Traditional Stories Research Articles

Godmother-Governesses and Biracial Cinderellas: The Use of Fairy Tales in Dinah Mulock Craik’s The Half-Caste

Abstract In Dinah Mulock Craik’s short and largely unacknowledged novella, The Half-Caste (1851), the half-Indian heroine, Zillah La Poer, achieves what seems impossible for a young woman of color in mid-century imperial Britain, rising from an uneducated and ill-treated biracial ward to a rich heiress-turned-bride, all under the watchful guidance of the novella’s narrator and main character, governess Cassandra Pryor. Though Craik’s novella has resurfaced in recent years with the help of a Broadview edition in 2016, the scholarly work and historical material in the introduction and appendixes do not highlight the fairy-tale inspirations and obvious Cinderella motifs in Craik’s text. Craik’s novella is, at its core, a Cinderella story, as Cassandra becomes a nonmagical fairy godmother tasked with transforming Zillah into a respected British citizen. As such, this article seeks to bring attention to Craik’s little-known novella by situating it in a larger tradition of Victorian Cinderella stories, highlighting the way it creates an idealized image of civilized harmony between non-white colonized people and white British citizens via governess-led education.

Influence of Walt Disney’s Work on Soviet Cartoons

In the mid-1930s, Walt Disney’s cartoon characters conquered screens all over the world. The Soviet Union was not spared from this fascination. Despite the fact that Soviet animation took its first steps in the mid-1920s and by the time of the Disney craze already had several successful films (e.g., “The Rink”, “The Post Office”, “Black and White”), domestic cartoonists fell under the “Disney hypnosis”. This leads to active borrowing of Disney methods, imitation of the performing manner, copying characters. At the newly established studio “Soyuzmultfilm” with the approval of high film bosses begins work on the creation of “his Soviet Mickey Mouse”. For the basis of cartoon production take the flow method – conveyor, which allows, thanks to the use of celluloid sheets instead of paper, accelerate the production of cartoons. This method of creating cartoon pictures divides artists into supporters and opponents of Disney methods. Some of the opponents are leaving the profession, believing that the conveyor belt method would turn the art of animation into a craft.However, even uncompromising supporters of Disney animation quickly realize that direct copying of the great master’s tapes leads domestic animation to a dead end, as it becomes obvious that Disney’s tricks, techniques and images cannot be adapted to traditional stories: folk tales, fables. In addition, in the second half of the 1930s, the USSR changed its cultural policy. All this leads to the struggle against “Disney” and the search for their own unique style of Soviet animation.The article analyses the memoirs of cartoonists N.P. Khodataev, I.P. Ivanov-Vano, A.V. Ivanov, F.S. Khitruk and others, their perception of Disney’s work, their attitude to the borrowing of the master’s creative methods, as well as the experience of creating their own works using Disney technologies.

Research on animation design of woodblock print characters based on audience aesthetic differences

Traditional woodblock prints are a kind of Chinese folk traditional painting art, with a long history and unique artistic style. It has a long history and unique artistic style. The richness of its themes and wide range of applications cover many aspects such as New Year festivals, wedding banquets and birthday celebrations, religious rituals and lanterns and toys. The wide range of themes and wide range of applications of woodblock prints creates a rich and colourful connotation, especially traditional stories and character images, which constitute an important part of the woodblock prints, there are very rich story resources and character resources in the woodblock prints for animation creators to refer to, different creators of woodblock prints have different understandings and re-designs, and the audience has mixed feelings about the effect of character design. With the development of modern animation production technology and the increasing attention to traditional culture, more and more practitioners have begun to explore the animation of story characters in the non-heritage culture, and this paper aims to explore the feasible path of animation of the elements in woodblock prints under the aesthetic differences.

Transmission of indigenous knowledge systems under changing landscapes within the vhavenda community, South Africa

Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and techniques benefit not only humankind but also benefit the environment. Nevertheless, the transmissions of indigenous knowledge are threatened and replaced by Western knowledge and ideologies. The focus of the study was to demonstrate the various Indigenous knowledge transmission methods, the driving forces behind their disappearance, and how they added value to the resilience of such knowledge forms in sustaining Indigenous and local communities throughout the centuries. To achieve this, the study used questionnaires consisting of open-ended and closed-ended questions (n = 136). Participants were selected and identified through purposeful sampling from five remote indigenous villages in South Africa. The data were collected only from principal elderly participants above 50 due to their profound knowledge and experiences with their local environment. The most prevalent indigenous knowledge within the Vhavenda people is folklore, which is orally transmitted from one generation to the next through traditional songs, stories, dances, myths, customs, and rituals. Drivers such as invasion of technology, reluctance on the part of custodians to pass on the knowledge, knowledge being forgotten, and knowledge being less effective were ranked to be highest in the hindrance of IK transmission in the study area. Solutions such as revitalising knowledge systems through proper documentation, such as building online libraries, integrating Western and indigenous knowledge, and introducing indigenous knowledge into mainstream education systems and media could assist in preserving such knowledge.

