Fancy a folkloric read? Check out #FolkloreThursday’s books!
Fancy a folkloric read? Check out FolkloreThursday’s books!
The Witch Files — The Midwife Myth: Curses, Infanticide, and Devilish Spells?
In the great wealth of witch-related lore, the image of the persecuted local midwife is one of the most enduringly popular.
Dumplings and Dragonboats: The Chinese Duan Wu Festival
When I was a little girl, I used to watch with open-mouthed admiration and puzzlement as my mother prepared the ingredients for the making of zong zi (rice wrapped in leaf). She would make a variety of fillings: sweet chestnuts, dried shrimp, pork meat, and mushrooms. There would be a lot of soaking, stewing and […]
Madagascar Superstitions & Taboos: Fighting the Aye-Aye Fady
In some regions of Madagascar, it is considered fady to eat certain lemurs, meaning local taboos can actually act as a shield to protect specific species. However, aye-ayes appear to be the only lemur associated with fady leading to their persecution. How did the aye-aye end up drawing the short straw when it comes to local folklore?
Clown Panics and Computers: Chaos Manifests in the Age of the Internet
This article is about clowns. If you have clourophobia you might want to look away now. Not many forms of entertainment have their own phobia, yet there seems to be something about clowns that gets deep into our psyche.
Tinker Bell’s Lover: The Hidden Desires of Celtic Fairies
“The ocean is not so strong as the waves of thy longing,” the fairy whispered to the man she desired as a human lover. Was she casting a spell on him?