WORLD MYTHSAND FOLKTALES

~ Literary Significance ~Myths and folktale~ are the world's oldest stories. Peoplehave told myths and folktales since language was created,keeping them alive and vital through the centuries by wordof mouth.

Myths are stories about beginnings. They probably origi-nally had a religious purpose, for they attempt to explainmysteries that people regard as sacred: how the worldwas created, why people must eventually die, why theworld is imperfect.

Folktales are stories told by the common people. Mostfolktales are told for entertainment, although they mayalso teach values. Legends, tall tales, fables, and fairy talesare 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, afamily without roots. "

WORLD MYTHSAND FOLKTALES

" There are onlytwo or three humanstories, and they goon repeatingthemselves asfiercely as if they hadnever happenedbefore. "

Myths and folktales are the world's oldest stories,passed on by word of mouth from generation togeneration. Stories have always been important to

people. The following story, "The Storytelling Stone," comesfrom the oral tradition of the Seneca Indians of North Ameri-ca. It explains, perhaps better than any book on mythologyever could, how stories came to be, and why people bothvalue and need them.

Inanother time before this onel there was a boy whohunted every day in the forest. Oncel late in the after-

noonl he stopped beside a large rock and sat down near itto fix his bow and make new points on his arrows.

A manls voice spoke to him. IJ will tell you a story/I itsaid.

The boy was startled and a little afraidl but hesearched 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 firstyou must give me a present for telling it to you. II

IIWill this partridge do?11asked the bOYIplacing one ofthe birds he had hunted that day on the stone.

IICome back in the evening II the stone saidl Iland youwill hear a legend about the world that was. II

In the evening the boy sat on the stone again. Thevoice told him of the people who lived in the sky abovel thellfirst peoplel II the ones with great magic. Among them livedan old woman who dreamed that the large tree with thewhite blossoms that stood in the center of her village shouldbe dug up by its roots. When she told her people about thislthey followed the dreamls instructionsl uprooting the tree.

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

They were frightened and angry over the hole it left andthrew the old woman into it. She fell to earthl and theearthl which was completely under water thenl ht:ld to bebrought up from the depths by the animals and put uponthe turtlels back and patted by the beaversl tails and al-lowed to grow before it could receive her who had fallenfrom the sky.

When he finished the talel he noticed the boy haddozed off and so he saidl ITou must tell me if you becomesleepYI and we can rest. If you sleep you will not hear. It isbetter that you come back tomorrow evening and I will tellyou more. Remember to bring my present. II

Next day the boy hunted and in the evening returned tothe rock with a string of birds. This time he did not miss aword. He came the next evening and the one after that.

IIWhere do you disappear to at night?11his friendasked him one day when they were out hunting together.

17go to hear storieslll he replied.IIWhat are they?1117 donlt know how to tell you about theml but come

with me tonight and you will hear for yourself IISO he brought his friend to the stonel and its voice

filled their ears with the tales of Genonsgwa and the stonecoatsl the Flying Headsl and the Porcupine people until theboys were sleepy and the stone sent them home to their beds.

The Pueblo Indians create story-teller dolls which depict grand-parent figures telling childrenstories of their ancestors andtales of the past.

Soon the whole village was buzzing with the news ofthe stone and the tales. The boys led the tribe to the placewhere the stone stood. The people carried fresh game withthem which they left for the stone. They marveled over thethings called tales that fell from its mouth. No one had everheard about "The Master of Life II and "He Who Is OurGrandfatherlll or his enemy "He Who Is Clad in Ice. IIThey did not know about such things as the songs of thecorn or the prayer for the harvestl and the wisest amongthem knew then that they had known nothing until the stonehad begun to speak. It took four years for the stone to tellall the talesl but the nights passed quickly.

The rock called the boy one evening after the othershad left and said to himl /lOne day you will become oldand be unable to hunt. These tales will help you in your oldage. Tell the legends to othersl but make sure that they giveyou something in return for them. IIAnd after it had told theboy the last storYI the stone was silent and never spokeagain.

The boy grew up and grew old. He did not forget thelegendsl and he told them to anyone who came to his lodgeto listen. Many traveled from faraway tribes to hear thestories from the old man who had learned them from thestone when he was a boy. They gladly gave him tobaccol

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 areny stories in the world where none had been before. ThepIe from the other world before ours, the ones who hadstrong 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 tomodern readers because they reveal

common truths, patterns, andthemes that are familiar to all ages

and cultures.

-':2ey explain the origins of various rituals that people fol-~',. 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:.=.1·e£, a custom, or a mysterious natural phenomenon. The-zrd myth comes from the Greek word muthos, which

ply means "story."

, , The study ofmythology might becompared to theinvestigation of asealed box. We donot know which istop or bottom, whosent it or why. "

-Mary Barnard

" Essentially,mythologies areenormous poemsthat are renditions ofinsights, giving somesense of the marvel,the miracle andwonder of life. "

-Joseph Campbell

CHINESE HORSE, from the Cave ofLascaux, Montignac, France.These ancient cave paintingshelped people to create a senseof order and belonging in the uni-verse. Myths serve a similarfunction.