Contemporary Horror Story-Telling: Its Function and Reproduction of the Belief in Ghosts in the Thai Context

This article explores the function and reproduction of the belief in ghosts in the context of current Thailand through contemporary horror story-telling on the Internet. The study reveals that contemporary horror story-telling employs motifs and tale types as key elements in creating fear. Horror stories can be categorized into three tale types: ghost, sixth sense, and haunted place. Key motifs are the characters, objects, events or actions, and places. Contemporary horror story-telling plays crucial roles in creating entertainment, shaping moral standards in the society, reflecting fears, concerns, and problems in the contemporary society, and passing on Buddhist belief and ceremonies in the Thai setting. The transition from traditional horror story-telling to online platform exemplifies a success formula of horror stories on ghosts, which have long been popular in Thai society. Horror stories are reproduced as a vehicle for traditional horror story-telling in the contemporary Thai context. The phenomenon highlights the prevalent notion of traditional ghost stories while also building a new framework of horror stories tailored to the modern period.

A novel framework for Indigenous eye health care in New Zealand: Ngā Mata o te Ariki

ABSTRACT Clinical relevance Development of an Indigenous eye health framework could offer the opportunity for eye health professionals to enhance engagement with Indigenous populations. Background Indigenous populations globally experience disproportionately poorer eye health outcomes than non-Indigenous peoples. Incorporating Māori perspectives of eye care and pre-existing Indigenous models of health offers potential to enhance Māori experience and engagement with eye health services. This study seeks to develop and refine a practical framework for eye health care that incorporates nine established Indigenous health principles. Methods Qualitative methodology, guided by Indigenous Māori research principles, was used to evaluate interviews with five leading senior Māori academics surrounding the ongoing development and refinement of a Kaupapa Māori (Māori worldview centric) framework for eye care in Aotearoa New Zealand, created following Māori health consumer consultation. Interviews were semi-structured and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Seven key themes arose in relation to the development of a Kaupapa Māori framework for eye care in Aotearoa New Zealand: 1) vision is critical to Māori well-being, 2) cultural safety is important, 3) Māori health beliefs must be upheld, 4) achieving pae ora (healthy futures) is important, 5) key concepts and focus of the framework must be clear, 6) pūrākau (traditional Indigenous stories) are valuable resources in developing health frameworks and 7) embedding Matariki (fundamental Māori) principles is valuable. Conclusions Using Kaupapa Māori principles allowed development and refinement of a framework that encourages clinicians to consider Indigenous health principles when engaging with Māori patients who seek eye care. Application of this framework may contribute to enhancing cultural safety and responsiveness of eye care for Māori.

From Black Magician to Proto-Feminist: The Reception of Cornelius Agrippa's Oeuvre Through the Centuries

The Renaissance humanist Cornelius Agrippa von Netesheim (1486–1533) left a rich body of works in philosophy, theology, biblical exegesis and occultism. The disparity and internal contradictions of this opus, as well as the ambivalent position of Agrippa on the intellectual map of the epoch, caused the reception of his work to branch out in the most diverse directions. Contemporaries from clerical and Protestant circles branded him as a heretic, whereas humanists recognized his great erudition and devotion to faith. While he considered himself a reformer of Christianity, his followers regarded him as an authority in Neoplatonic, Hermetic, and Esoteric studies. On the basis of tendentious interpretations of his writings, as well as the entire tradition of apocryphal stories that developed around his personality, the church and folk tradition of the 16th and 17th centuries constructed a representation of Agrippa as a servant of the devil. Therefore, he served as a model for the character of Faust, first to Christopher Marlowe and later to Goethe. With the strong development of science and its foundations being linked with occult teachings, in the 18th and 19th centuries the image of Agrippa as a proto-scientist appeared, e.g. in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. However, for the positivist science of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Agrippa was, at best, a representative of a barren branch of Western philosophical thought, and at worst, a mere charlatan or mentally disturbed person. Such a perception prevailed until the mid-20th century, when scholars from Warburg Institute in London developed new interpretations of Renaissance humanism, including Agrippa's role in it. Today's science views Agrippa as a representative of the vital religious component of humanism and as a link between ancient, medieval and Renaissance currents of thought. At the same time, in certain segments of New Age, his writings acquire the status of the "bible" of the occultism, and Agrippa himself the status of a kind of New Age guru. Therefore, the literary legacy of Cornelius Agrippa is of significance for the history of ideas, reception studies, imagology, and anthropology of religion as an exceptionally rich case study, and in this paper, we aim to trace the intricate paths of his reception in different epochs and cultural contexts.

