Proverbs, riddles, and charms

Partly as a result of the Romantic Movement in literature and partly because of the interest in primitivism and the common folk, the recording of all sorts of songs and oral tales since about 1800 has been phenomenal. Increasingly scholars attempt to recover material as it actually exists. Many thousands of volumes are to be found in great libraries that give a good sampling of folk literature in all parts of the world; and large regional or national archives have been established, many of them containing hundreds of thousands of items available for study. All these books and manuscripts have become increasingly valuable as the techniques of collecting have progressed from casual longhand notes and rewritings through various stages to mechanical recording on discs and tapes. With mechanical recording, it has become possible to assemble properly attested literary folk material from all parts of the world. This improved collecting has proceeded at an impressive pace and makes possible comparative studies of all kinds, based on the oral record.
As for the folk literature of peoples predominantly unlettered, these greatly expanded bases for study not only have brought out the characteristics found everywhere but have pointed up the differences found from place to place. Generalizations formerly accepted have to be reviewed in the light of these differences. With increased collecting, for example, do the likenesses or unlikenesses of American Indian tales and legends become more manifest? Does folk literature in a certain part of the world follow culture areas or language boundaries or some other principle? Such problems can now be investigated with the assurance that modern collectors have made every effort to record the oral tradition as it actually exists.
Much the same may be said of the folk literature that exists among literate people side by side with written works. The collecting has improved in both quantity and quality. And not only have libraries been receiving new books of folk literature collections from interested persons everywhere, but these collectors are better-trained and better-equipped. The greatest improvement, however, in the study of folk literature transcribed in writing has been the development of folklore archives, of which a large part are concerned with various kinds of oral literature. These are growing rapidly, are scattered over much of the world, and are becoming well-indexed and accessible.


Riddles are a journey into a fascinating world rich in delightful metaphors and ambiguity. This book is based on material drawn from all over the world and analyses both traditional true riddles and contemporary joking questions. It introduces the reader to different riddling situations and the many functions of riddles, wich vary from education to teasing, and from defusing a heated situation to entertainment. In addition to providing a survey of international riddle scholarship, the book has a comprehensive bibliography with suggestions for further reading.