Facts

FOLKLORE

The word folklore is used for the first time in 1846. by English scientist WJ. Toas. The term “folklore” is a combination of two English basics “folk” – people and “lore” – knowledge, wisdom, under folklore is understood the knowledge and the lifestyle of the people, transmitted through songs, traditions, customs, traditions and rituals. Folklore culture is the oldest in the human race. In the past, folklore has been neglected and even forbidden. Such is the era of the Early Middle Ages when the official church authorities persecuted the performers of folklore works and the folk art was proclaimed the product of the Devil. But there are also epochs in which folklore is given special attention. Such is the age of Romanticism, because the romanticists raise the human spirit and imagination on a pedestal. It is questionable whether folklore excites only the spiritual achievements of a nation or, besides them, the material ones. It is, however, undeniable that material and spiritual cultures are interconnected and can not be without one another. The folklore brings together different types of arts – speech, music, dance, vocal singing, clothing, etc. Folklore reflects all aspects of life, the patriarchal collective, its wisdom and tradition, customs and mores, its notions of good and evil, beautiful and ugly. In Bulgaria the word folklore was used in the 19th century by Prof. Ivan Shishmanov. He defines folklore as everything the people know about themselves, their loved ones, the world, the environment, and nature.

FOLKLORISTICS

The science that deals with the study of folk poetry is called Folklore. She has three main tasks: collecting, classifying and studying the folklore material. The gathering is primarily the search for old sources – manuscripts and prints, where folklore works, observations of live folklore, discovery of reliable informants – singers and narrators can be found. The search requires highly trained professionals and the use of modern technical means. The collection goes hand in hand with the preservation and filing of the folk-poetic works in archives and museums and their publication in special editions. There is a need for their classification on the basis of well-developed theoretical principles. The research itself presupposes scientific methodology, it may have different aspects (theoretical, comparative, etc.), requires knowledge of the whole development of folklore – internationally – the creation of specialized scientific journals and publications, the maintenance of a permanent scientific bibliography.