[Glorantha] Collecting Folktales...

[tim at timellis.demon.co.uk]

Over on the Heroquest-RPG list Nic Hughes and Greg were discussing a group collecting old folktales

NH> The article prompted me to start work on writeup of a widespread
NH> network of ordinary people who keep these old traditions going through
NH> collecting and telling folktales, operating as a dispersed heroband.
>
GS> I don't think that such a formal organization would be required. People
GS> will simply tell those stories.
>
NH>I don't think for a moment it would be required - or even really count
NH>as an organisation as I currently concieve it. More of a network of
NH>common interest. As with most herobands its not really required but it
NH>would exist if sufficient people had something in common they wished
NH>to share - and of course if I can think of some game fun to wring out
NH>of it.

It sounds interesting to me too.  The difference between "People simply telling the stories", which they undoubtably will and people collecting/preserving these stories is one that we should be able to find parallels with.  One example that springs to my mind is Alan Lomax recording Folk and Blues singers for the Library of Congress.  Without those recordings, some of those songs may have been lost or evolved into different songs.

By their nature, folktales evolve as they are told, with individuals adding their own twist, or dropping elements that seem irrelevant to their understanding (or the audience in question) - Compare, for instance Disney's Cinderalla with a British Panto version (in its own way a "folktale") and the earlier tales on which it is based.   

We also know that different groups (clans/tribes/cults etc) have their own takes on myths and tales, so there is an obvious benefit to a Heroquestor in gathering such knowledge, and in missionaries spreading their own versions.  On the other hand, their may well be a degree of suspicion towards anyone who takes an excessive interest in trying to discover the true version of tales, or tries to promote an alternate version of a familiar tale - especially amongst peoples who suffered under the experimentation of the God Learners who doubtless did something similar in their construction of the Monomyth...