FOLKLIFE IN FOCUS – Other Oral Narratives

Welcome to the Follow the Folklorist blog! Founded by Rebecca Snetlesaar and currently led by Nevada State Folklorist Brad McMullen, our blog is dedicated to exploring the rich tapestry of cultures, traditions, and celebrations that make Nevada such a vibrant state. Through our two main topics, Folklife in Focus and Notes from the Field, Brad will share his unique insights and experiences, providing a captivating glimpse into the diverse and fascinating world of Nevada folk traditions. Join us on this exciting journey as we delve into the stories, customs, and heritage that shape our state’s identity. Get ready to be inspired and amazed! 

Other Oral Narratives

A few months ago, I talked about personal experience narratives as a genre of folklore. (Did you miss it?) In that post, I asked what the difference is between a fairy tale and a myth, and I figured I would talk about that, along with some other oral narrative forms, this month. Every culture has its own way of defining the stories they tell, which can vary quite a bit from culture to culture. When talking about traditional storytelling across cultures, it can be useful to have standard terms. What I’m laying out below is just one of the ways folklorists talk about these things. Other definitions are available, but I find this one convenient.   

Anthropologist C. Scott Littleton used two different questions to help define different categories. What is the extent to which the narrative is based on objective fact, and what is the extent to which the story has elements of the sacred? You can think about it as two different axes on a graph, one going from the fabulous to the factual and the other going from the sacred to the secular. It’s important to note, however, that factuality is not about the certainty that the event happened, but rather belief on the part of those telling the story and listening. As a folklorist, I’m usually less interested in whether a story happened exactly as it was told, but more in how true people believe the story is.  

Legends occupy the central area of this graph, falling anywhere on these scales but not to any extreme amount. This is where you would place your personal experience narratives, your tall tales and urban legends, and so on. Stories that are mostly grounded in the real world, but with maybe some fantastical elements and where belief levels vary depending on context and content.  

Fairy tales are stories that are both highly fabulous and highly secular. Although folklorists often call them märchen (from the German) or wonder tales in order to keep them separate from stories about fairies, which generally fall under the legend category. They are stories meant to be enjoyed or teach a lesson, and involve the clearly fantastical – your glass slippers, your red hoods, your murderous men with blue beards.   

Myths, however, are on the opposite end of the chart. They are stories considered both highly sacred and highly factual. Once again, factual is a measure of belief. Myths, then, are the foundational stories that give shape to the world and its meaning, explaining why things are the way they are and what proper behavior is. Which is more or less the exact opposite of how myth tends to get used in general conversation, but just like search engine keyword terms for our field after certain albums, that is a fight we as a field have stopped trying to fight.  

For the sacred and the fabulous, that’s where you’ll find your fables and parables. Stories that are intended to teach lessons about the world, but not meant to be taken as gospel, so to speak. As for secular and factual? That’s history, which I’ll leave to the experts.  

As I mentioned earlier, this is just one way to define these different types of stories. And even within these definitions, there are all sorts of variety and ways to categorize stories – that’s why resources like the Tale Type Index exist. So, let me know – what are some of your favorite stories? I always love to hear what resonates with people. 

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