Folklores & Cultures

around the World

Submitted by: Jann Ericka U. Jao

ABM 11-7 Henry Sy

Submitted to: Jhem Lynn Icban

EGYPT

KHAT OR NEMES

Headdresses (or crowns) can be seen

worn by gods and pharaohs on
statues, paintings, casket tops, and
death masks during all the distinct
phases of ancient Egyptian history.
These headdresses would often be
very elaborate, with gold and jewel
accents, hieroglyphs and pictures
painted on them.

Long ago in the Ancient land of Egypt were the green water of the Nile River flows into the blue water of the Mediterranean
Sea lived a young maiden named Rhodopis, she born in Greece but was kidnapped by pirates and carried down into Egypt
where she was sold into slavery. Her owner turned out to be a kind old man who spent most of his time under a tree
sleeping. Because of this he never saw how the other girls in the house, all servant girls, taunted and teased her because she
looked differently from them. Their hair was straight and black while hers was golden and curly. They had brown eyes and
she had green. Their skin had the glow of Copper, but she had pale skin that burned easily in the sun causing them to call
ONE OF her Rosy Rhodopis. They also made her work hard shouting at her all day, "Go to the river and wash the clothes," "Mend
my robe," "Chase the geese from the garden: "Bake the bread." Now she had no friends only the animals. She had trained
THE the birds to eat from her hand, a monkey to sit on her shoulder, and the old hippopotamus would slide up on the bank out of
the mud to be closer to her. At the end of the day if she wasn't too tired she would go down to the river to be with her animal
friends and if she had any energy left from the hard day's work she would dance and sing for them.
FAMOUS
FOLKLOREOne evening as she was dancing, twirling around lighter than air with her feet barely touching the ground, the old man
woke from his sleep and watched as she danced. He admired her dancing and felt that one so talented should not be without
shoes. He ordered her a special pair of slippers. The shoes were gilded with rose-red gold and the soles were leather. Now the
servant girls really disliked her for they were jealous of her beautiful slippers.

Word arrived that the Pharaoh was holding court in Memphis and all in the kingdom were invited. Oh how she wanted to
go with the servant girls. For she knew there would be dancing, singing, and lots of wonderful food. As the servant girls
prepared to leave in their finest clothes they turned to her and gave her more chores to do before they returned. They poled
their raft away leaving a sad girl on the bank. As she began to wash the clothes in the river she sang a sad little song--"wash
the linen, weed the garden, grind the grain." The hippopotamus grew tired of this little song and splashed back into the
river. The splashing of the water wet her slippers. She quickly grabbed them up, wiped it off and placed them in the sun to
dry. As she was continuing with her chores the sky darkened and as she looked up she saw a falcon sweep down, snatch one
of her slippers, and fly away. Rhodopis was in awe for she knew it was Horus who had taken her shoe. Rhodopis now with
only one slipper put it away in her tunic.

Now the Pharaoh, Ahmose 1, Pharaoh of upper and lower Egypt was sitting on his throne looking out over the people and
feeling very bored. He much preferred to be riding across the desert in his chariot. Suddenly the falcon swooped down and
dropped the rose-red golden slipper in his lap. Surprised but knowing this was a sign from Horus he sent out a decree that
all maidens in Egypt must try on the slipper, and the owner of the slipper would be his queen. By the time the servant girls
arrived the celebrations had ended and the Pharaoh had left by chariot in search of the owner of the golden slipper. After
searching on land and not finding the owner he called for his barge and began to travel the Nile pulling into every landing so
maidens could try on the slipper. As the barge rounded the bend in front of the home of Rhodopis all heard the sounds of the
gong, the trumpets blaring, and saw the purple silk sails. The servant girls ran to the landing to try on the shoe while she hid
in the rushes. When the servant girls saw the shoe they recognized it as Rhodopis's slipper but they said nothing and still
tried to force their feet into the slipper. The Pharaoh spied her hiding in the rushes and asked her to try on the slipper. She
slid her tiny foot into the slipper and then pulled the other from her tunic. The Pharaoh pronounced that she would be his
queen. The servant girls cried out that she was a slave and not even Egyptian. The Pharaoh responded with "She is the most
Egyptian of all...for her eyes are as green as the Nile, her fair as feathery as papyrus, and her skin the pink of
a lotus flower."
From Folk Tales from the Russian, 1903

