Animals in Oral Tradition

Human-Animal Relationship ANTH 2301 Animals in Oral Tradition Almost all oral traditions and faiths place a high value on animals. Animals are the main characters in myths and stories throughout many civilizations, including Western cultures in America and Europe. The animal characters that appear in nursery rhymes, fairy tales, fables, and folktales impart moral lessons and serve as role models for both adults and children. Some of these traits are unique to a particular culture, while others are more universal. For instance, many American children are taught the tale of Chicken Little, often referred to as Henny Penny in the UK, from a young age. Though it was first published in print in the early 19th century, the story originated as a European folktale far earlier. In this story, an acorn hits Chicken Little's head as she is out for a stroll on a windy day. She freaks out, thinking the sky is falling! "The sky is falling!" she cries as she races around the farm alerting all the animals to the impending disaster. The heavens are collapsing! The story's lesson is to be courageous and not to trust everything you are told. The Grimm brothers collected the intriguing European perspective on animals, "The Queen Bee," from oral tradition around 1812. In this tale, three brothers who are princes go off from their palace to traverse the world and seek their fortunes. The youngest son, Simpleton, is more respectful of the creatures he comes across than the other two brothers, who go around carelessly and ignore the animals in their immediate vicinity. Simpleton steps in to save the animals and stop his siblings from harming them as they attempt to murder ducks, ruin an anthill, and drive bees from their hive. The three princes eventually reach a another castle, where all living things—aside from an elderly man—have been turned to stone. The elderly man promises the princes that they can awaken the castle and win a princess' hand if they can successfully complete three tasks, all of which require the assistance of animals. Remembering how they were treated, the animals only agree to assist young Simpleton, who subsequently receives the kingdom's keys. The lesson is that every animal, no matter how tiny, has a very important function. Numerous animal tales that are still popular in Western cultures were either gathered by the Grimm brothers in the early 1800s (1812–1857) or they were drawn from Aesop's Fables, a compilation of tales purportedly spoken by the Greek storyteller Aesop, who was a slave, about 500 BCE. These tales have appeared in animated films, such as the Chicken Little movie, and children's storybooks. Every indigenous culture has its own collection of animal tales that impart knowledge and wisdom. Among Native American traditions, the coyote, raven, bear, and spider are some of the most often used animal emblems. Coyote and raven are frequently depicted in folklore as cunning tricksters, animal spirits, or gods who are vivacious and witty and get into problems by doing careless or unusual things. In the Pima people's tale of Coyote and Bluebird, which takes place in the southern United States, Coyote bemoans Bluebird's plumage and asks for the key to the bird's exquisite blue feathers. Coyote is informed by Bluebird that Bluebird bathed in blue water to get these lovely blue feathers. Coyote follows suit, emerging with a glossy blue coat. He scuttles into a stump head-on in his conceit, trying to flee his shadow so he can see his gorgeous blue body in the light. The dirt lands on him, coating his blue fur and giving him a "dirty" colour that he still has to this day. This story's lesson is that having vanity does not benefit a person. Many mythology in West Africa centre on the spider, Anansi, a magical entity. Anansi is a cultural hero who imparts moral and valiant teachings. Culture heroes are usually connected to paranormal achievements and unique to each community they represent, displaying special behaviours, characteristics, and discoveries that hold cultural significance. In one of the Anansi narrative cycles that were introduced to the Caribbean region during the Atlantic slave trade by enslaved Africans, Anansi goes fishing and catches a variety of fish sizes in his basket. When he runs into Tiger on the way home, he demands to know what Anansi has in the basket. Fearful, Anansi tells a falsehood that he has nothing. When Tiger sees the fish, he snatches the basket. Anansi outwits Tiger in a series of back-and-forth exchanges by consenting to groom his fur. After Tiger shakes off his long hair, Anansi uses it to bind Tiger to a tree stump. He then gathers his fish basket and heads back home. What is the story's lesson? To keep yourself and your belongings safe, use your cunning. Alternatively, maybe, Don't allow a bully defeat you.