Georgian Folklore: The Prince Who Befriended the Beasts
This is a story collected in Michael Berman’s book Georgia Through its Folktales. The book explores the shamanic possibilities held within folk tales.
Dragon Legends: Myth or Half-Truth?
Dragons play a popular role in legend, Where might their origins have begun, and can we see parallels between them and other creatures, mythical and real?
Was it Really East of the Sun and West of the Moon?
The Norwegian folktale, “East of the Sun and West of the Moon,” in which a white bear comes to take a poor girl away, is loved by people the world over. It is also part of a huge cycle of folklore and myth that has spanned Eurasia in the last 2500 years.
Japanese Folklore of the Ocean: The Ama Divers, Sea Demons, and Ise Jingu
Mie is home to the ama divers, an ancient tradition of women who breath-dive for abalone, and Ise Jingu, the most sacred Shinto shrine in the whole of Japan.
Spring in Southeast Asia: Diasporic Chinese New Year Folklore
Here are a couple of folklore and stories associated with Chinese New Year. I have grown up with these stories as they are part of tradition and culture.