Being, exploring, and playing outdoors: Young children philosophize through Sámi pedagogical imagination and storytelling

This article discusses the pedagogical role of the imagination and forms of life in Sámi early childhood education. Following Nergård’s development of Wittgenstein’s notion “form of life” as an imaginative, pedagogical, and anthropological concept, the article will explore how Sámi children both use and transform forms of life in Sámi early childhood centers. The article explores scenes from a day spent outdoors with early childhood educators and children. The aim is to show how young Sámi children philosophize and articulate their world, and how listening to the children can be a decolonizing practice that challenges colonial assumptions in pedagogy, philosophy and society. The empirical data was collected through a pilot project and the subsequent project Sámi Children as Thought Herders. The data material contains photos, short films, sound records, and notes collected through ethnographic fieldwork conceived as Critical Utopian Action Research, which takes into account the social learning of all participants, here specifically the children, the educators and the researchers. Thus, these are spaces for a joint critique that resists colonially structured practices. The main findings are that, during outdoor activities, educators and children imaginatively perform, play and encounter outdoor spaces and aspects of Sámi forms of life. This is explored on the basis of scenes where young children imaginatively engaged with the forest environment. The educators’ storytelling and the storytelling tradition continued into the children’s own storytelling. The children created stories about a Stállo who lives in a rusty oil barrel they found in the forest, making traditional stories and forms of life come alive and transforming them. In reflecting upon these scenes, we argue for the pedagogical, performative, and philosophical importance of engaging with the ways that children’s imaginative play interacts with place.

Reading stories in Arabic: the impact of lexico-phonological and diglossic distance level on comprehension and receptive and productive vocabulary among Arab kindergarten children

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of the lexico-phonological diglossic distance of story reading (a scaffolded storybook intervention, informed by Vygotsky’s theory of scaffolding and fading) on Arabic-speaking preschool children’s comprehension and receptive and productive vocabulary.MethodThe participants were 139 Israeli-Palestinian kindergartners: 71 composed an intervention group and 68 composed a comparison group. The intervention group heard stories gradually from the SpA, identical, cognate, and unique word forms, whereas the comparison group heard traditional stories unrelated to their lexico-phonological distances. Story 1 was read in unique spoken Arabic (SpA) form, stories 2 and 3 were read in 58 and 45% identical and cognate word forms, respectively, and story 4 was read in 70% unique word forms.ResultsThe results clearly showed that children’s vocabulary and story understanding was significantly higher after the intervention, especially noticeable in stories that contained a higher proportion of Standard Arabic (StA). Interestingly, the stories told entirely in Spoken Arabic (SpA) were the most effective, yielding the highest scores in both comprehension and vocabulary. Stories that mixed different word forms also performed well, though not as strongly as the SpA stories, while those solely in StA were the least effective.ConclusionThe findings of the study suggest that scaffolded storybook intervention may enhance the receptive vocabulary and comprehension skills of children. This study shows that, in the context of diglossia, stories should be read to children systematically and gradually according to the lexical-phonological distance of words in the stories.

‘I don’t want sad stories’

Foregrounding the agency and voices of families who sought refuge in the United States, we investigated their storytelling by asking: What kinds of stories do parents/guardians choose to share? And what are the purposes of their storytelling? Assisted by interpreters, we worked with nine families with children aged from five to eight years, who had come from Nepal, Somalia and South Sudan, observing their storytelling and conducting interviews. The storytelling and interview sessions were video-recorded and translated/transcribed. Adapting Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) framework, we employed emergent coding and constant comparative analysis to identify themes of stories and purposes for storytelling. Our findings revealed two important patterns. First, the families focused on traditional stories with explicit moral lessons and these stories illustrated six forms of CCW: familial, navigational, social, aspirational, resistant and linguistic capital. Conspicuously, stories of forced displacement over-represented in literature were missing. Second, the storytelling was intended for their children to learn moral lessons, maintain home cultural heritage and language, and have fun. They also expressed the desire to share their stories in schools. Our study highlights the efforts of families who experienced forced displacement to counter dominant narratives of trauma and deficit. Based on the findings, we discuss how schools and society can leverage the CCW of communities to support their children’s learning and development.

