h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

They are very good. A bit nasty on those with egos, but then I suppose most folk/fairy tales are.

Yeah Great

I suppose that most folk tales are against those with big egos. Although it isn't as apparant in those from other cultures. I wonder if it was intentional for it to be a bit less subtle for the Mongolians?

I understand that a lot of European folk tales were told to the aristocracy, those that could afford to keep story tellers. And of course the Mummers (sp?) travelled around telling folk tales, but these were sort of altered to suit the local gentry, those paying. Perhaps this didn't happen in Mongolia and therefore the stories are less diluted.

You say in the article that the moral is more subtle, but I think it's less so. The "and the moral of the story is..." is only really added on perhaps because in those sorts of stories the moral is so obscure you need to be told what it is.

I like this, more please

Glad to hear, that you liked my entry! Really glad. For it's my first one...

I think in Europe, too, there were always two kinds of tradition in storytelling which influenced each other mor e or less. In the middle ages there were these bards telling stories and of course theywanted to please the king to get some money or food or... But I think that there were always really just simple folktales mothers told their children. And these may have been sort of lessons for the children. There were no schools or something like that, so children learned everything they needed to know from their families.

In Mongolia it's mostly the same. Only there was never - as far as I know - that tradition of bards which traveled from one king to the next. So maybe you're right and these stories really are less diluted. yeah.

And maybe you're right about that thing with the subtleness of the moral contained, too. The Mongolian folktales seem to be - to me! - more straightforward and more humourous than the German ones I know which are often pretty serious. So maybe there are also differences in the storytelling traditions between Western cultures, too???

Methos

Well, the Germans are a pretty serious race, so I suppose that it's only inevitable that their folk tales would reflect that.

Yeah, that could be it.

But I must say, that we do have humour here in Germany. Really!

Methos

I would class the first two as 'etiquette' fairy tails. Apparently, boasting is frowned upon in Mongolian society.

I enjoyed these a great deal! They were very fun to read. And since I've been reading fairy tales since I was 6 years old, it's a rare day when I come across stories I haven't heard before. I also really appreciate the general overview of fairy tale types in Mongolian culture. It's interesting to me how fairy tales turn out differently in different cultures.

I'm with Pastey. I'd like to see more of these fairy tales. How do you feel about sending more in to the Post, Methos?

The reason German fairy tales don't seem funny is that most of them were censored.

It was common for the humor in German fairy tales to be a cross between slapstick comedy and violence. So, for instance, the evil lord fighting with the kind servant girl over a cooked bird would win the tug-of-war and end up with a chicken leg (or whatever) sticking out of his eye socket. Then he'd chase her around half-blind, running into things.

When various archivers tried to publish these stories, the editors would take out anything gratuitously violent, which basically meant the humor was eliminated. Now that the published versions are known, the original variants are lost.

Of course I'd like to send more to The Post. No problem. Like I said I have lots of them.
So what would you like to read? An animal story? Something with that Badarcin? Or a legend? Actually there is a legend describing the origin of the Mongolians which contains the theme of Immaculate Conception. I've always wondered if they got it from Christianity somehow or if they just had the same idea. So - maybe that one?

And, Fragilis, where did you read that kind of fairy tales? I never heard of them. But I certainly would love to read such a one!!!!



Methos

I'm afraid I'm so awash in fairy tales that I don't usually remember where I got them from. Most of the violent ones I've read have been found online, where censorship isn't such a problem. Viva la Internet!

I'd love to hear a creation story. Sounds fascinating.

I really do agree with you there: Viva la Internet!

Oh, and I could put that story on the page of the guide entry about Mongolian folktales... If I find the time, that is. Actually I should work on a paper about exactly that theme: Mongolian animal-tales. But well, you know...

Methos

Don't sweat it. We'll absorb whatever you want to write for us. We don't want you to overwork yourself, though.

Okay then!

Again thanks for your kind words and all! Make that a hearty thanks!

Methos

Methos, I didn't know you were in Germany, I hope I didn't sound like an ass with my comment about Germans being a serious race. It wasn't an insult, more an observation

I know that a lot of the Germanic tales got heavily censored so as not to frighten the poor innocent little kiddies, shame

Feel free to put into the Post any tales that you think should go in. I'll vouch for Shazz and say we'll print them as it were.

A hearty hi to you, Pastey!

No, you didn't sound like an ass. And I didn't take it as an insult. "We" really tend to be a lttle serious...

Oh, and now I get it. Germanic tales - yeah. Okay, they are a little gory, aren't they?

Another "oh": I'll chose some more Mongolian folktales then and send them to you. Okay?

Methos

If you send them to Shazz they're less likely to get lost I'm forever doing that.

Aha! Good to know.