MYTHS AND FOLK-LORE
I--INTRODUCTORY
The first meeting should be given up to a broad presentation of the
whole subject of folk-lore, myths, legends, fairy stories, festivals and
superstitions. One paper should present the universality of myths, the
curious resemblances found among them in races far apart in time and
place. A second paper may give the ways in which they have been
preserved to us. The Egyptians as early as 2800 B. C. used the stories
on monuments and in manuscripts. Herodotus and Livy speak of folk-tales;
AEsop's Fables embody many of them. In the Middle Ages story and song
preserved them; and later they were collected. Walter Scott was
especially appreciative of their value; he called them "antiquities,"
and tried to interest people in them in several of his books.
A third paper should deal with the important theories held by scholars
as to the origin of myths. The Grimm brothers in Germany, and later Max
Mueller, held that the similarity of myths proved the common stock and
language of all races; as divisions came the myths passed on from one
country and race to many. Andrew Lang, however, has more recently
developed a second theory, one held to-day by most scientists, that as
all primitive people observe the same phenomena of nature, they invent
much the same myths to explain them, as all pass through the same stages
of culture.
Another paper might notice the growth in the spread of the study of
myths and legends. Since Thorns in 1846 coined the phrase "folk-lore,"
societies have been formed in every civilized land to preserve the old
stories, songs and traditions, and to study them scientifically. Immense
value is placed to-day on their importance as throwing light on history,
literature, religion, and language. One writer says that a full
knowledge of the folk-lore of every nation would be synonymous with the
history of human thought. On the general subject read G. L. Gomme's
Folk-Lore as an Historical Science, Andrew Lang's Modern Mythology, and
the valuable articles in the encyclopedias. For readings from the
stories of all nations, see a set of small handbooks published by
Lippincott, called Folk-Lore and Legend.
II--THE OLDEST MYTHS, THE HINDU
In the earliest Western race, the Aryan, we find the simplest myths of
creation and changing nature. They first invented the Sun God, riding in
his fiery chariot, his glowing locks spreading out through the sky. The
demons of darkness revolt against him, and must be overcome. The Rain
God darkens the heavens, and the Dawn Maiden brings the light. From
these first simple ideas grew a large mythology, full of beauty, and of
the local color which we see in all national myths; these are warm and
glowing. Read the translations of some of the stories and hymns. See
Mrs. Poor's Sanskrit and Kindred Literatures, or Warner's Library of
Universal Literature.
III--GREEK MYTHS AND LEGENDS
The mythology of the Greeks is the most beautiful, the most artistic,
and the most perfectly developed of any that we have, and it repays
careful study. The early myths are much like the Aryan; indeed some of
the stories are practically identical. The sun and moon, darkness,
storm, spring and summer, the ocean and the sky were all personified.
Phoebus Apollo in his chariot is the sun; Eros and Psyche are the
coming and going of light and darkness; Demeter, the harvest, has a
daughter Persephone who goes down to the underworld as seed, dies, and
is revived as spring brings back life. Notice how from such first,
simple ideas a whole complicated religious system developed, and how the
original gods and goddesses became so many that earth, air, water, sky,
and all nature were filled with them. See also the gradual decadence of
the system, especially when the Romans adopted it. Compare the myths of
light and darkness with those of other lands. Read from Stories of Old
Greece, by Emma R. Frith, and H. M. Chadwick's The Heroic Age.
IV--SCANDINAVIAN FOLK-LORE
In this cold, northern land the same original myths developed as
elsewhere but were altered by the environment. Here the legends are
often terrible instead of beautiful. There are battles of hail and snow,
great ice mountains to be surmounted, gloomy castles to be won. The
spirits of storm, of thunder, of cold, all figure. Animals, too, are
conspicuous in the stories, especially bears, wolves and eagles. The
gods were stern and awful, rather than lovable. But in spite of this,
there were still some, like the goddess of spring, who had charm, and
some stories which show a sense of humor. Read In the Days of the
Giants, a Book of Norse Tales, by Abbie Farwell Brown. Here are stories
from the Sagas and the Edda, the earliest literature of the North. See
How Thor Went a-Fishing, The Lost Bell, The Three Dogs, and The Meal of
Frothi.
