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Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. [1] This includes oral traditions such as tales, myths, legends, proverbs, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. [2] [3] This also includes material culture, such as traditional building styles common to the group.
Front cover of Folklore: "He loses his hat: Judith Philips riding a man", from: The Brideling, Sadling, and Ryding, of a rich Churle in Hampshire (1595). Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) [1] is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore.
Stories unique to the Great Plains feature buffalo, which provided the Plains peoples with food, clothing, housing and utensils. In some myths they are benign, in others fearsome and malevolent. [12] The Sun is an important deity; [13] [14] other supernatural characters include Morning Star [13] [8] [14] and the Thunderbirds. [15] [12] [16]
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.
Characteristic of many Native American myths, earth-diver creation stories begin as beings and potential forms linger asleep or suspended in the primordial realm. The earth-diver is among the first of them to awaken and lay the necessary groundwork by building suitable lands where the coming creation will be able to live.
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 turn, Ancient Greek μυθολογία (mythología 'story', 'legends', or 'story-telling') combines the word mȳthos with the suffix -λογία (-logia 'study'). [12] Accordingly, Plato used mythología as a general term for fiction or story-telling of any kind. This word began was adapted into other European languages in the early 19th ...
A Noongar Aboriginal story from Perth, Western Australia, has been interpreted as referring to the extinct giant monitor lizard Megalania. [ 11 ] [ 12 ] Legends throughout Eurasia describing creatures such as the unicorn may have been based upon Elasmotherium , a rhinoceros believed to have been extinct for up to 50,000 years.