Chasing the Tale

What are folk tales?

Storytelling is common to every culture, and storytellers have catered to the desire for a “good story” since the beginning of civilisation. We encounter stories daily, whether through the bedtime stories we read as children, parents and grandparents’ recitals, television, or other forms of literature or entertainment. Stories are all around us, and a part of us.

The terms “folklore” and “folk tales” are often used interchangeably, leading many to believe they refer to the same thing. However, folklore is an overarching term that refers to the collection of traditional stories of a community or culture, and can include art, songs, dances, sayings, myths, legends, tales, stories, beliefs, superstitions and practices, which all add up to a cultural heritage.

Folk tales are a particular subset of folklore, and refer to stories that were traditionally passed down verbally from generation to generation, though many of the stories can now be found in written form. Typically, the original author is unknown and there are often many versions of the tale, both within one culture and across different cultures. Some of the tales may have been based on a partial truth embellished with storytelling flourishes. Many folk tales were used to explain things that were difficult to understand, to discipline (or frighten) children, or to provide a moral lesson. Folk tales can take the form of legends, myths, fairy tales or fables.

Often, folk tales centre around favourite character types – the old woman who is clever or cunning, or the village idiot who ultimately turns out to be the wisest. And sometimes, myth and folklore overlap to generate a vivid folk tale, and gods and demons rub shoulders in synchronisation with ordinary men and women.

Here are some of Asia’s most revered and most obscure folk tales, all orally transmitted folk narratives that may be heard of in several other forms today. These tales have grown out of the lives and imaginations of people, and serve as the roots of storytelling as we know it today. Sit back, grab a cup of tea, and revel in the captivating – and vitally important – world of narration.

These stories are not just literary masterpieces, but also an integral part of the worldview of a people.

“Pay heed to the tales of old wives. It may well be that they alone keep in memory what it was once needful for the wise to know.”

– J.R.R. Tolkien