V--PERSIAN FOLK-LORE
The Persian and Arabian folk-lore is really one, and stands quite by
itself. It is unusually rich in well developed stories, many well worth
study. The original myths of light and darkness were typified under the
names of Ormuzd and Ahriman. The Zend-Avesta embodied their religion and
literature, and is full of beauty. Later, however, the early and simple
mythology degenerated into something complicated and almost puerile. The
legends, preserved for us in The Thousand and One Nights, are marked by
Oriental splendor. Often the setting of a story will be in a palace with
wonderful gardens and fountains. We read of great merchants, gorgeous
silks, jewels and ornaments; of money, horses and camels; of sheiks,
caliphs, viziers, magicians, and genii. In every respect the stories
differ from those of other lands. Read Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp,
and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, from Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book.
VI--CELTIC FOLK-LORE
The peoples of Brittany, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland have folk-tales
full of a certain mysticism. They have few nature myths, such as belong
to earlier races, but they have drawn from their own imagination stories
of beauty and charm, which are distinctly poetic, both in substance and
form. Their legends deal largely with fairies, wishing-stones, haunted
glens, and changelings. There are water fairies, some with human souls,
and dwarfs who have homes in caves, and live and work like human beings.
The whole of their folk-tales are filled with these little creatures,
benign or malicious, who are closely in touch with the real lives about
them.
The superstitions of these countries in regard to the reappearance of
the dead as ghosts or spirits of one kind or another, also enter
largely into the literature of the Celtic races. This subject, a very
large one, may be taken up here, or later by itself.
There is a delightful book called Fairy and Folk-Lore of the Irish
Peasantry, by W. B. Yeats, and another on the Fairy Legends of Ireland,
by T. C. Crocker. Duncan Anderson has one on Scottish Folk-Lore, also.
Read from any of these, and also a story in Little Classics called The
Fairy Finder, by Samuel Lover.
VII--FOLK-LORE OF THE SLAVS
There is much that is curious about the folk-lore of the Russians and
kindred peoples. They have the old, original nature myths, with hero
stories added. There is the same setting as in Scandinavian mythology,
of cold and storm. There are epics in three cycles which embody some
stories almost identical with those of the Greeks. There are, however,
two striking differences between their legends and those of other
countries: one is, that sorcery, witchcraft, spells, exorcisms and
incantations abound; the other is that nearly all tales have folk-music
accompanying them. Fairy stories are abundant and charming, and much
like those of Norway and Sweden. Read from Myths and Fairy Tales of
Russia, by Jeremiah Curtin, and Russian Folk Tales by R. Nisbet Bain.
VIII--GERMAN FOLK-LORE
In many respects the folk-tales of Germany are more interesting than
those of any other country. They do not deal with the great, simple
myths, except as they have been transformed into certain fairy tales,
but are centered largely on more recent stories. There are tales of the
Middle Ages, of knights, besieged castles, huntsmen and hermits; there
are Rhine legends, with princesses and giants; there are mining tales of
dwarfs and goblins, and stories of water fairies and forest elves.
Notice the resemblance to the stories of other lands in some of Grimm's
fairy tales. See how closely Peter Klaus is like our own story of Rip
Van Winkle. Read Stories of the Rhine Gold, by Anna A. Chapin, and the
best known stories from Grimm, especially Rumpelztiltskin, Hansel and
Gretel and Snow White and Rose Red.
IX--FOLK-LORE OF ENGLAND
All parts of England are rich in folk-tales, festival customs and
legends, and various shires have preserved in book form those which are
peculiar to them. In rhymes and jingles, nicknames, proverbs, riddles
and nursery tales we find traces of very early tradition. Frazer's
Golden Bough speaks of May Day customs, Maypole dances, keeping St.
John's Eve and Midsummer Day, as survivals of religious festivals of
great importance. The hero stories, especially those of King Arthur and
his knights, are unusually well developed and beautiful. English fairies
are most human and charming. Shakespeare is rich in allusion to them;
read on this point Shakespeare's Puck and His Folk Lore, by William
Bell, and parts of Midsummer Night's Dream.
In Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book all the delightful old fairy stories
are preserved; read Beauty and the Beast, Little Red Ridinghood,
Cinderella, and Jack the Giant Killer. Notice how several of these
stories are considered by some students as nature myths.
Read Kipling's Puck o' Pook's Hill, the modern fairy story, and contrast
with those of older date.