Somewhere, I cannot tell you exactly where, but certainly in vast Russia, there lived a peasant with his wife and they had twins--son and daughter. One day the wife died
and the husband mourned over her very sincerely for a long time. One year passed, and two years, and even longer. But there is no order in a house without a woman, and a
day came when the man thought, “If I marry again possibly it would turn out all right.” And so he did, and had children by his second wife. The stepmother was envious of
the stepson and daughter and began to use them hardly. She scolded them without any reason, sent them away from home as often as she wished, and gave them scarcely
enough to eat. Final she wanted to get rid of them altogether. Do you know what it means to allow a wicked thought to enter one’s heart? The wicked thought grows all the
time like a poisonous plant and slowly kills the good thoughts. A wicked feeling was growing in the stepmother’s heart, and she determined to send the children to the
witch, thinking sure enough that they would never return. “Dear children,” she said to the orphans, “go to my grandmother who lives in the forest in a hut on hen’s feet. You
will do everything she wants you to, and she will give you sweet things to eat and you will be happy. The orphans started out. But instead of going to the witch, the sister, a
 Matryoshka – The Russian Nesting Dolls
It's hard to find a symbol of Russia more popular than the traditional Russian nesting doll. These
decorated wooden dolls "with a secret" are also called matryoshka dolls or babushka dolls. They are
recognized even in the countries thousand miles away from Russia. Taking a Russian nesting doll
back home is a must among tourists from Europe and the United States alike. The lovers of exotics
collect matryoshkas in Australia and South Africa. The simplicity and originality of matryoshka dolls
attract the fans of Russian folk art from around the world. Bright and picturesque Russian nesting
dolls decorate the fireplaces and bookshelves in the homes of thousands of Russians.

RUSSIA

BABA YAGA

INDIA
 It is another interesting story / tale from the Hitopadesha album. Once upon a time, there lived a Sage on the banks of a river. The sage and his wife
didn’t bear any children. They were unhappy about this fact of their life. One day, when the sage was engaged in penance, a kite dropped a
she-mouse and it happened to fall in the lap of the Sage. The Sage thought that the God might have sent this mouse to him. He thought that
if he would take the mouse to his home, people would laugh at him. So he decided to change the mouse into a girl. 

The Sage brought the girl to his home. On seeing the Girl, the Sage’s wife asked, “Who is she? From where did you bring this girl?” The
Sage narrated to her the whole story and said, “I would bring her back to her original form”. The Sage’s wife stopped him instantly and
said, “I beg of you. Please don’t change her into a mouse. You have given her life so you have become her father. Since you are her father, I
am her mother. God must have sent her to us because we don’t bear any children”.

The Sage accepted the request of his wife. They started bringing up the Girl child as their own daughter. Soon the Girl grew into a beautiful
maiden. By the age of sixteen, the Sage’s wife decided to get her daughter married. She asked her husband to find a suitable match for their
daughter. The Sage liked the idea and suggested that the Sun God would make the best match for their daughter. The wife agreed upon this
and the Sage prayed to the Sun God to appear. When the Sun God appeared, the Sage asked him to marry his daughter.

But the Girl refused the idea and said, “Sorry! I can’t marry the Sun God as he is burning hot. I will be reduced to ashes in his warmth and
light”. The Sage got disappointed to hear this from the Girl. He asked the Sun God if he could suggest a groom for his daughter. The Sun
God said, “The Lord of Clouds could make a good match for her, as he is the only one, who can easily stop the rays of the Sun”. 

