Swapping Stories: Folktales from Louisiana - Glossary
Aetiological Tale: A
story that explains the origins of current phenomena by seriously or
fancifully answering the question, "Why?" Examples include religious
accounts of the creation of the world and fictional explanations of how
the leopard got its spots.
Animal Tale: A fantasy story
populated principally or entirely by animals that play stereotyped roles
representing certain human traits. In Louisiana, most European-American
animal tales take the form of fables, while most African-American and
Native American animal tales feature tricksters such as Brer Rabbit.
Bouki: Derived from the Wolof world for "Hyena." Character
common in Louisiana French animal tales; he usually appears as the dupe of
the trickster Lapin [Rabbit].
Cajun: Distinctive South
Louisiana French culture which has developed from the blending of Acadian
settlers from Nova Scotia in the late 1700s with other immigrants such as
other French coming from France and Haiti, Spanish, British, and Germans
in the late 1880s.
Creole: Term used differently in several
contexts in Louisiana. In a broad sense, it can refer to the blending of
French, Spanish, and sometimes African/Caribbean cultures in colonial
Louisiana. Can specifically refer to the French-Spanish or the
French-Spanish-African cultures of New Orleans. Black Creole refers to the
African-French culture in rural southwest Louisiana. The Creole language
is a blending of French and African-Caribbean influences and is spoken
predominately by black Creoles.
Fable: A tale, often
featuring animal characters, told to illustrate a specific moral point,
and often ending with a proverb reinforcing that point.
Fairy
tale: See Magic tale.
Folk Storyteller: Storyteller who
tells stories learned from within his or her own folk traditions.
Folklife: Traditions passed down informally over time
within a group. The tradition was not learned by formal education or from
popular culture through magazines, books, or the media. Folklife includes
folklore, folk art, beliefs and rituals, crafts, music, and occupations.
The group may be a family, neighborhood, ethnic occupational, or religious
group, or a region. See the Louisiana Folklife Program website for more
information, as well as the virtual exhibit The Creole State: An
Exhibition of Louisiana Folklife.
Folklore: Oral traditions
passed down informally over time within a group.
Folklorist: Interdisciplinary professional researcher of
folk traditions. Usually has a degree in folklore, anthropology, English
with a concentration in folklore, or ethnomusicology. May teach in a
university, work in a public agency or not-for-profit organization, or
work as an independent contractor.
Folktale: Traditional
stories.
Genre: Type.
Joke: Humorous tales
that can be very short or very long. The older, longer humorous
narratives, called Schwänke by folklorists, present stereotyped characters
who act out common conflicts of neighborhood life. One type is the
Numskull joke which concern the stupid person.
Joke cycle: Series of related jokes.
Koasati: Native American tribe
located in Elton, Louisiana. Also known as Coushatta.
Lapin: French for "Rabbit," a stock character of Creole and
Cajun animal tales, whose personality and adventures resemble those of the
African American trickster figure, Brer Rabbit.
Legend: A
story in which belief is an issue, often presented as part of a debate
over "what really happened." The teller and audience may or may not
believe a given legend, but the events in the tale are presented as if
true. Many legends [often called belief legends] debate the existence of
supernatural beings and forces: such legends may feature, for example,
ghosts, werewolves, or angels. Many legends [often called historical
legends] focus on and debate the deeds of famous (or infamous) figures
such as Jean Lafitte and Bonnie and Clyde. Some tales, such as those
concerning the ghosts said to guard treasure buried by Jean Lafitte, blend
elements of both belief and historical legends.
Loup Garou:
Supernatural creature in south Louisiana described as either an evil-doer
or a vaguely-defined, shadowy creature. It literally means "werewolf," but
differs from the Hollywood image.
Magic Tale: Tales
centering on growing up experiences in which a girl or boy leaves home,
enters the wilderness, and encounters such frightening figures as
monsters, giants, and witches. Sometimes aided by magic, sometimes armed
only with his or her wits or virtue, the child overcomes these formidable
fores, growing up in the process.
Märchen: See Magic Tale.
Myth: Stories that explain the origins of current
phenomena. They may be believed literally or figuratively, or as
metaphorically moral truths about the workings of the world.
Narrative: Story.
Personal Experience Story:
An autobiographical accounts of memorable events; frequently, an account
of the "good old days." Most personal experience narratives
become--intentionally or otherwise--at least slightly idealized or
fictionalized to express more clearly a community's evolving notions of
what is important about its past. Most "personal" experience narratives
are thus also community stories, statements about the lifestyle of the
teller's group.
Tall Tale: A fictional narrative, presented
as a true account and told in the first person, that begins by describing
a common situation, but gradually adds more and more unusual features
until it pushes up to and beyond the limits of belief. The tellers of tall
tales tend to be males; the most common tall tales center on a single
individual's encounter with the wonders of nature, such as giant fish or
talking dogs.
Trickster tale: A tale (most often, an animal
tale) in which the main character (e.g., Brer Rabbit) constantly tries to
outsmart or outwit other characters (e.g., Brer Bear, Brer Fox).
