the hammer of (lie rationalists. Students will find this b'ok lre-b ami stimulating, and if it here and there bridges a gap in : rickety v y no one is bound to make any mistake about it. Kven an author may unconsciously invent a fairy explanation.