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The motif-index and the ATU indices are regarded as standard tools in the study of folklore. For example, folklorist Mary Beth Stein said that, "Together with Thompson's six-volume Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, with which it is cross-indexed, The Types of Folktale constitutes the most important reference work and research tool for comparative folk-tale analysis. [1]
[3] A characteristic of many of the myths is the close relationship between human beings and animals (including birds and reptiles). They often feature shape-shifting between animal and the human form. Marriage between people and different species (particularly bears) is a common theme. In some stories, animals foster human children.
Native American cultures are rich in myths and legends that explain natural phenomena and the relationship between humans and the spirit world. According to Barre Toelken, feathers, beadwork, dance steps and music, the events in a story, the shape of a dwelling, or items of traditional food can be viewed as icons of cultural meaning.
Some claim that author Roger D. Abrahams perpetuated these in his book Afro-American folktales. He pushed the point that African-American folklore is an "immoral reflection" of African religions and "animal tales are a reflection of African's childlike mannerisms". [7] African-American folklore was predominantly used for guidance and protection.
Folklore lets people escape from repressions imposed upon them by society. Folklore validates culture, justifying its rituals and institutions to those who perform and observe them. Folklore is a pedagogic device which reinforces morals and values and builds wit. Folklore is a means of applying social pressure and exercising social control.
American mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to America's most legendary stories and folktale, dating back to the late 1700s when the first colonists settled. "American mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to the subject matter as represented in the literature and art of other cultures ...
[3] Though different Indigenous cultures have different oral traditions, across the board Indigenous peoples in North America interpret oral traditions similarly because they encode basic values that are consistent across cultures. [1] Some common themes of oral traditions include respect for elders, origins, and respect for the environment.
In structuralism-influenced studies of mythology, a mytheme is a fundamental generic unit of narrative structure (typically involving a relationship between a character, an event, and a theme) from which myths are thought to be constructed [1] [2] —a minimal unit that is always found shared with other, related mythemes [citation needed] and reassembled in various ways ("bundled") [3] or ...