THROWBACK THURSDAYS

A thriving folklore community in Britain has attracted contributions from the Gulf, writes Kerry McQueeney

Avery modern medium is breathing new life into an age-old custom – and it’s bringing out the storyteller in people all over the world.

In days gone by, yarns of legends and myth were spun by word of mouth. Today, folklore fans are taking to social media to spread these stories far and wide.

Weekly event Folklore Thursday is where tradition meets technology – attempting to engage a whole new generation in the art of storytelling.

Every week people share tales from their communities under the Twitter hashtag #FolkloreThursday.

What began as a British event two years ago has grown into a global affair.

Co-founder Dee Dee Chainey says: “At first, we didn’t really know what to expect, but as time went on, we started seeing people popping up from all over the world and adding their voice to the conversation.

“Since then, we’ve actively tried to promote Folklore Thursday to people across the world, and we’ve had a lot of people coming forward to volunteer from all kinds of places: first the UK and Europe, then the US, Japan, and more recently Asia.”

In May this year, the group received its first submission of Arabian folklore. Mohammed Fakhro, a writer from Qatar, shared two tales familiar to many in the Arabian Gulf and explained why storytelling is integral to Arabian culture.

“The privileges we enjoy today are in large part due to the resilience of our ancestors,” he says. “The harsh conditions they endured go far beyond the cruel desert and brutal heat.

“Because of the severity of desert life, people of the Arabian Peninsula would never turn away guests, offering food and shelter until they were ready to move on.

“Arab hospitality comes from how far we would go for our guests, providing them with what scarce food we have, even if it means we starve in their place.”

Folklore is crucial in keeping the region’s culture and traditions alive. Across the Arabian Gulf, history has been communicated by storytelling; tales must be passed down from one generation to another to ensure they survive.

Fakhro adds: “The history of the Arabs is told in both prose and poetry, and folklore is no exception.

“Two of my favourite tales, Bu Draeyah and Homarat Al-Guyla, roughly come from this period and highlight the difficulties shared by those who lived ... throughout the Arabian Gulf, with each area having slightly differing takes on the stories.

“Both of these tales illustrate the difficulties of desert life for our ancestors, and in them we can also find lessons typical of folktales that elders pass on to their kids.

“Above all else, one lesson in particular stands out, and that is of the uncertainty of life and how quickly one’s fate could change.”

Folklore Thursday now boasts a community of more than 16,000 followers on Twitter. The group also houses an impressive collection of folklore on its website.

For Chainey, it is a chance to record these stories for posterity because, traditionally, folklore is not written down.

“We love it when people go off and learn more about their own traditions during the week – asking their parents, grandparents, or going off to research a local tale – and then come on Twitter to share on Thursday.

“There’s a wonderful sense of community with the hashtag, too; people know they can come online each week and be part of something.

“Folklore covers all kinds of things, from music to food to superstitions and traditional celebrations, but the most popular has to be myths and legends.

“I think the most striking thing we’ve found is actually that so much folklore from all over the world is so similar: similar themes, similar images and symbols, and very similar stories. I think that actually makes you appreciate what is intrinsically human and links us all.”

Folklore isn’t just about myths and magic, Chainey says. It’s how we communicate with each other and pass on values.

“Folklore is so incredibly important in keeping our traditions alive: it teaches social norms through stories, but it’s also about passing on traditional crafts, and foodways – the methods we use to survive within our communities.

“With technology, we now have the means to share our traditions with the world, and hear customs and traditions from places we never would have been able – even, say, 50 years ago.

“We like to think of social media like the modern-day ‘fireside’ – people don’t often gather together to tell stories in day-to-day life now, so we do think that Twitter, and the internet as a whole, have revolutionised that, and made it happen on a larger scale.

“Each Thursday, people gather round the hashtag to hear stories and traditions, and that seems so similar to how people would share their knowledge and wisdom in the past, just using a very different method.”