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ToCCharacteristicsThe Five Criteria of Folklore

The Five Criteria of Folklore – 08 / 29 / 2012
There are five criteria against which a practice or idea can be judged to determine if it falls into the category of folklore. Generally, the practice or idea should satisfy all five criteria to qualify.
Anonymous – the originator is unknown. Or it's a collabrative effort of multiple people within a community or location.
Exits In Variants – folk artifacts and mentifacts are alike and different; the forms will be similar, but the style or execution will vary by person or by location. Folktales are not repeated exactly, they are different at each telling.
Transmitted Orally or By Custom and Practice – oral as transmitted thru stories. The next generation are told or shown how to do. There is a cultural esthetic; a member does what looks & feels right. A culture uses what's on hand to create its artifacts.
Tends To Be Formularized – stories, art, songs, music, and dance tend to be structured, patterned. Symmetry means it's formularized.
Traditional – traditional behaviors and ideas go back in time. Traditional behaviors and ideas are shared throughout culture.

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