The Sage then prayed to the Lord of Clouds to appear and asked him to marry his daughter. But the Girl once again rejected the proposal
and said, “I don’t want to marry a dark person like him. Besides this, I am terrified of the thunder he generates”. The Sage was
disheartened once again and asked the Lord of Clouds if he could suggest a possible groom. The Lord of Clouds said, “Wind God can make
a possible match for her as he can easily blow me away”.

The Sage then prayed to the Wind God to appear and asked him to marry his daughter. The Daughter declined the idea and said, “I can’t
marry a frail person like the Wind God who is always stirring”. Once again the sage got sad and asked the Wind God to give some
suggestion. The Wind God replied, “Lord of Mountain is solid and can stop the hard blows of wind easily. He can make a suitable match for
your daughter”.

As per the kind suggestion made by the Wind God, the Sage went to the Lord of Mountain and asked him to marry his daughter. But the
Girl once again declined the proposal and said, “I can’t marry the Lord of Mountain because he is too cold-hearted”. She asked the Sage to
find a softer groom for her. The Sage sought Mountain Lord’s suggestion for the same. The Mountain Lord replied,”A mouse will make a
perfect match for her as he is soft and can easily make holes in the mountain”.

The daughter approved the idea of marrying a he-mouse. Moreover,

"Hanbok"she was
(also pleased
called at this proposal.
"joseonot") The Sage
is a collective said,
term
“This is destiny. You came as a mouse and you were fated to marry a mouse”. Saying this, the Sage converted the Girl
for traditional
back to a female mouse. The female mouse got married to a male mouse andKorean clothing.
lived happily Though there have
thereafter.
been slight changes in hanbok over time in terms of
material, preferred colors, and the length of the skirt
or jacket, the hanbok's basic format has more or less
remained the same for the past 1,600 years.

Hanbok can be classified into ceremonial and

everyday dress, each of which can be further classified
by gender, age and season. All types of hanbok are
created beautifully through combinations of straight
and slightly curved lines. Women's hanbok in

KOREA
particular are recognized worldwide for the simple yet
delightful harmony of their short jackets and full
skirts. The jacket, which is put on one arm at a time,
makes the upper body look very small, while the skirt
worn wrapped around the waist makes the lower body
look full, creating an attractive balance. The cut and
drape of the clothing complements not only the
Korean female physique but also flatters and fits most other
body types as well.
 Korean shamanism played a major role in the creation of ancient Korean
myths.[4] Shamanistic myths are referred to as musoksinhwa(Hangul: 무속신화)
and are recited as a part of rituals meant to protect humans and nature.
A keungut (Hangul: 큰굿), meaning "grand ritual" is the archetypal Korean
shamanistic ritual, and each of its twelve parts includes a bonpuri (Hangul: 본풀
이), meaning a myth about a god.[5]

Ancient Koreans believed that every object had a soul and, as such,
shamanistic rituals included worshiping the spirits and demons that inhabit
objects such as mountains and rivers. [4] A shaman is believed to be able to
communicate with the spirit world. In Korean mythology, early leaders of Korea
are said to have shamanistic qualities or to be descended from
shamans. Dangun, the mythological founder of Korea was said to possess
shamanistic traits and is sometimes portrayed as a mountain god, otherwise
known as a sanshin.[6]

The largest number of shamanistic myths come from Jeju Island and South

Hamgyeong Province.[5]

AUSTRALIA

Golden Gumboot Festival, Tully, QLD As Australia’s wettest

town, Tully is so proud of the claim that they hold an annual
festival to celebrate the fact.The Golden Gumboot Festival takes
its name from the oversized gumboot monument the town
erected in 2003 to celebrate their wetness (there’s a sentence I
never thought I’d type) and includes live music, cultural
performances from the local indigenous people, a parade, and
the usual festival bells and whistles.

The bunyip is a