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Teaching Anthropology through Folklore

Author(s): Rachel A. BonneySource: Anthropology & Education Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 4, Teaching Anthropology (Winter,1985), pp. 265-270Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the American Anthropological AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3216296 .

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Podolefsky A SimulationExercise 265

APPENDIX A. DEVELOPMENT SIMULATION TIMETABLE

Describethe Simulation 5-10 minutes)"*Provideclasswith the timetable."*Divide class into four groups."*Describe he processof play."*Assigna role to each group."*Describe he role of each group.

GroupsFormulatePositions(10-15 minutes)"*The groupmay elect a leader(optional)."*Considerquestionsposed in the role descriptions.

Playthe Game(20-30 minutes)"*Each

group presentsts

positionin turn.

"*Groups nteract,expressing atisfactionor dissatisfaction."*Fiveminutes nto the game, announce hat negotiationsarepermittedbe-

tween groups. Group representativesmaymeet alone(i.e., somewherebe-tween groups).

Within-Group iscussion(10 minutes)"* ndividual electedto sum up groupreport."*Group "processes"he experience; .e., discusseswhat has been learned.

Group Reports(15 minutes)"*Representativeseporton what was learned."*

Generaldiscussionas timepermits.

Teaching Anthropology Through Folklore

RACHEL A. BONNEY

Associate Professor of Anthropology

The University of North Carolina at CharlotteCharlotte, NC 28115.

The author describes three uses of folklore in teaching anthropology:collecting folklore through interviewing; analyzing folklore themes; and

using folklore in puppetry and plays. FOLKLORE; ORAL HISTORY;PUPPETRY AND PLAYS; TEACHING ANTHROPOLOGY.

Anthropologists long have recognized the importance in "primitive"societies of folklore as an educational tool for the transmission of

cultural traditions, values, and histories from one generation to thenext. However, anthropological research has focused more on analysisof folklore than on its educational role in society, using folklore assources of historical data, for insights into personality patterns, todetermine basic values and world views, and to explain cultural traitsor customs.

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266 Anthropology&EducationQuarterly Volume16, 1985

Although storytelling as a teaching method seems to be restricted to

the elementary grades in the American school system, I suggest that

storytelling can be used successfully to teach basic anthropological con-cepts and methods as well as cultural values and traits to college level an-

thropology students. In addition, presentations to civic groups and publicschool classes can be enhanced through the use of folklore materials.

In traditionally taught introductory anthropology courses, folklore

usually is covered under the heading of art and is given only minimal

treatment. For the past ten years, I have been using folklore as a teachingaid in both introductory and advanced anthropology classes. In this arti-

cle, I describe three somewhat separate uses of folklore in teaching an-

thropology: collecting folklore through fieldwork interviewing, analyzing

themes in folklore, and using folklore through puppetry and plays.

Collecting Folklore

In addition to collecting valuable historical and ethnohistorical data,

collecting folklore or oral histories also introduces students to basic

methods of fieldwork, interviewing, data collection, and analysis, and it

increases their awareness and understanding of their own culture and

social system.Oral

historycollection is a required part of my introductory an-

thropology course. For example, relative to the topic of cultural

change, students are assigned to the task of interviewing senior citizens

about social change (as opposed to technological change) during the

past fifty years. Written instructions include a list of suggested or ap-

propriate topics; e.g., courtship and marriage, family forms and func-

tions, the role of the church and religion, holiday traditions and prac-

tices, medical practices (folk or home remedies and practices), enter-

tainment, and work. Students are given the freedom to choose from this

list or to select their own topics, so long as they choose topics relating

to social changes.To begin, students read Rhoda Levin's article from Minnesota

History (1979:70-74) that covers the ethics of interviewing and data

collection, the importance of getting written permission for use of oral

history materials, protecting the anonymity of informants, and

"how-to" information, such as the use of tape recorders and transcrib-

ing and organizing data. Students also receive written and oral instruc-

tions from the instructor on interviewing techniques, data analysis, and

organization of data into a paper. Students spend several hours inter-

viewing their subjects, who must be senior citizens. Some students let

the informant select the subject matter, but many prefer to select thetopic themselves and prepare questions in advance. Although most

students record their interviews and transcribe the tapes, the final pro-

duct is not a verbatim transcription of their interviews but a written

analysis of social change in one particular area of life as related by one

informant. Final papers include an introduction, an identification of the

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Bonney Folklore 267

subject, the data, and conclusions. The conclusions are the student's

perceptions of the changes that have taken place and explanations for

such changes, based on an understanding of anthropological conceptsof culture and cultural change.

