[Glorantha] Collecting Folktales...

[CJ]

  I here think of Andrew Lang collecting folklore in the last quarter of 
the 19th century.  However two questions arise - what is the difference 
between Myth and Folklore, if any?  Secondly in the real world as you 
correctly note, folklorists often "improved" material, like much of th 
Hebridiean prayers and poetry today associated with Celtic Christianity, 
etc, and all the folklore that was recast to make it fit better Sir 
James Frazer's ideas from The Golden Bough in the 20's and 30's.

Now I wonder if we can differentiate between myth and folklore, and 
whether attempting to not collect variants but to "correct" folklore 
might open you to charges of being a Godlearner?

Just some wild thoughts...

cj x
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> 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.
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> 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.   
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> 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...
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