MYTHS AND FOLKLORE, a post by Olivia Hestmark
This week in 4th of ESO B I continued to work with the students about legends, scary stories, myths and folklore. I showed the example of La Llorona, a classic folklore tale from the hills of Mexico and New Mexico. I chose this example because of the cross cultural influence from (colonial) Spanish culture, indigenous culture and colonial English culture. The story depicts a woman who, in the wake of sadness being left by her Spanish husband, goes crazy and murders he own children. The story of La Llorona details the creation of the spirit who haunts weary travelers passing through the hills. We spoke a bit about what folks;ore is and what it means. I gave the example of the classic children playground song «ring around the rosie», which is a rather macabre children game that comes from the times of the Bubonic plague. We spoke a babout theit about how folk traditions such as music, stories and literature are passed down between generations, and what their social and cultural significance means to us today. This was a very interesting class with the students! It’s always such a delight to work with this group, and we all learned a little more about the other person’s culture!