Myths had specific purposes in their cultures. In everyculture, however, the main functions of myths were:

1. To explain the creation of the world and the universe2. To explain the human condition: how and why people

were created, why they are flawed, why there is suf-fering in the world, why people must eventually die.and what happens to people after death

3. To explain natural phenomena. such as the setting ofthe sun and the phases of the moon

4. To explain the nature of gods and goddesses and howthese deities and human beings interact

5. To explain the meanings behind religious rituals. cus-toms, and beliefs

6. To explain historical events7. To teach moral lessons

Myths were created out of a humanneed to make sense of the universeand explain how the world and its

human inhabitants came to be.

Alongwith rituals. cave and rock paintings, songs, and pray-ers, myths were the means through which human beings inancient times tried to find order and pattern in life. Mythshelped people to feel a sense of harmony with a world thatcould be both beautiful and dangerous.

The Differences Between Mythsand Folktales

As myths were told and retold over generations, they trans-formed. Not only their specificdetails, but also the purposesthey served in their cultures, changed. One of the storytell-ing forms that arose from the myth was the folktale.

A folktale is a story that is created by the "folk"-thecommon people-and passed along orally from generationto generation. Folktales include legends. fables, tall tales.fairy tales. and ghost stories. Folktales differ from myths inseveral 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 enchant-

ments. just as myths do. But although folktales maysometimes include gods or goddesses as characters.they are usually not central actors in the story.

4. Folktale heroes tend to be common, everyday folk whodon't have special powers. unlike the heroes of myths.who are the superhuman offspring of gods or god-desses and human parents.

5. Folktales are not associated with religious rituals.

Folktales are entertaining storiesabout ordinary people

who survive by luck, by using theirwits, and by relying on their own

natural goodness.

The most important difference between a myth and a folk-tale concerns the purposes of each storytelling form. Mythsare a direct expression of a culture's religious beliefs; folk-tales are not. Butboth myths and folktales explain importanttruths about life. They address our deepest needs and engageour sense of wonder. They are the stories of the humanfamily.

Title page to the first edition ofGrimm's Kinder- undHausmarchen (Fairy Tales),1815-1821.

Introduction

Tales About Beginnings

Probably the very first storieshuman beings told were origin

myths-stories that explain how thingscame to be. Just as individual familieshave stories of where they came from,so do people all over the world havestories about their beginnings. Many ofthe great questions people had abouttheir lives were answered by their originmyths: How was the world created?Why do people die? Is there life afterdeath? Why is evil allowed to exist inthe world? How did various animals,plants, and geographical features cometo be?

•origin myths: stories that explainhow things came to be.

Most cultures have myths that explainhow the universe was created. Many cul-tures also have stories about the end ofa society, an era, or even of the worlditself. Sometimes the end comes in theform of a great flood that cleanses theearth of evil and sets the stage for anew beginning. And many cultures havestories about a long-ago "Golden Age"-atime when the world enjoyed perfectpeace, happiness, and prosperity. Butthis Golden Age is lost when evil. sick-ness, and death come into the world.

The Roles of Godsand GoddessesGods and goddesses are nearly alwaysassociated with origin myths. It is usu-ally a god or goddess who forms theearth and the life on it.

Like human beings, gods and god-desses form family groups, or panthe-ons. Often, a culture's pantheon is ruledby a powerful "father" god and a"mother" goddess. There are usually off-spring and other relatives. These othergods and goddesses are often associatedwith various aspects of life, from ab-stract values such as wisdom, fertility,love, and justice, to concrete forces ofnature such as the wind, the sea, themoon, and earthquakes.

The Staying Power ofMythic PatternsThe more myths you read, the moreyou'll notice that certain themes, charac-ters, and images keep recurring. Theserecurring patterns are called archetypes.They serve as basic models to whichspecific cultural details are added.

Archetypes are so powerful that theySimply change a bit over time and re-appear in different forms in other typesof 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 peaceableV kingdom symbolizes?

lost Golden Age might appear today in anovel about a woman who remembers ahappy childhood in her old home townbut returns to it in middle age only tofind that everything has changed and,that the joy and innocence of that ear-" lier time cannot be recaptured. The

•archetype (ar'ke°tTp'): a pattern ormodel that serves as the basis fordifferent, but related, versions of acharacter, plot, or theme.

myth of a great flood might appear to-day in the form of a science-fiction

novel about the end of the world inwhich a war, disease, or alien invasiondestroys almost everything. but leavespossibilities open for the world's rebirth.

The Purpose of Origin MythsOrigin myths gave the people who toldthem a sense of their place in the uni-verse. Such myths told people who theywere, where they came from, and whattheir destiny would be. The stories wetell today serve much the same purpose.All stories are outgrowths of myths; allstories ultimately deal with the howsand whys of human existence.