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The Importance of Folktales

We have all heard folktales at some time or the other. Some of us may remember childhoods bright with storytelling moments; some of us may have found folktales in books. We have all grown up on folktales of some type or the other.

A folktale is often defined as a tale or legend that begins from and is traditional among a people or folk. It is different from myths and legends because they do not always have religious leanings, and are not based on historical truths. Folktales especially form a part of the oral tradition of the common people. In simpler terms, a folktale is a story that springs from the shared history of a particular community. This history is then passed down through storytelling – earlier oral, now including print.

This traditional folktale doesn’t have an individual author; instead it is owned by the community. The folktale contains the entire culture of the community, which also differentiates it from other groups. This collective conscious stored within the folktales is the reason why telling folktales in the classroom is a matter of utmost importance. 

Types of folktales

There are different types of folktales among various communities, but they all fit into a basic pattern. One type of folktale explains the world around us. They explain why some animals look and behave the way they do, or why the moon has phases etc. These types of tales are popular and are present in every culture. Whether they are the tales of Anansi, the spider, which are believed to have originated in the Ashanti people in Ghana, or the legendary Panchatantra from India, nature folktales teach the reader about how communities explained natural phenomena. Holland / The Netherlands - The Flying Dutchman and Other Folktales from The Netherlands is another collection that offers complete animal tales and tales of magic to religious and realistic stories. This collection has stories that explain the traditional rural society of Netherlands, while showcasing stories that have sprung from the present which shows modern, urban, and multi-ethnic Holland.

Another type of folktale is the "how-and-why". As the term indicates, these stories seek to provide answers to how something came into existence, why some things are the way they are. For instance, How the Emu got Short Wings from The Dreaming of the Roughtail Lizard and Other Stories is an Aboriginal tale used to explain to children the Emu’s short wings. Another great example of folktales that represent the communities’ quest for answers is the tale of Kun-Man-Gur, The Rainbow Serpent. This tale perfectly captures the Aboriginal answers to questions such as how and why the world was created.

The third type of folktale is the “good vs. evil”. The theme is pretty simple in these tales and was clearly constructed by the communities to understand complex moral values. They were further used to impart knowledge to the younger generation to help them sort through life’s many confusing problems. In these stories, the timid little boys and girls often became heroes, rising above themselves to defeat an evil force such as trolls or giants. The Norwegian Folktales Books offers an ideal collection of such stories.

Yet another type of folktale is clearly aimed at cultivating “virtues”. These folktales praise qualities such as kindness, truth, honesty and hard work. The community used such folktales as lessons of value to teach young children desirable behavior. The World of Indian Stories and English Folktales are resources that introduce the readers to the morals and values as practiced by these two distinct communities.

Folktales in the classroom

Once you have located the type of folktale you want to share with the class, here are some tips on how to integrate them:

1.      Become a storyteller: Reading a story out aloud is very different from telling a story. Folktales were often passed down from generation to generation and across communities by storytellers. Become a storyteller by creatively expressing the story. Use role play, dynamic action, props and other actors to bring the folktale to life.

2.      Create different versions: Take a popular folktale and find out how many different versions of it exist. Once the folktale has been read out, encourage the class to come up with their own versions.

3.      Explore new words and objects: Highlight words and objects from the folktale that may be new to the class. If a story mentions a bullock cart, bring pictures to the class.

4.      Plan a presentation: Divide the class into groups and ask them to read the folktale. Tell students to think about the main idea of the story, the values hidden in it, the main characters etc. Encourage them to put up a presentation based on their answers.

Folktales are a rich treasure trove of history. They provide insights into the workings of a community and answer questions about their life, their values, their beliefs, and most importantly its collective conscious. So introduce a folktale to your classroom today.