Folktale Analysis

Just as anthropologists may utilize folktales for sources of informa-tion and insights on child-rearing and educational practices of othercultures and on values, morals, and cultural themes, anthropology in-structors can make effective use of folktales as a teaching method byhaving students analyze folklore materials. Since few students have

much familiarity with any culture other than their own in such areas asvalues, kinship and marriage, and culture and personality, I find it moreeffective to use folktales from American or European cultures. It iseasier for students to isolate and to identify values and precepts withwhich they are already familiar than those from an unfamiliar culture.

For introductory students, I use folklore drawn from the Europeantradition, specifically Grimm's fairy tales, rather than such American

legends as Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, and John Henry. Fairy tales such as"Hansel and Gretel" and "Little Red Riding Hood" not only share thesame basic themes of Western culture,

theyare more universal in their

distribution than tales about regional heroes. The latter are useful incourses on American culture, American ethnic groups, and culture and

personality.Folklore analysis is assigned in conjunction with the study of art,

where folklore is discussed as part of art traditions and where the func-tion of art in projecting and reflecting basic values and cultural traits ofa society is demonstrated. Students are given their choice of "Hanseland Gretel"or "Little Red Riding Hood" for analysis, both still popularin American culture despite Medieval European origins and cultural

change. Since the two stories are culturally relevant, students analyzethe story looking for contemporary values preserved and transmitted toour children.

Students must reread the story before writing their analysis. The

paper is not a retelling of the story but an analytical discussion of thevalues and cultural content implicit in the story and reflected in its sym-bolism. These two tales were selected because of basic themes ofWestern civilization and the Judeo-Christian tradition that can be foundin them: good overcomes evil; virtue, good, or innocence will berewarded and greed and evil will be punished; the importance and role

of the family and family members; altruism and humanitarianism in thecare of the elderly or sick (Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother) orthe weak (Hansel's care of Gretel); obedience; appropriate sex roles;distrust of strangers; and "appearances can be deceiving" (gingerbreadhouses and wolves). Although additional values may be identified, bothtales share the above. It should be noted that some versions of "Little

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268 Anthropology&EducationQuarterly Volume16, 1985

Red Riding Hood" do not have the almost universal happy ending:there is no woodsman who, at the last minute, saves Little Red Riding

Hood and her grandmother by killing the wicked wolf. In newer edi-tions of the stories published in the United States, the wolf is killed and

the two innocent and helpless (female) victims are rescued by the big,brave, and strong (male) woodsman, leading to some interesting obser-

vations about sex roles, as does the fact that Gretel saves Hansel from

the wicked witch, but only because Hansel's intelligence earlier had out-

witted the female witch.

For courses on kinship and marriage, analysis of "Cinderella"can lead

to interesting observations on values and practices, as well as expecta-tions concerning courtship, mate selection, marriage, and sex roles.

Other stories also lend themselves to cultural analysis. Selection of talesdepends on types of themes sought, type of course taught, and instruc-

tor preferences.

Dramatization of Folklore

In most societies, folktales are part of an oral tradition; they are told

aloud. This makes it possible to dramatizethe events, to portray different

characters with different tones of voice or expression, and to bring the

stories and characters to life for the audience.Although

not all an-

thropology teachers are raconteurs, stories can be presented dramaticallyas plays or puppet shows, using student actors or puppeteers, in keepingwith a cross-cultural tradition of puppet or human dramatizations of

folklore in conjunction with ritual and religion (Currell 1974).1 This will

involve more effort by the instructor in researching and preparingmaterials than folktale analysis or oral history collection, but it is worth

the effort. This method of folklore study can be used for all levels,

kindergarten through senior citizen. For those asked to give speeches or

programs about other cultures to public school groups and civic

organizations, puppet shows and plays can be especially effective ways ofteaching anthropology to other than college audiences.

This method has been used in both introductory and advanced an-

thropology classes. For introductory classes, I have students read roles

from a script I prepared, dramatizing a Cherokee legend. The scriptwas written to incorporate cultural data into dialogue and narration,and the story was modified to fit the cultural traditions of storytelling(the story is narrated by a grandfather telling his grandchildren stories

explaining origins of cultural practices in events that took place long

ago). Class time involves one class period for the presentation of the

drama and a discussion that deals with the cultural content and valuestransmitted through the dramatized legend.

