In folkloristics, folk belief or folk-belief is a broad genre of

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

that is often expressed in narratives,

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...

s, foodways,

proverb A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbia ...

s, and

rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...

s. It also includes a wide variety of behaviors, expressions, and beliefs. Examples of concepts included in this genre are magic,

popular belief Popular beliefs are studied as a sub-field of social sciences, like history and anthropology, which examines spiritual beliefs that develop not independently from religion, but still outside of established religious institutions. Aspects of popular ...

, folk religion, planting signs, hoodoo, conjuration, charms,

root work In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

, taboos, old wives' tales, omens, portents, the

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

and

folk medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

.Green (1997:89). Folk belief and associated behaviors are strongly evidenced among all elements of society, regardless of education level or income. In turn, folk belief is found in an agricultural, suburban, and urban environments alike.Green (1997:97).

Terminology

One of a variety of compounds extending from the coinage of the term ''

'' in 1846 (previously ''popular antiquities''), the term ''folk-belief'' is first evidenced in use by British folklorist Laurence Gomme in 1892."folk, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, September 2016. Web. 3 November 2016. See also "folklore, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, September 2016. Web. 3 November 2016. Common parlance employs the word ''

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs ...

'' for what folklorists generally refer to as ''folk belief''.For example, see discussion in Georges & Jones (1995:122).

Notes

References

* Georges, Robert A. & Jones, Michael Owen. 1995. ''Folkloristics: An Introduction''. Indiana University Press. . * Green, Thomas A. 1997. ''Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music, and Art''. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. Belief

Belief A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to tak ...

Folklore studies {{Cultural-studies-stub