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Folklore (Dewey 398)


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Folktales include all forms of narrative - - written or oral - - handed down through the years and reflecting the lives and imaginations of the people. According to Aarne-Thompson, the three types of tales are: Animal * Tales, Ordinary * Folktales, and Jokes and * Anecdotes. They categorized the tales using motifs. *.
Types of folktales

BEAST (ANIMAL) TALES *


Wild Animals
Wild Animal and Domestic Animals
Man and Wild Animals
Domestic Animals
Birds
Fish
Other Animals and Objects
Types of folktales

JOKES and ANECDOTES [REAL * ]

1. noodlehead * tales
2. married couples *
3. women and men *
4. lying tales *
5. Formula * tales
a. cumulative * tales
b. catch-tales
c. unfinished tales
d. endless tales
e. rounds
f. historical ballads *

Types of Animal tales

FABLES

Aesop * | La Fontaine *

Jataka * | Bidpai *

Panchatantra * | Persian *

Chinese * | Other fables *
Types of folktales

ORDINARY TALES

1. magic with elements of enchantment *
superhuman tasks, supernatural
2. religious stories *
mythology *
3. romantic tales
4. stupid ogre tales

Motifs * of folktales

Mythological tales
Animal motifs
Taboo, Magic
The Dead, Ogres
Marvels, Tests
Wise and Foolish
Deceptions (Tricksters)
Reversal of Fortune
Ordaining the Future
Motifs * of folktales


Chance and Fate
Society
Rewards and Punishments
Captives and Fugitives
Unnatural Cruelty
Sex
Traits of Character
Humor
Miscellaneous Groups of Motifs

Folklore of
NORTH AMERICA

NATIVE PEOPLES CREATION * STORIES


Creation * of world, humans, and animal life
Trickster-culture heroes *
Human culture - gifts to the people *
Natural order *
. . . stars, seasonal cycles seasons
Earth Topography *
World calamities
Animal characteristics *
Origin of trees
Origin of plants * and plant characteristics
Folklore of
NORTH AMERICA *

United States *

Folklore of Native peoples *
by LINGUISTIC groups

Index * of American tall tale resources

1800s American tall tales hero * books

Canada *

Mexico *

Folklore of

CENTRAL AMERICA*

SOUTH AMERICA *

CARIBBEAN ISLANDS *

Central and South American
Mythology *

Mayan culture *
Folklore of EUROPE *

Norse Mythology *

Classical Mythology *

Jewish Folklore *
Folklore of AFRICA *

African Mythology * 		Folklore of ASIA *

Asian Mythology *
Folklore of

AUSTRALIA *

and the

PACIFIC ISLANDS REGION 		Tales of Historical Lore

Medieval legends *

Ballads *

Narrative poems *

Modern-Day Folklore *

Petronella
Stinky Cheese Man
Paper Bag Princess
Tales of Places and Times

Tall tale heroes *
Narrative poems *
Paul Revere's Ride *
Historical poems *
Legendary Tales
of Dragons, Unicorns, Werewolves *
Creation Stories

Hero stories * and
interaction with gods

Hercules, Perseus


Tales of Natural (Physical) * Phenomena Tales of the Real *
Tales of the Unreal *

involving Atlantis, vampires,
dragons, ghosts, Loch Ness Monster
Proverbs, Rhyming verses, Mother Goose *




Educator is the recipient of the Miss Rumphius Award *

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Last modified: September 19, 2005.
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Disclaimer: Inquiry Unlimited attempts to provide appropriate, informative educational links. We check and update links frequently. We cannot be responsible for the content, use of, or quality of materials on any website other than our own. To the best of our knowledge, graphics on this site are public domain. If you find otherwise, please notify us and we will remove them immediately.

For a broadened view of folklore, refer to The Folktale by Stith Thompson for tale types and motifs.

For your reading enjoyment, peruse "Folk Tales of the North American Indians" by Stith Thompson. It includes tales categorized by culture group and motif.