Category Archives: Tales /märchen

Stories which are not regarded as possibly true.

Tok Thompson 51: The Bear

“There were many encounters that people had with bears back in my hometown. My dad told it to me as if it were true, but it sounds kind of traditional so I have to wonder. So this guy was out somewhere and this bear starts chasing him. To escape, the guy climbed a tree. The bear didn’t want to leave so he was waiting for him under the tree. The bear didn’t want to go away and the guy didnt know what to do. When the bear rushed at him what the guy did was he started peeing right on the bears face, and the bear got so annoyed that he left. So that’s how the guy escaped from that situation. In case you ever need to know how to escape a bear.”

Context: I asked folklore professor Tok Thompson if he could share one of his favorite stories with me and this was one of them. He heard it from his father, who lived in an Alaskan village. This takes place slightly after WW2, before the rise of significant technology.

Analysis: This story is extremely funny, which is probably why it is of interest to share with people. It is a case of a man outsmarting another entity, which seems to be a popular theme people like to share.

Ben Elimelech 18: Tiny people story

“There’s a story my father used to tell me about these tiny dwarf people that would come out when people were not looking. Whenever anything was missing or misplaced around the house, he would say it was the tiny people who moved it. They were always causing mischief and would hear you when you came to disappear really fast. They had a peaceful community though and we were always trying to catch them to see if we could see them.”

Context: Ben is my brother, and he told me this story at home. He heard these stories growing up and throughout his childhood. My father heard the story from his parents, and it is passed on from generation to generation. My father is from israel originally. These stories represent an element of childhood that is comforting to remember. It recalls the connection of a father and son, which is what the story means to ben.

Analysis: This story was probably used to explain all of the misplaced items that exist around a house. This type of havoc is often unexplainable, which would prompt people to create a story centered around it.

Hila Moverman 42: Shakshuka

“Shakshuka is a middle eastern food that consists of two eggs cracked over some sort of tomato sauce. It can be spicy but it doesn’t have to be. Typically, it is served in the pan and is supposed to be eaten with bread.”
Context: Hila Moverman was born and raised in Israel, and moved to the United States when she was 19.
Analysis: Food often unites a culture and makes one feel as if they are connected to a group of people because they eat similar foods. For Hila, she feels that this food connects her to her homeland and reminds her of memories of her mother cooking this food.

Saint Nicholas.

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Ocean Beach, San Diego.
Performance Date: 4/10/18
Primary Language: English

Max Feye, a Junior studying Screenwriting at the University of Southern California, who hails from Ocean Beach, San Diego, provided two pieces of folklore for this collection.

The interview was run, in his bedroom, at Orchard Avenue, on the outskirts of the University of Southern California.

Folklore Performance: Saint Nicholas.

Folk Type: Legend.

“So you’re German and American, has there been any folkloric cultural exchange between the two” – Stanley Kalu

STORY: I guess the first piece of folklore would be Saint Nicholas day, which is uhh, which is from Germany. I guess, maybe even more specifically from Southern Germany. I grew up with this, my mom and my dad are both German, so essentially there is Christmas and then there is Saint Nicholas day, which is in December. The Legend goes that the German version of Santa Clause will come if you put your boots outside the door and he’ll come and feel your boots with presents. So we always did that during Christmas.

Background Information: Born in Patara, a land that is part of present-day Turkey, circa 280, St. Nicholas was a Christian bishop who helped the needy. After his death, the legend of his gift-giving grew. St. Nicholas transformed into the legendary character called Santa Claus, who brings Christmas presents to children around the world.

Max likes this because it is apart of his childhood.  He learned it from his parents.

Context of Performance:  Christmas time in Germany.

Thoughts: Every culture seems to adopt the concept of Santa Claus as their own. Multiplicity and variation, people! Multiplicity and variation!

The Black Forest

Nationality: American.
Age: 21
Occupation: Student.
Residence: Ocean Beach, San Diego.
Performance Date: 4/22/18
Primary Language: English

Max Feye, a Junior studying Screenwriting at the University of Southern California, who hails from Ocean Beach, San Diego, provided two pieces of folklore for this collection.

The interview was run, in his bedroom, at Orchard Avenue, on the outskirts of the University of Southern California.

Folklore Performance: The Black Forest.

Folk-Type: Folk Area.

“Did you have any folkloric experiences in Germany?” – Stanley Kalu

STORY: so my mom is from a city in Germany called Stuttgart and it’s right by the black forest and that’s where the Brothers Grimm stories take place. so we’d go into the forest, when I was a kid in Germany, and we’d look for these specific types of fairies and their based on these hats that people wear. Like red furry hats with rounded tops. I forget the German word for ‘em, but they were called Pom pom fairies. There are tons and tons of stories around that forest, elves that live in tree-trunks and for sure witches that live there.

Background Information: The Black Forest is the location of many of the Grimm fairy-tales. It is said to be enchanted.

Max enjoys this piece of folklore because he actively believed and pursed the magical creatures within the Black Forest. He learned about this from his mother, who grew up near the Black Forest.

Context of Performance:  The Black Forest is it’s own context, you know?

Thoughts: I’ve always been enamored with the idea of enchanted places. I wonder if some places are said to ve enchanted because, on some level, they are.