Per folklore we understand the popular culture manifestations that characterize the social identity of a people. Folklore can be manifested so much collective how much individual and reproduces the customs and traditions of a people handed down from generation to generation. Therefore, all the elements that are part of popular culture and that are rooted in the tradition of this people are part of folklore.
The manifestations of folklore occur through myths, legends, songs, dances, handicrafts, partiespopular, jokes, games etc. Folklore is an integral part of the culture of a people and, therefore, it is considered by Unesco as Intangible Cultural Heritage, being essential to carry out efforts for its preservation.
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term origin
The word folklore has origin in english and comes from the term folklore. This term, in turn, originated from the expression folklore, created by a writer named William John Thoms, in 1846. On August 22, 1846, a letter from Thoms sent to The Atheneum magazine was published.
Thoms' term was based on two words:
folk, that means people;
lore, that means knowledge, know.
Thus, the joining of the two words, according to Thoms himself, means traditional knowledge of a people. Thoms' proposed word was not immediately adopted and was only popularized when the Folklore Society in London appeared in the late nineteenth century.
folklore story
O folklore While study area started to consolidate from the XVIII century, but it only really took hold at the end of the 19th century, when institutions dedicated to studies in this area began to emerge in Europe and the United States. Its experts believe that the great pioneers in the study of folklore are JohannGottfriedvoninherit and the brothersGrimm.
As interest in the subject spread, societies focused on the study of folklore began to emerge. SocietyofFolklore (Folklore Society), founded in 1878, the first of them. This determined that folklore could include:
Narrativestraditional: folk tales, myths and legends;
Morestraditional: customs such as popular festivals;
beliefsandsuperstitions: knowledge related to magic, witchcraft etc;
Languagepopular: spoken dialects and popular jargon.
Through this societyLondoner, interest in the study of folklore spread, reached other countries in Europe, the United States and, finally, reached Brazil. Of course, throughout this process, and as studies in the area advanced, new definitions emerged and advancessensitive happened.
Here in the Brazil, some names like LuísChamberhusky, Mario de Andrade and forestFernandes, stood out in the study of folklore. The first congress on folklore held in Brazil took place only in 1951, being held in Rio de Janeiro. One of the most important debates that took place at this event was about the characteristics to define yourself what is folklore, something that even today generates a lot of discussion among experts.
Characteristics of folklore
At characteristics of what may or may not be defined as folklore were hotly debated by European and American intellectuals. This debate, however, has not ended, and here in Brazil several elements of what is characterized as folklore are either rejected or relativized. Therefore, it is clear that there is no consensus among experts, and the characteristics raised here are not unanimous.
Some of the characteristics of folklore are:
Sourceanonymous: Many defined that an element to be considered folkloric must have an anonymous origin, but this characteristic has been quite questioned by scholars;
Streamingoral: The knowledge that is part of the folklore of a people must be transmitted orally;
collective popularization: It has to become popular in the culture of a people;
Spontaneous emergence: The elements of culture that make up folklore arise spontaneously.
Read too: July 17th - commemorative date linked to the folkloric figure of Curupira
folklore characters
The headless knight is a character that emerged in Europe and is famous in American folklore.
Folklore is naturally not an element present in specific places, but it is something manifested by all cultures, as they all have their own set of beliefs, myths, traditions and characters that make up their knowledge popular. Therefore, we separate this space to name a few characters that are part of the folklore from other cultures other than the Brazilian one.
Knightwithouthead: traditional legend that emerged in medieval Europe and reached the United States, where it became popular. The legend tells of a decapitated knight who wanders in search of his head.
Gashadokuro: supernatural figure from Japanese folklore. In Japanese legend, it is a giant skeleton, formed from the bones of those who died of starvation, that roams the countryside of Japan looking for travelers to feed on them.
Crybaby: character present in Mexican folklore, which tells of a woman in tears and who was on the banks of rivers and lakes. Those who dared to approach her died or suffered other consequences.
Access too: The origin of Festa Junina, an important popular festival in Brazil
Brazilian folklore
The saci-pererê is one of the most famous characters in Brazilian folklore.
Brazil, of course, has its set of elements that make up Brazilian folklore. It is a consensus among scholars of the subject that dances, parties, legends, games and characters that make up Brazilian folklore are from European origin,Portuguese above all, and also indigenous and African. As such, there was a fusion of elements from different cultures. Some characters from Brazilian folklore are the saci-pererê, a iara, O boto, O curupira, between others.
Image credit
[1] Orhan Cam and Shutterstock
by Daniel Neves
Graduated in History