X--AMERICAN FOLK-LORE
The negroes of the South have a complex set of stories of their own,
some with the mark of their savage ancestors on them--as is shown in
their fetishism, voodoo, magic and ghosts--and others which are full of
a quaint humor. Most of the latter are in the form of animal stories,
and have been gathered together by Joel Chandler Harris. Read from
Nights with Uncle Remus, and see how each of the animals mentioned has
its peculiar characteristic, and how the rabbit, who always represents
the colored man, outwits the white man by his cunning. Clubs should make
a point of reproducing some of the old negro folk songs.
The Indians have many myths and legends, which vary in different tribes
and localities. The people of Alaska have legends quite unlike those of
the Mission Indians of California or the Zuni tribes of New Mexico. In
the north, cold, devils, fighting and struggles with animals
predominate; in the south there is more of the spirit of harvest, of
festival and brightness.
The scenes of the legends in general are laid in wigwams and deal with
feasts, love-making, and battles with enemies. There are also many
legends about trees, bees, birds, and fish. The original myths of light
and darkness, flood, and other phenomena also recur. Read Indian Story
and Song, by Alice C. Fletcher, and F. H. Cushing's Zuni Folk Tales.
FOLK-LORE IN OTHER LANDS
In addition to the topics suggested, clubs should study more briefly
than these the tales of other lands. Japan has a delightful set of
tales, turning largely on animals, flowers and spirits. Read Ancient
Tales and Folk-Lore of Japan, by R. G. Smith. Follow with the legends of
China and Corea, both collected, full of originality and interest, with
heroes and nature myths. Hawaii has much local color in her folk-tales,
for volcanic fire often appears. See Hawaiian Folk-Lore by T. G. Thrum.
The myths of Egypt have recently been collected and are quite unlike
those of other lands. They are divided into three groups, one dealing
with the earliest times when simple nature myths occur; the second, when
Egypt developed, and stories of town and country appear; in the third
the stories deal with strangers, ships and sailors. Crocodiles play an
important part, and the atmosphere of heat is always noticeable.
In modern Europe the stories of Spain and Italy and also of Roumania are
to be studied, the latter in the collections made by Carmen Sylva, the
queen. Add to these the subject of gipsy lore, from the book called
Gipsy Folk-Tales, by F. H. Groome.
The subject of superstitions may follow the topics suggested, and
ghosts, reappearances of all kinds, and haunted houses will prove a wide
field.
Hero stories in all lands is also a delightful division of the general
subject. The legends of Havelock the Dane, of Siegfried, of Roland, and
Arthur put them in the class known as the "Fatal Children," or those
whose innate greatness no earthly obstacle can withstand.
See Heroes of Myth, by Lillian L. Price and Chas. B. Gilbert.
One more important and curious topic is that of Were Wolves and Swan
Maidens, as it is called, or the inhabiting of animal bodies by human
souls, which is one of the constantly recurring legends in all lands.
The rescuing of the imprisoned spirit has led to innumerable stories.
The myths concerning the ascent of souls to Heaven is most interesting,
and the legends of the Milky Way and the Rainbow Bridge are poetic and
lovely. The story of Jack and the Bean Stalk is considered to belong to
the general group.
If there is time, have one meeting on the subjects of dwarfs alone. Note
the differences between black, brown, and white dwarfs, and trolls,
elves, pixies, kobolds, brownies, and goblins. See how closely all are
related to the life of man. Contrast their cleverness with the
invariable stupidity of giants.
In addition to these topics clubs will find the folk-lore of the
Australians, the islanders everywhere, and of savage races, full of
interest. A book just published, called The Fetich Folk of West Africa,
by R. H. Milligan, bears on the last point.
The subject of myths and legends will be found of far greater interest
if each topic is illustrated by pictures. There are many fairy books for
children for which artists have made beautiful drawings, and some
especially lovely, in colors. In studying the Hero stories, get
reproductions of famous pictures of the Rhine, legends, and look up
Abbey's pictures of Arthur and his knights.
Clubs composed of mothers and teachers may take up the subject of
telling fairy stories to children; which ones to tell and which to
omit, and how to tell them. Hero stories are always interesting to
growing boys, and teachers can suggest to them which are the wisest to
choose. Instead of reading stories and legends at every club meeting it
is well to have them told by some one skilful in the art.
Clubs which wish to study the general subject of folk-lore in a serious
way will find the topic of comparative religions most interesting and
valuable; scholars are everywhere taking it up, and there are many books
upon it, notably Frazer's Golden Bough, already suggested under another
head.
The folk-lore of the ancient Hebrews can be either taken separately or
as a part of this subject; the old hero myths of the Bible, of Samson
especially, will be found delightful.