Research Methods in Folklore

There are of course many similarities between the methods of folklore and those of the other humanities. For example, the comparative method is widely used in folklore - the similarities between two peoples are an important factor in research. In the nineteenth century, for example, the natural mythological school compared various myths and even events of the same people in different histories and places. In the twentieth century, the theory and method of "structuralism" rose to prominence, and in 1958, France's Claude Levi-s Trauss's "Structural Anthropology" and "The Structure of the Kinship" and other writings used structural methods to explore the phenomena of folklore. With the continuous development of science, the research methods of various disciplines should tend to diversify, even folklore is no exception.

Objects of Study Oral Folklore (Oral Literature)

Myths, Legends, Folk Tales, Fairy Tales, Proverbs, Riddles, Tongue Twisters, Folk Ballads, Epic Poetry

Customs and Folklore (Rituals and Ceremonies)

Family Institutions, Social Institutions, Marriage, Funeral and Ritual Sacrifices, Superstitions, Games, Folk Dance, Folk Music

Religion and Folklore (Folk Faith)

Religious Folklore (Folk Belief) Beliefs)

Folk Religion, Buddhism, Taoism, reincarnation of souls, demons, divination, witchcraft, folk remedies

Material Folklore (Everyman's Life)

Folk Art, Folk Diets, Folk Costumes, Folk Architecture