Folclore De Canada

 

Folklore in Canada

Folklore in Canada consists of two elements; the folk tradition of the aboriginal peoples, Indians and Eskimo, and the intrusive folk tradition of the French and British races. The development of each has been, to a considerable extent, influenced by contact with the other. A great deal has been achieved in recording the folk tales of the Indians, Eskimo, and FrenchCanadians; but little has been attempted in the fields of English and Gaelic folklore.
 
Among the French Canadians, much folklore is still current, and is still firmly believed by the country people.
 
Formerly the "conteur" or story-teller was a well-known and important personage. One of the most ancient of the primitive beliefs is that of buried treasure, a legend which exists in various formsall along the St. Lawrence from Gaspé to Quebec. A typical story is that of the gold buried by sailors at the foot of the Sauteux mountains and now guarded by the Little Gray Man. Gnomes and goblins frequently appear in the folklore of French Canada, and many stories of haunted houses and other places are current. Souls of the damned are often supposed to paddle a huge magic canoe through theair; those remiss in performing religious duties, while still alive, are transformed into various animals. In addition to those stories which concern some general belief, there are also many about specific characters such as Sleeping Beauty, Blue Beard, and Little Red Riding Hood.
 
Scotch Gaelic lore still exists in large sections of Nova Scotia , Cape Breton, and (to a lesser extent) in Glengarrycounty, Ontario. Witches and witchcraft are firmly rooted in the county of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and in Cape Breton

Folklore was first introduced as a term in England in 1846 and today refers to information, wisdom and human expression that is passed on, usually anonymously, from generation to generation or transmitted and circulated as traditional cultural behaviour. Folkloric materialscan be found anywhere and in any form, although past scholarship has favoured verbal folklore or oral literature - folk songs, folktales, epic, myth, legend, folk drama, riddles, proverbs, sayings and a variety of verses. Nonverbal folklore includes material culture such as folk architecture, folk art and crafts, dance, music, custom, ritual and belief, traditional folkways and amusements.

Tobecome folklore, a song, story, custom or belief must go through a process of "folklorization" and meet the criteria and approval of the receiving community. During this filtering process, the item may undergo one or more revisions before it definitely enters into the community's cultural heritage.

Along with general recognition and appreciation, anonymity and variation are also features thatcharacterize the folkloric process; thus, jokes come in many versions, folk songs in many variations and Easter eggs with different designs. Folk life is another general term that is sometimes used interchangeably with folklore, popular culture and folk tradition, although each has its own history and bias.

Roots of Folklore
The main purposes of folklore are to instruct, support, entertain andexpress communal and individual artistic taste and creativity. Modern scholarship has shown that folklore is an important aspect of all cultures because it helps people to comprehend and cope with their social and natural environment. The myths of Canada's Indian and Inuit peoples exemplify how large bodies of folklore in many parts of the world depend on nature (eg, the seasons and the cycle of lifeitself) to provide a meaningful framework for their folkloric traditions.
The urge to see and experience something out of the ordinary partly accounts for the periodic revival of interest in ethnic folklore and folk traditions, as illustrated by the popularity of Toronto's "Caravan," Winnipeg's "Folklorama," Edmonton's "Heritage Festival" and similar events. New interest in folklore focuses on...