Folklore

The term folklore (English folk 'people' and lore " tradition " or "knowledge" ) includes the traditional culture of an ethnic community, which is based primarily on oral tradition. The science of this is the folklore, an agent working in the Folklore folklorist scientists say. The scientific exploration of folklore also takes place in the context of folklore or of narrative research.

Term origin

William John Thoms (* 1803, † 1885) coined in August 1846 made-up word "folk - lore" in an article in the London literary weekly magazine The Athenaeum, without, however, to define in more detail. He saw a need for a new English term instead of the term " antiquities " ( Antiquities ) in order to classify the published by the Brothers Grimm can work. The word, as explained Thoms, mean folk tradition ( "lore of the people" ). However, the term did not come from him, as there are early Anglo-Saxon documents with " folklǡr " from the 11th century. In Old English " lǡr " meant something like " knowledge, teaching." His work has stimulated the establishment in 1878 of the English "Folk -Lore Society " to, guided by Thoms. 1888 was the American variant as the " American Folklore Society " under Francis James Child as president, which began about 1856 with the study of English and Scottish folk ballads. The 1863 emigrated to the U.S. Karl Knortz wrote a 1896 misplaced in Dresden book entitled "Folklore ," by which he calls the " quintessence of thought work of a whole, of the culture even without licking people, why now in this case not only the aborigines and old-fashioned people, but also all children of the earth belong ... " understand. Johann Gottfried von Herder used the first time concepts such as folk song (folk song), folk-soul (folk soul ) or popular belief (folk was ) and made in 1778, with its collection of peoples voices in song for first folkloric attempts. He sought to document the " national spirit ", the tradition and the identity of the " German people ". The Brothers Grimm translated 1812 in her first volume of Children 's and Household Tales this folkloric documentation continues. Later attempts at a definition interpreted the term scope out far. For Francis Abernethy folklore was simply the knowledge of the traditions of a culture.

From the compound word folklore shows that it is the traditional culture of a people or a community. Tradition as the passing on from generation to generation, culture as a way of life of a society and people understood as an ethnically unified community that can be distinguished by their own customs and traditions of other communities.

Content

The term is used as anglicism in German pronunciation as a collective term for all forms mostly regionally bound, with which the folklore busy. These include not only the folk music and customs, legends, fairy tales, fables, legends, proverbs, costumes, folk dances, Rhymes, anecdotes, folk theater, folk songs, ballads, jokes, spells or characteristic craft techniques. The word folklore is seen used in English-speaking and German-speaking countries, France is by " traditions pouplaires " or spoken in Italy of " tradizioni Populari ".

Folklore can contain religious or mythological elements, but usually deals with the mundane traditions of everyday life. Often combines the real and the supernatural in a narrative together. On the other hand, folklore can be used for a presentation that has no theological content, but useful secular traditions in the way of rules, recipes or homilies. This secular tradition may have elements of fantasy ( like magic, supernatural beings, or personalized items ).

Folk tales may have edifying traditions, but act primarily on the secular realm. Thus includes the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel elements of witchcraft or religious nature trains. At the same time it has - secular and moralistic - on the dangers of the forest and hunger for children to go.

Folklore finds its material expression through local variations of arts and crafts, architecture and jewelry, clothing and food.

Music Folklore

Musical folklore is the vocal and instrumental music of a people. The most important feature of folk music or folk music is that it comes from the people. It is very closely connected with the life, with the customs and with the work of the people. It arises directly from the people, reflect the views, interests, desires and aspirations, as well as the artistic taste of the people resist. Folk music is a way to gain an insight into the lives of their ancestors and to understand them better. Folk music is the product of a collective work. It is the result of the anonymous creative forces of many people and finally an entire people. How the language is the traditional folk music a conservative element in the culture of a people.

Demarcation

Not to folklore include both biblical ( belonging to the clergy ) and ancient ( belonging to the nobility ) content. Fictitious " thought- cultures " such as JRR Although Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings have artistic value, but are distinguished from folklore. Starting from the U.S. has come to be a reduction of the term in a purely musical forms in English speaking countries. It is the folk song ( "Folk Song"), but in particular its contemporary manifestations as folk music in the foreground.