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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.
An origin myth is a type of myth that explains the beginnings of a natural or social aspect of the world. Creation myths are a type of origin myth narrating the formation of the universe. However, numerous cultures have stories that take place after the initial origin.
A creation myth (or creation story) is a cultural, religious or traditional myth which describes the earliest beginnings of the present world. Creation myths are the most common form of myth, usually developing first in oral traditions, and are found throughout human culture.
In particular, creation myths take place in a primordial age when the world had not achieved its later form. [10] Origin myths explain how a society's customs, institutions, and taboos were established and sanctified. [2] [8] National myths are narratives about a nation's past that symbolize the nation's values.
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The study of folklore originated in Europe in the first half of the 19th century with a focus on the oral folklore of the rural peasant populations. [ citation needed ] The " Kinder- und Hausmärchen " of the Brothers Grimm , first published 1812, is the best known collection of the verbal folklore of the European peasantry.
Folk memory, also known as folklore or myths, refers to past events that have been passed orally from generation to generation. The events described by the memories may date back hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years and often have a local significance.
The resulting mythological "history of the world" may be divided into three or four broader periods: The myths of origin or age of gods (Theogonies, "births of gods"): myths about the origins of the world, the gods, and the human race. The age when gods and mortals mingled freely: stories of the early interactions between gods, demigods, and ...