A question popped into my head the other day, and it began nagging at me. So I started doing some searches through Google to see what I could find on the Web. What I found pretty much confirmed what I had been thinking. The stories, the folk tales, of North America are vanishing.
I don't mean Native, African American, or Spanish American, but the stories that grew out of the settlement of the land by our European forefathers. Now I'm sure that these tales exist in isolated pockets around North America, and some of them are still told around campfires at night, but how much are they part of everybody's life any more?
Are Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyon, Pecos Bill, and Ichabod Crane still alive for our children? Tim Burton brought Ichabod back with his movie Sleepy Hollow, but what's happened to everyone else? The people at Walt Disney used to tell the stories of American folk heroes, but that seems to have become passé, in favour of monsters and aliens. Characters such as Mike Fink, and Swamp Angel have all but disappeared. Does anyone know what a Tommy-knocker is any more?
In Canada the situation's probably even worse. Outside of Quebec, I wonder how many children could even name one folk hero? Heck I don't think I can name one English-speaking folk hero from Canada. Sure on both sides of the border we have our historic figures, like Davey Crockett and Laura Secord, but what about creations of pure myth and fantasy?
Think of all the different cultures through out the world that have stories, removed from their religious texts, that talk about the world around them. From the Irish with their tales of the little people, Native American stories that explain the world and offer life lessons, the folk tales of European Jews and Gypsies, through to each culture's fairy tales that form such a large part of their heritage. North Americans seem the exception, not the rule, in our lacking of stories.
Obviously they are still out there for anyone to read, who wants to, but what are they now except cute tales for amusement and titillation? Do these stories live on to act as inspiration or guidance? Are they used as part of our living tradition to pass on lessons of life to newer generations?
The answer to both of those questions, from what I can see, is no. As a kid I remember reading about Paul Bunyon and his great blue ox Babe; listening to the story of Pecos Bill and even learning the prayer/song Johnny Appleseed at summer camp. (All of this was in Canada, by the way.) But no attempt was made, unlike Aesop's fables, in which each moral was driven home, to have us learn anything from the tales.
With a few notable exceptions, we never developed an oral culture in North America based on our experiences here. So many of our foreparents came over with their songs and stories already established, that in the places oral culture thrived it was mainly as adaptations of old world ideas and concepts. Many of our "traditional" country songs are merely adaptations of old Irish and Scottish folk songs, and the same goes for a lot of the sayings and superstitions that sprang out of the Appalachian Mountains.
Article comments
1 - Temple Stark
Culture Section Editor Lisa Hoover thought this post was great and worthy. Click HERE to find out why.
2 - Lorna
Media with its love of all that is youthful has created an inhospitable environment of cynicism. We are told to value youth above all else. There is no respect for what the elderly have to offer and as a result the traditional tales are lost and forgotten.
3 - Alexina MacEwan
Excellent Article!
I stumbled upon your blog entry while searching for the same thing myself. I am currently organizing a night of winter story telling for children and was trying to find some Canadian folktales such as the Chasse-Galerie, and have been turning up nothing on the internet.
Isn't it interesting how we can't even remember even a few folk tales from our own culture, but we are being flooded with stories from other peoples? I wish this trend was only in North America, but sadly it is spreading all across Western Europe. As more and more immigrants flood into our homelands, we are forgetting more and more of our heritage and culture. By the year 2050 statistics show that 50% of Britain will no longer be of British Origin, Italy is due to have more than hald of their population be of African descent, and with the Canadian government uping our immigrants to 310 000 a year (well over 50% of those immigrants coming from China and another good portion from India), and wanting to flood small-town Canada with a large portion of those immigrants, you may well think our country a lost cause.
I am worried for our people and for our ways. European History is so rich and every we turn it seems to be disappering more and more. It makes me sad that I hear and see Chinese more often in this country than French. And I am angered by the fact that one cannot even have pride in one's European ancestry without being labeled a racist...
If we want our stories and our ways to survive we have to start fighting for them. If we want our children to know what Canadian culture really is, we have to start teaching them ourselves. The school system certainly won't do it. (A friend of mine had to remove her daughter from public school because the children were not even allowed to celebrate Christmas in class any more, because some students "may be offended" by the practise.)
It's enough to make one crazy. But when I read articles like yours I am heartened that I am not the only one noticing the degradation of our culture, and if I'm not the only one than maybe we can start to do something about it.
Thank you for your essay.
Hail Our Folk!
~A.MacEwan
4 - vikk
Yes, one more example of our children's loss of innocence. I remember one year when I was about nine or ten I decided to read all the fairytales from all over the world. It was wonderful reading, but then I read all the mythologies, too, and the next year I read about all the religions in the world. I wonder if kids today mine subjects as deeply as I once did.
5 - gypsyman
Its not often that I comment in my own comment section, but I'm afraid commetn #3 has left me no choice.
I regret to inform you that if I thought for a moment that people would take such a racist and xenophobice response as you did when I wrote this article I never would have written it.
The problem lies not in us accepting other cultures into our midst, its the fact that we never developed a North American one. I'm quite shocked and appaled that you would take a simple peon to the joys of folk tales and interpret it as an attack of diversity and multiculuralism. I assume that you are Christian, so I'd like to ask you to try and open your mind and heart to the rest of the world. It might make you a little less unhappy
6 - Ann
I am putting together a lesson on Quebec culture for a high school French class in the U.S. I was wondering what it is about this particular Quebecois legend that has made it such an important part of the culture, as opposed to the loup garou, for instance. Is it the combination of elements contained in the legend--isolation from family and society, the conflict between temptation and religious adherence, etc. that have made it so long-lasting? I love the story, just would like to understand it from a socio-cultural perspective. Thank you.
7 - Richard Marcus
Ann
You don't mention which French Canadian legend you are refering to in your letter so all I can respond with is a generalization. Quebec has always been more aware of its culture than the rest of Canada, as part of attempts to preserve the integrity of their identity.
They are also the only province and people which do have a distinct culture, the rest of us are a mishmash of Brtitish and European descent. In spite of what an earlier commentator might think, the people of the British Isles aren't the only ones who have been here long enough for their folk tales to take root.
I don't know if the tales of Quebec are ones that grew up there or were ones that came over with them from France in the 1600's. If there are particular folk tales of Quebec you're looking to research I'm sure a search on the Internet will go a long way in assisting you.
Good luck
Richard Marcus
8 - Amy Friedman
I hope you'll check out our website; I've been researching and adapting folktales for 15 years, published weekly through Universal Press Syndicate. On our upcoming CD (www.mythsandtales.com), you'll find a renowned French Canadian folktale, one of my favorites, The Talking Cat, read by the marvelous Len Cariou.
9 - Richard Marcus
Just to add a note to Ms. Freidman's comment, I remember reading her stories when they were being printed in our local newspaper- I don't think they were in syndication then, I believe she lived locally and the newspaper ran them for its readers.
I always thought that she did a really wonderful job with her recreations and made them come to life. If this CD approaches the written stories in quality and all the readers are equal to Mr. Cariou, it will be worth what ever price they're asking.
Richard Marcus
10 - ria
its very good
11 - Jacqueline
I just came across your essay and I enjoyed reading it. I agree completely.
I'm an illustration major as Massachusetts College of Art in Boston and I just illustrated The Talking Cat for my senior degree project.
Keep up the good work
Jacqueline