Category Archives: Legends

Narratives about belief.

The Legend of Paul Bunyon

Text:
“The story that comes to mind for me is the legend of Paul Bunyan. The gist of the story is that Paul is a giant lumberjack who cut down trees in Wisconsin and Minnesota with his blue-colored ox, Babe. He goes on adventures, fights other giants, and helps to build up the Midwest. While I’ve heard many variations, these facts always stay the same, along with the ending—he goes west and drags his axe across the ground, carving the Grand Canyon.”

Context:
My informant first encountered the legend of Paul Bunyan around age 3 or 4, initially introduced by his grandfather during an overnight visit at his grandparents’ home. Shortly after, his parents continued sharing variations of the tale, reinforcing its familiarity. He specifically remembers his grandfather’s spontaneous storytelling, vividly associating it with the comfort of bedtime narratives. This story typically follows a serialized format, beginning with Paul finding and befriending his iconic companion, Babe the Blue Ox.

Beyond its role as a comforting bedtime story, my informant emphasized its significance as a source of regional pride, especially prominent within Wisconsin and Minnesota. He noted its pervasive presence in Northern Wisconsin, stating, “Paul is everywhere, and people are proud to say they come from his legacy.” The story functions as a cultural identifier, often shared with younger generations, family friends’ children, or even in casual conversations sparked by attire featuring Paul and Babe.

Analysis:
The legend of Paul Bunyan serves as more than mere entertainment; it actively reinforces a sense of community and cultural identity unique to the Midwest. Paul Bunyan’s mythos encapsulates a romanticized, larger-than-life portrayal of Midwestern pioneering spirit and resilience. By attributing major geographical landmarks—such as the Grand Canyon—to Paul’s extraordinary feats, the story implicitly elevates the cultural and historical importance of the region, framing the Midwest as foundational to America’s growth and folklore tradition.

Historically, Paul Bunyan emerged from oral storytelling traditions among loggers, symbolizing exaggerated but relatable qualities of strength, bravery, and ingenuity. These tales reinforce communal pride, distinguishing the Midwest culturally from other regions of the United States. Additionally, the informant’s experience highlights the legend’s intergenerational nature—passed down from grandparents to parents to children, symbolizing a collective effort to preserve regional heritage and foster a shared Midwestern identity.

In essence, Paul Bunyan’s enduring popularity underscores folklore’s capacity to bind communities together, foster regional pride, and sustain cultural continuity across generations.

How the Paoay Lake Formed

Text: A long time ago, there used to be a small town in the Ilocos Norte region in the Philippines. One day, an old beggar woman went there to beg for food, but they “cast her out.” She went to many houses, but many of them were not generous and despised her because of how dirty and  poor she looked. After visiting all the houses, the old woman said, “These rich people are selfish” and suddenly transformed into an angel. She then casted a spell and drowned the entire village—making it the Paoay lake that it is known today. Apparently, this legend has circulated around Ilocos Norte for years after this incident occurred and many people started to believe that the old woman did that. However, people say that years later, large pieces of houses and jewelry still surface. 

Context: This was the first legend my grandma had told me after I asked her to tell me a folk narrative of some kind. Lake Paoay is one of the biggest lakes in the Philippines and is found in Ilocos Norte which is where my family is from and where my grandma had spent the first half of her life. She had originally learned this legend from her parents and older relatives but also mentioned that this legend was always in circulation in the Ilocos Norte region and considered true by everyone invluding herself.

Analysis: At first, I thought that my grandma had told me a local legend of some kind. The Filipino region that I’m from is not really common among the Filipino-Americans I know, so I was curious to know how local this story really was. I looked it up on the internet and was surprised to find out that other legends that were entirely different from what my grandma had told me. I had found multiple sources siting a Sodom and Gammorah rivalry type legend about this lake, but with the same ending: it is true because there are bits of houses and jewelry that float up to the surface. I thought it was interesting how this part of the story had remained the same despite the stories differing a lot. I also thought about how my grandma’s version of it was similar to the beginning of something like the Beauty and the Beast story. A stuck-up rich person shunned an old beggar woman because of her appearance. I also can’t help but think that this version had emerged in our family specifically because of religious implication. My family, my grandma and all her older relatives specifically, was/are very religious and into Catholicism. Maybe this version was the one that was told, but was changed to be more religious to get the children to like Catholicism more.

Duende

Text: The duende are small dwarf-like creatures that exist in Filipino folklore. Many older relatives that live in the Philippines have probably had an interaction of some kind with the duende when they were a child. My grandma and her sister had told me that their aunt in the Philippines used to be friends with the duende, but only the aunt could see them. When my grandma and her sister visited my aunt’s house, the aunt introduced the duende to them. She said, “These are my nieces so don’t hurt them,” but my grandma and aunt were confused because they couldn’t see them. However, they still believed that they existed because of other stories that their older relatives had told them about the duende. Upon asking, they don’t remember any of the stories specifically, but they did remember one story that their sister-in-law had told them a long time ago describing their appearance. She to described them with green clothes, pointy hats, and pointy shoes. Their sister-in-law told them that they were playing on her window sill when she woke up on the middle of the night. She just quietly watched them and they were playing hide and seek. 

Context: This story was jointly told by my grandma and her sister and they had constantly asked each other throughout the story for details. I had put an abridged version of the interview in the text, but if I were to ask questions about the duende’s appearance or mannerisms, they would tell half of a story about some relative that told them about personal interactions with the duende before they would just go onto another story when they started to forget the details. They actually told about 5 different stories, but I had included the main two in the text above.