For advanced courses such as primitive art, culture and personality,or special classes such as one I offer for school teachers on developmentof Indian Studies curriculum units, students select a myth or legendfrom the tribe or culture they are studying and dramatize it to com-

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Bonney Folklore 269

municate cultural content and values. This necessitates additional

ethnographic research by the student to incorporate cultural data into

the script; thus, such projects are assigned as special projects, termpapers, or take-home exams. Usually these legends are dramatized as

puppet plays, and students must make puppets, clothed appropriatelyfor the tribe or culture area. Puppets range from stick puppets to

imaginative and well-executed soft-sculpture or papier-mache puppets.To facilitate presentation of puppet shows, students are encouraged torecord the dialogue on tape, allowing for additional sound effects and

music, enhancing the dramatic presentation. Through backgroundresearch required to write a script incorporating cultural data with a

legend, students learn about another culture in some depth and also see

a demonstration of the efficacy of folktales as educational devices.

Puppet programs and plays also can be effective in communicatingcultural information to public school classes and civic groups. For small

audiences, low-budget puppet shows work well. Puppets can be made

from low-cost readily available materials such as styrofoam balls, cloth

scraps, paper plates, or fur cloth, and lightweight, easily transported

stages can be made from large refrigerator cartons. With largeraudiences, human actors are more effective than puppets. These actors

maybe a rehearsed cast that

presentsthe drama for audiences such as

elementary school groups, or members of an older audience may takeand read roles.2 Audience participation is an important part of such

programs. School children can act as "props" (trees in a forest), extrasin crowd scenes, or mark the passage of time by carrying paper sunsand moons across the stage. If the narration and dialogue of the scriptare written especially to incorporate basic information about the

culture, and if props and costumes are created to illustrate the culture,discussions with the audience or individual classes following the pro-gram can reinforce learning about a different culture. Taping the

dialogue frees the puppeteers from trying to manipulate puppets whilesimultaneously trying to follow a script, and thus results in smoother

performance.

Evaluation

Although teaching through folklore might seen outmoded in a "hightech" society like modern America, the three approaches described here

have been used successfully to teach modern research skills, Westernand non-Western values and traditions, and alternative modes of educa-

tion (cultural transmission). Both folklore collection and analysis pro-vide students with basic skills of data collection, interviewing, and data

analysis that will be valuable regardless of the direction their careers

ultimately take.

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270 Anthropology & Education Quarterly Volume 16, 1985

Conclusions

Although the use of folklore in and out of the classroom will not

magically transform students into anthropologists, the use of an educa-tional method that has been effective for centuries in nonliteratesocieties can enhance and enliven anthropology courses both forstudents and for instructors and can be an effective device for teachinganthropology to community groups. The assignments demonstrate that

anthropology is not exclusively an exotic and esoteric discipline for the

study of "primitive" societies, but that anthropological skills and toolscan be used in many areas of life and that culture, including our own,can be studied and made more understandable. Anthropology is not for

an elite few, but for everyone: anthropology is relevant.

Endnotes

1. In early India, Greece,and Japan, puppet shows were used as educationaids. More recently,EasternEuropeanshave performedNativityplays, and anumberof American ndian ribeshave usedpuppetsto dramatizeegendsand

myths. Equallywell-known are the miracle and moralityplays of Medieval

Europe,used to teach the Scriptures nd Passionof Christandthe moralsandethics of the timesto the illiteratemasses(Currell1974).

2. When it was impossible personallyto meet all the requestsreceivedforAmerican Indian programs, I developed a special program to train collegestudentsin techniquesof using puppetryand plays about AmericanIndians.These students presented programs throughout the state-puppet shows tosmall audiences, and dramas in which the students acted the roles in the play to

larger audiences. Students received academic credit for participation. Scripts forthese plays about Cherokee and Catawba cultures may be obtained by writing tothe author.

References Cited

Currell, David1974 The CompleteBook of Puppetry.Boston,MA: Plays,Inc.

Levin,RhodaC.1979 OralHistory Techniques.MinnesotaHistory.Fall.

Information for AuthorsBeginning January 1, 1986 the editor of Anthropology and Education Quarterlyis Frederick Erickson, College of Education, 207 Erickson Hall, Michigan State

University, East Lansing, MI 48824. Manuscripts (four copies), typeddoublespaced, should be sent to him. Contact the new editor for manuscriptsubmission specifications.