European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 9, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse American Folk Robin by Sandra Blakeslee new York times most people find contemporary superstitions and popular beliefs quaint and sometimes amusing. In Illinois Lor example driving around the House in Low gear is said to cure a family member s illness. In North Carolina if the first Bird seen on new year s morning is flying High there will be Good health during the year. But to professional folklorists. These beliefs Are no less than a into the psyche and i revelation of National character. Folklore is not a matter of running Down Little wart cures said Alan Dundes. Who teaches the subject at the University of Ca Ivornia Berkeley. It is a serious subject that deals with the essence of so powerful Are the insights gained through the examination of folklore that scholars at Urcla Are compiling an encyclopedia of american superstitions and popular beliefs. Nearly 1 million entries written on note cards Are being categorized and Cross referenced. Folk beliefs and superstitions Are found among people All Over the world and apparently have always been a part of Man s intellectual and spiritual legacy h not to say his residual thought and mental baggage said or. Wayland hand professor emeritus of folklore and germanic languages at Urcla. Even with the Advance of learning and the Rise of education in most cultures these ancient mental heirlooms persist and even flourish. The encyclopedia project thus documents an important aspect of human thought ant although scholars distinguish among ballads legends myths jokes superstitions and popular beliefs these folklore genre overlap and Are studied As symbolic manifestations of certain Central themes birth death and life. Ai such scholars say folklore in its Many forms provides a socially acceptable Way for people to Deal openly with anxiety risk danger frightening things that Are not within their control. It involves the subject people worry about which in the United states today might include politics racism religion and sex. According to Roger Abrahams a professor of folklore at the University of Pennsylvania folklore deah with Central truths such As the distinction Between clean and dirty pure and impure. People Are protecting themselves As a group and As individuals from malevolent he explained. In some societies it is witches. For americans it is As evidence of this he noted that a third of the Shell spa in most american supermarkets is devoted to product that Deal with exc essences of the such truths folklorists say Are immutable Only tha details change. Indeed a Quarter of the american popular beliefs being assembled at Urcla were traced to considerably older european roots. I did not expect to find so much of the old slut Tun up in modern hand said. It s like finding new wine in old among the vintages he Nota that entering the door with the right foot first a Pratto followed by Many modern Day californians was popular among germans in the 1700s. Similarly hundreds of years ago one would walk instead of drive around the House to cure the illness of a relative he said. Contemporary events have also become the nuclei of folklore Abrahams said. We have a need to ratify one another s existence by having things to talk about that Are of a risky or thrilling thus after the hijacking of trans world airlines right 847 after Takeoff from Athens innumerable people claimed to know someone who was supposed to have been on the next flight out of the Airport or who had just missed Page 14 the stars and stripes monday be n