Idiom-idiom Estetik Cerita Teater Tradisional Amaq Abir

The traditional drama story Amaq Abir is a story performed in the traditional Amak Abir theater performance in Nyampe hamlet, Marong village. As an art form, the story highlights the local wisdom values of the Sasak tribe which is interesting to study, especially in eastern aesthetic studies. Eastern aesthetics as a study of traditional drama has not been widely studied. The aim of this research is to find the form and meaning of eastern aesthetics which are keywords in the traditional drama story Amaq Abir. The theory used is eastern aesthetics. Aesthetics can be interpreted as the beauty/truth that forms a work. Meanwhile, the method is used in this research is a qualitative method with a descriptive nature. In interpreting data, holistic methods are used. This method used in interpreting philosophical meaning. The results of the research found that there are aesthetic idioms that form the traditional drama story Amak Abir, including steadfast, explaining human character who has principles in thinking and acting. Adigang-adigung explains the arrogant and arrogant character of humans. Manut explains the human character who obeys the orders. Jiwe-seli explains the human character who cares about others/gotong royong. Sekti explains the character of humans who have extensive knowledge. Litem-putek explains the character of humans who have the characteristics of good and bad.

THE VIBRANT TAPESTRY OF PUNJAB: EXPLORING THE RICH TRADITION OF ARTS AND CRAFTS

The vibrant state of Punjab, a land synonymous with cultural opulence and artistic diversity, offers a unique tapestry of arts and crafts that encapsulates the essence of its rich heritage and communal ethos. This paper embarks on an explorative journey into the heart of Punjab's traditional crafts, unveiling the myriad ways in which these art forms serve as a conduit for cultural expression, economic sustenance, and preservation of heritage. Each craft, be it the intricate basketry, the colorful durries, the traditional folk toys, the elegant juttis, the distinctive mud works, the evocative Punjabi paintings, the exquisite Phulkari, the meticulous weaving, the masterful woodwork, the enduring leather craft, or the resplendent metalwork, narrates a story of timeless tradition, meticulous skill, and a deep-seated reverence for artistry. These crafts are not mere artifacts; they are vibrant testimonies to Punjab's enduring legacy, reflecting the creativity, resilience, and the indomitable spirit of its people. By delving into the depths of these traditional crafts, this paper aims to illuminate the intricate interplay between art, culture, and economy, showcasing how Punjab's arts and crafts are not just remnants of the past but are vibrant, living embodiments of the state's dynamic cultural identity.

Portraying Women in Revolt:

The present article analyses the painting The Uprising of the Women of Rome on the Capitol by the Dutch-Danish painter Pieter Isaacsz (1569-1625). This work depicts the mythical story of the Roman boy Papirius, who, after attending a meeting of the Roman Senate, lied to his inquisitive mother to safeguard political secrets, falsely telling her that the senators were deliberating the introduction of systematic bigamy. Enraged, his mother then marched to the Capitol, leading a crowd of elite married women in protest. In the (limited) visual tradition of this classical story, it is always the boy – and therefore, the sound and sensible political actions of men – who takes centre stage, set against the foolish and rebellious behaviour of the women. Isaacsz painted this obscure story twice, approximately ten years apart. The paintings differ in composition and style, but especially in the second painting, the women – not Papirius – have assumed the leading role. In Uprising of the Women, we see the women entering the Capitol in protest: they are in the foreground, with all men relegated to the margins. Based on an analysis of the literary tradition and representation of the Papirius myth, the painter’s sources of inspiration and a comparison of the two paintings, we investigate why Isaacsz chose to place the protesting women in the foreground of his later, Amsterdam painting, thus turning the spotlight on female agency.

Analysis of Innovative Methods of Interactive Film and Television Art in Traditional Story Narration

This article aims to explore how interactive film and television art can influence traditional storytelling through innovative methods. By analyzing the characteristics of interactive film and television art, comparing it with traditional narrative, and specific innovative practice cases, this article reveals the potential of interactive film and television art in enhancing audience participation, expanding narrative structure, and enhancing emotional resonance.

Bacchic Batman?: Batman: Killing Time and Euripides’ Bacchae

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the ways that Tom King’s Batman: Killing Time (2022) blends a telling of Euripides’ Bacchae with the more traditional story of a super-villain bank heist. The heist mobilises characters such as Catwoman and the Riddler against Batman as they try to secure possession of an ancient artefact. This artefact turns out to have ancient Greek provenance and allows King to emphasise how his tale evokes and responds to Euripides’ play. By quoting extensively from the Bacchae and interspersing scenes from the play that resonate with the action in and around Gotham City, King makes the actions of Batman and the supervillains embody the tenets of Classical reception. The shifting interpretations of the characters and the various representations of the ancient artefact reflect the ways that individual readers come to understand a literary or artistic work. The conflict over the artefact mirrors critics’ conflicting interpretations of a text, and Killing Time can be seen as a large-scale interpretation of Euripides’ tragedy. This sequential graphic narrative acts as a creative response to Euripides’ Bacchae and questions that play’s conception of madness, reason, sight, and insight, while fruitfully putting into dialogue the myths of ancient Greece with those of the DC Universe.

