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Folklore Final
Folklore Final
Howard Robinson
One day my sister her kids and I were at the park. I saw a bold jumping
old, came up to me and asked me what I was doing. I showed her the spider. She
shared my enthusiasm for the small arachnid, and asked if she could hold it. She
was quite enjoying herself. My sister was surprised to see her so excited about a
spider. This scenario is proof of something I had pondered for a while. There is one
hypothesis that tries to explain why we fear some animals. The basic idea of it is
that things like spiders and snakes have the potential to harm us with venom;
because of this humans evolved a natural instinct to be fearful of them for our
protection. I have always took issue with this hypothesis because I cant remember
ever being afraid of spiders or snakes, which shouldnt happen if humans are
cultural construct. A taught behavior rather that an instinctive one. These fears are
fueled by misconceptions; these misconceptions may stem our stories and legends
Lets take ravens for example. Ravens are very smart birds, arguably
smarter than parrots. They use tools to get food, work together to solve problems,
typically mate for life, and even have primitive culture. Not all there behavior are
instinctive but taught from parent to offspring, because of this ravens in one aria
can behave differently then in others. Yet most people dont view ravens in this
light.
Most Americans consider them to be bad omens. Seeing one is said to mean
someone close to you instead, or that you will have bad luck in the near future.
Even hearing the distinct caw of a crow is enough to fill us with a sense of terror.
This is not the case in England. In the olden days of London the raven
was a common bird, often living close to people. Until the 16th century, it enjoyed
protection in our towns for its scavenger role in "keeping the streets ... free from all
filth"( McCarthy)
Raven stories have a different tone in London. Take for example one of the myths
about the Tower of London. Legend has it that John Flamsteed (1646 - 1719); the
interfering with his observations. The King therefore ordered their destruction only
to be told that if the ravens left the Tower, the White Tower would fall and a great
disaster befall the Kingdom. Sensibly the King changed his mind and decreed that
at least six ravens should be kept at the Tower at all times to prevent
disaster.(Johnson)
The ravens of London tower are extremely well treated. They are let out
every day in the mornings and roam the tower as they please the caretakers leave
food out for the ravens to eat. At night the ravens return to their cages for safety.
The public loves these guardians of the tower and come to see them and take
pictures. All the ravens are even given names, and are recognized by their distinct
personalities. Hardey, Thor, Odin, Gwyllum, Cedric, Hugine and Munin, are the
Why is it that Americans fear the crow but the British love them? It has to
how there presented to us in our stories and legends. American culture is filled with
stories that paint the crow in a negative light. In Edgar Allen Poes The Raven the
raven is a sign of death, and its crowing drives the character insane. In Alfred
Hitchcocks horror movie The Birds crows attack people and are seen all over the
Our myths and legends shape how we see these birds. Objectively ravens
arent bringers of death, nor are they noble guardians that protect towers with their
background is the rat. Rats are only as dirty as there environment and are actually
one of the friendliest and easy to raise pets for children, however most people are
horrified to consider them as pets. Rats have the potential to spread disease, and
are seen as inherently gross and disgusting creatures. Rats are often the villains of
storys, Redwall, and The Great Mouse Detective, are two examples of stories
with rats as the villains. Even in trading cards and video games rats are often weak
level monsters. Like all animals Rats are only as dirty as there environment, and yet
even the cleanest domestic rat, is seen as dangerous and diseased ridden.
In Indian culture however rats are sacred animals and are even worshiped.
Take the Karni Mata temple for example. The Karni Mata Temple in Rajasthan, India,
is known for its devotion to the furry animals, often seen as the scourge of urban
areas.Devotees have even gone to extreme lengths to protect the species by building
netting and grills to keep out predators such as raptors.(Tomlinson)Protecting rats is
an absurd concept to Americans, but not to the Indians, even the temple visitors love
the rats. Many visitors offer sweets and other candy to the vermin. The food
devotee - even if it has been half eaten by rodents. This is where many Westerners
would draw the line. Eating the food that a rat has touched let alone eaten is sure to
cause disease, yet they never get sick from the rats. The temple is clean enough
that the rats dont get diseased, after all rats are only as diseased as there
environment.
So why are rats so worshipped in this temple? The main religion in India is
Hinduism. In Hinduism when someone dies they get reincarnated as another living
thing, this happens until there soul is deemed perfect and can return to its source.
Even gods can reincarnate as a human form like in the story of Karni Mata. The
legend goes that Karni Mata, a mystic matriarch from the 14th century, was an
incarnation of Durga, the goddess of power and victory. At some point during her
life, the child of one of her clansmen died. She attempted to bring the child back to
life, only to be told by Yama, the god of death, that he had already been
reincarnated. Karni Mata cut a deal with Yama: From that point forward, all of her
tribespeople would be reborn as rats until they could be born back into the
clan.(Guynup)
Since these rats are reincarnated children of a god they are treated with
Not all of these interpretations of animals come directly from a story, some of
them stem from traditions that arent ceremonials but still shape the idea of some
animals. Take our last example for instance the cicada. Insects in general are not
viewed in a very positive light in America. Most people, while recognizing that they
are harmless, still dont want anything to do with them. The sight of them is
repulsive and the sight of one will make you instantly lose your appetite. The larger
the insect the more disgusting it is especially if it flies. Japan is a different story.
There are a lot of large bugs in japan, and children love them. They collect them like
entomologists. They keep them as pets, and if you have a model specimen or a rare
one, you are the coolest kid ever that has one of the greatest pets ever.
This brings us to the humble cicada. In America the sound that they make is
eerie and creepy. It means that somewhere there are hundreds of fairly larger bugs
watching you. Cicadas are extremely common in japan, so much so that you can
constantly hear them during the summer, when they are trying to attract mates.
When a Japanese person hears the cicadas song they are instantly transported back
there childhood memories. That sound is the sound of summer and is associated
will all the fun memories they have during their summer vacation.
The sound is so synonymies with nostalgia and summer that when a story is
trying to sell summer items or even items that are nostalgic they will play the
cicada sound in the isle, to put customers in the summer mood. There is no
particular story in America or japan about cicadas, but the view of them is changed
by the traditions of the folk group, young children on summer vacation in this case.
one. The taught behavior to fear animals may have originated from a member of
our pack to be killed by one so we spread the info to others. Fear of harmless
animals get there reputation from the storys and myths of our ancestors. Since
each aria has a different culture different arias have vastly different thoughts on
animals. From this understanding hopefully we can grow past the misconceptions of
these animals.
Come Back to Life in Britain." The Independent. Independent Digital News and
India: Northern, Northeastern & Central India (Nelles Guide), 1998 3rd Edition, p.
162. EBSCOhost,
Sax, Boria. "How Ravens Came to the Tower of London." Society & Animals,
doi:10.1163/156853007X217203.
Tomlinson, Simon. "Inside India's Rat Temple Where 20,000 of Them Are
Worshipped, Fed and Protected as They Scurry between the Feet of Tourists." Daily