A fairy tale is a special genre of oral folk art, interesting not only to children, but also to adults. Previously, they were created specifically for older people to entertain or teach them. However, the kids loved to listen to stories about the adventures of unusual characters. It is known that this genre originated a long time ago. We offer you to get acquainted with the most ancient tales.
Features
The genre itself in the old days was called "bike", "fable". Their content was not taken seriously, people did not believe in the reality of what was happening in such texts, so the main task of the tale was to entertain the listener. But at the same time, the content of the most ancient tales was much more complex than it might seem at first glance. In the texts you can find the realities of everyday life of early eras, and not just a fantastic element.
Artworks from around the world
In the most ancient tales of the peoples of the world there are many common plots, heroes and villains. There are several reasons for this:
- The peoples of the past often lived in similar conditions, so their development took place in very similar ways.
- Often, different nationalities had a common ancestor.
- Tribes could interact with each other - to trade or fight. That is how stories and characters were conveyed.
Among the oldest tales of the peoples of the world should include texts about animals. At the same time, those representatives of the fauna who lived in the territory of a particular country became the main characters in action:
- In Russia, it is most often a wolf and a fox, a bear and a hare.
- In the tales of Native American Indians, the leading characters were coyotes, bulls, bison, snipe.
- In the texts of ancient India, elephants, snakes, tigers, monkeys, and camels often operate.
The most ancient tales ridiculed numerous human vices: stupidity and greed, cowardice and bragging.
Text Specifics
A distinctive feature of each text is that animals were endowed with human features. That is, they acted like people, talked. Unnamed authors have preserved some of the features inherent in the natural world:
- The fox in Russian fairy tales symbolizes cunning, the bear - brute force, the hare - a complex character. Sometimes he was openly cowardly, but in some cases showed unprecedented ingenuity and could even deceive the fox.
- Relations were preserved in nature "predator - prey." So, in the most ancient tales, a hare, a chicken and a rooster are a desirable prey for a fox or a wolf, which generally corresponds to the relations of these animals in natural conditions.
Some researchers believe that the birthplace of the most ancient animal tales was India, from where they gradually spread throughout Asia and Europe. Others, however, hold the position that the genre appeared in Europe, in particular Greece, from where fairy tales spread to Iran, Asia Minor and India.
Examples of ancient texts
The most ancient animal tales have several features. It is believed that the first of them arose in those days when people were engaged in hunting or cattle breeding. Since pets are their heroes quite rarely, it is believed that the first texts arose even before domestication. The totality of such tales is called the “animal epic”. Here are some examples:
- "Teremok";
- "Ryaba hen";
- "Gingerbread Man";
- "Fox and the Hare";
- "Animals in the pit";
- "Wolf and goat";
- “Sister Chanterelle and Gray Wolf”;
- "Fox, hare and rooster."
Why, then, were the main characters of the most ancient Slavic tales? In those distant times, a person was completely dependent on nature, he got food for himself, especially on hunting. At the same time, wild animals often represented a real danger to hunters with primitive weapons. That is why the animals seemed to them more powerful creatures than themselves. That is why it was the forest dwellers who became the characters of fairy tales.
Main characters
Consider who were the protagonists of the most ancient tales. First of all, it is a fox. The creators of the animal epic called it various epithets:
- gum;
- Patrikeevna;
- beauty;
- ginger.
In any folk text, this heroine is distinguished by a set of permanent signs. First of all, this is a trick. The fox deftly fooled the wolf, the bear, and people. Further - she is a liar, a dishonest thief, prudent and flattering, dodgy and resourceful. In some texts, the fox appears as a negative character, in others it even evokes sympathy. Interestingly, the fox was depicted in the same form by the works of the peoples of Germany and France.
The next hero, often found in the most ancient tales, is the wolf. He is rude and stupid, so he is constantly fooled by a fox. It is not difficult to deceive him, this character does not differ in intelligence, so he constantly finds himself in unpleasant situations, becoming a victim of the tricks of a fox, a goat, or a person.
The bear does not have a set of permanent features, its main features are clumsiness and incompleteness. Often, the bear was portrayed as a clubfoot, gullible slow-witted. Of the natural features, popular consciousness attributed to the hero a powerful force, which is often used by him ineptly. So, it was the bear that caused the death of the Teremk, where other animals settled safely.
Finally, the hare is an example of cowardice, fear, but in some works he showed himself from the best side as a wise and judicious character.
The most ancient tales are texts in which the key characters were wild (later - and domestic) animals. They were endowed with human features, could speak and act like people.