Lessons Beyond the Pages: Stories of Tradition, Diligence, and True Success in Sudha Murty’s “What’s Luck Got to Do with It?”

Lessons Beyond the Pages: Stories of Tradition, Diligence, and True Success in Sudha Murty’s “What’s Luck Got to Do with It?”

Beyond Folklore: Gothic Intersections in Éilís Ní Dhuibhne’s Fiction

The purpose of this essay is to investigate the way in which gothic topoi intertwine with the background of folk and fairy tales in Ní Dhuibhne’s fiction, in terms of characters, setting, motifs, situations and atmosphere. Recognising the presence of gothic tropes can highlight the dynamic intersections of genres, and sharpen the reading of Ní Dhuibhne’s short stories. In her very personal and unique approach to fiction, Éilís Ní Dhuibhne intertextually reworks traditional stories and juxtaposes them to their modern counterparts, thus expanding a sort of ‘palimpsestic memory’ that Maria Tatar identifies in the continuous rewriting of fairy tales. And the fairy tale’s instability as a genre has its counterpart in the gothic, a restless form and an unstable genre, whose influence can be seen in many of Ní Dhuibhne’s narrative and stylistic strategies.

传统“孝子传”故事教化功能的地方实践 及其效果研究

The Confucian filial piety culture is a very practical culture. How the ancient Chinese government propagates the filial piety culture is an important issue in the study of its inheritance. This paper chooses ancient Yiwu County as a case study to investigate the local government's practice of using traditional filial piety stories, such as filial piety stories or filial piety records, and the effect of practice. In ancient times, Yiwu County used Yan Wu Xiaode's story to carry out local missionary education in two ways: one is to influence local scholars through standardized and grand sacrificial ceremonies, and then pass it on to the people in the county; First, from the central court to the local officials, the main role is to worship Yan Xiaozi, the model of filial piety, which affects the value orientation of the people. In Yiwu, where Confucianism is developed, the filial piety culture of local governments has received good feedback, and the filial piety culture has also penetrated into the blood of scholars. In the context of the Chinese subject culture of “loyalty and filial piety”, it also provided the “loyalty and justice” dividend for the ancient Chinese feudal government, and a large number of “loyal and patriotic” scholar-officials emerged.

Human and Nature Interactions in Kesar Lall’s Folk Tales from Nepal: An Eco-Critical Reading

Folktales are traditional stories orally handed down to the succeeding generations. They portray the co-existence and collaborations of humans, non-human characters and environments. This study explores the relations and interactions of humans, non-humans and nature in Kesar Lall’s Folk Tales from Nepal: The Origins of Alcohol and other Stories from ecocritical perspective. It has used ecocriticism as a theoretical tool. It is a library and qualitative research. The main finding of this study portrays the association and interactions among humans, non-humans and nature. The attitude of humans exploits the biological and physical environment for the sake of humans. Humans have hostile relations with non­­-humans like ogre in the natural world. The folktales demonstrate metamorphosis nature of gods and nagas. They portray the death of human beings as the natural process. They have abundant evidences of environments, and they transfer the value of ecological wisdom more to the readers. This study increases the environmental literacy of youths and expands the Nepali folktales to English speaking communities.

IDIOMATIC PHRASES IN MARRIAGE SPEECH OF HELONG TRIBUTE CUSTOMS AS AN ENRICHMENT OF TEACHING MATERIALS FOR SEMANTIC LECTURES

The aim of this research is to describe idiomatic phrasesin the traditional marriage story of the Helong tribe as enrichment of teaching materials for semantics courses. The theoretical basis used in this research is idiomatic phrasesstated by Keraf (2000), namely (2) Idiomatic based on its type (2) Idiomatic based on its form. Using a qualitative approach and the method and collection technique used in this research is the observation method with three techniques, namely (1) skillful listening and involvement method, (2) recording technique, and (3) note taking. Other methods used are the questionnaire method and the note-taking method. The research results show that there are four stages, namely (1) stagekeket kodale'ask; (2) levelHilli Hleken'come in and ask'; (3) levelfog wrap'enter marriage or bring dowry'; (4) levelkait tamang in mule te'between'. In these four levels there are 13 idiomatic phrase data.