Analysis: I had always heard stories about the duende from all of my older relatives while growing up. I think I have always categorized them as something that was fake in my head like fairies or elves. I think hearing these stories again and asking for more details made me realize the importance of the uniqueness in these specific memories and stories that they hold. The fluidity that oral storytelling has is something that can’t be looked up or even recorded through writing. It also makes me think about how these stories will live on in my generation. All of my grandmother’s children and grandchildren live in America. There are no new duende stories that can be added onto the family folklore. It makes me wonder about how these stories will further be told and interpreted in my generation and the next.

A Cautionary Tale of Garlic and Onion

Nationality: American
Age: 32
Occupation: Unemployed
Residence: San Francisco, CA
Language: English

Text:
“Ever since I was little, my mom would always tell me the story of a bride who ate garlic the night before her wedding and ended up fainting at the altar. Both my brother and I were taught growing up not to eat super fragrant, pungent things on sacred days such as weddings or funerals, as you want to be sweet—in both scent and spirit. Thus, on the day of my wedding and the birth of my children, I did not eat garlic or onion. Also, when I was expecting my girls, I did not eat it either.”

Context:
This legend was shared by the informant, P, during a conversation about traditional Indian practices. P explained that the belief was passed down to her by her mother, who told her the cautionary legend of a bride passing out at the altar as a result of eating garlic the night before. This story taught P that pungent foods should be avoided on sacred days. She clearly deeply values this legend, as it guided her behavior during her wedding and the birth of her children.

Analysis:
This is a legend because it is telling a cautionary story that is believed to be true and is passed down to reinforce a specific cultural belief. The dramatic story of the bride fainting at the altar helps justify the belief that eating pungent foods on important days can cause bad luck. This legend highlights the Indian cultural value placed on purity and spiritual cleanliness during sacred days such as weddings or funerals. This practice, continuing through generations, highlights how legends can shape our everyday practices—especially during periods of transition.

“The Runner and the Man on the Horse”

1. Text

This narrative, titled The Runner and the Man on the Horse, was told to me by my grandmother JW, a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. It is important to note that there are several oicotypes of this legend, but it is confirmed to be true by my great, great, great-grandmother. It is a traditional tale rooted in Indigenous storytelling practices, centering on a moment of challenge, pride, and resilience between a young Choctaw man named Hut Tecumseh and a non-Indigenous settler. The story is set in a time when cultural tensions between Native and settler communities ran seemingly high, and it functions on both literal and symbolic levels.

In the story, a “white man” rides into Choctaw territory. Annoyed by the intrusive presence of this man on the horse, a young Choctaw runner—barefoot, calm, and grounded—steps forward and quietly asserts that he can outrun the man on the horse. Several Choctaw members nearby react with curiosity and excitement.

The proposed race is simple: to a post set 250 yards down a dirt path and back again. The man on the horse laughs but agrees, confident in his superiority. At the start, the horse surges ahead, thundering with speed and strength. But the runner moves parallel to the horse. At the turning post, the runner doesn’t break stride. He grabs the post, pivots with precision, and slingshots himself back. By the time the horse turns, the runner is already far ahead. He reaches the finish calm, composed, and victorious.

The story triumphantly ends in Indigenous celebration with the idea that the man on the horse was forced to accept defeat. 

2. Context

This story was shared with me by my grandmother JW, a lifelong storyteller and member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Her family lived on the reservation, and she learned this story from her ancestors, who treated it not only as a tale of physical skill but also as a teaching story—one that reflects cultural values about humility, pride, and the relationship between people and the land. She has informed me that this story is a part of a museum display in the Choctaw Nation Museum in Oklahoma.

JW told the story to me in English as she is the first generation of her family to not be fluent in Choctaw. For JW and her family, this was not a tale of competition for its own sake. It was a narrative about dignity in the face of colonial arrogance, discrimination, and the power of cultural memory. The barefoot runner wasn’t just a character, but rather a hero; he symbolized an enduring Choctaw identity—deeply connected to the land, spiritually resilient, and underestimated by those outside the community.

3. Interpretation

The Runner and the Man on the Horse fits within the category of a cultural legend, particularly one rooted in Indigenous oral tradition with historical and symbolic overtones. While it contains no overt supernatural elements, the story takes on mythic proportions in its structure, tone, and meaning. Its narrative affirms a communal identity that carries layered moral and historical implications.

The absence of supernatural motifs does not diminish its mythic resonance; instead, it draws power from the reality of the land and the people who inhabit it. The story reflects Indigenous epistemologies that center the land not as a backdrop, but as an active participant in cultural memory. The Choctaw runner becomes a representative of collective strength and ancestral wisdom, whose victory signals more than personal triumph—it affirms the endurance of a people and a worldview often marginalized or dismissed by dominant historical narratives.

At the core of the story is a contrast between two ways of being: one represented by the settler’s reliance on animal power, machinery, and boastful pride; the other embodied by the runner’s strength, discipline, and resilience. The legend critiques colonial arrogance and asserts the quiet power of Indigenous resilience. The runner’s victory is not just athletic—it is cultural, spiritual, and political. The story engages with themes discussed in class, including how folklore preserves historical values and asserts identity through performance and memory. The continued telling of this legend—even in English, and in a contemporary context—demonstrates how Indigenous folklore adapts while preserving the core values of balance, humility, strength, and cultural pride. JW’s version reflects not just the story itself, but the living tradition of storytelling that continues to sustain and affirm Choctaw identity across generations.

Date of performance: 4/01/25
Language: English
Nationality: Choctaw
Occupation: Retired
Primary Language: English
Residence: Modesto, CA