Folktale Phylogeny

Welcome back. Last month, in my Caffeine and Bees Addendum, I slipped in the word phylogeny in reference to orders of plants. Raise your hand if you didn’t know the word. Come on, be honest.

Here’s part of Britannica’s definition: the history of the evolution of a species or group, especially in reference to lines of descent. The proposition is that there are common ancestors. While phylogeny or phylogenetics is normally associated with biology (plants or animals), it can be applied in other fields to study relationships and ancestral descent.

Why bring this up now rather than four weeks ago? Because I saw a research publication that used phylogenetic methods to do something I thought was pretty cool: analyze the phylogeny of Little Red Riding Hood.

Gustave Doré illustration from 1867 “Les
Contes de Perrault” after Charles Perrault’s
1697 “Le Petit Chaperon Rouge.”
 (multiple websites)

Though versions of the folktale can be traced to different European populations, very similar stories turn up in other cultures, including African and East Asian. It’s been argued that...Wait! Back up. Are you aware that there’s an international classification system for folktales? I’m sorry; I’ll start there.

Folktale Classification

The Aarne-Thompson classification system, begun in 1910 and referred to as the ATU Taxonomy, is an index of every type of folktale, classified under categories such as Animal Tales, Fairy Tales and Religious Tales.

Do you remember the Three Little Pigs? That’s ATU number 124 under Wild Animals and Domestic Animals (100-149), which in turn is listed under Animal Tales (1-299). Or how about The Three Bears, that family victimized by the breaking and entering specialist Goldilocks? That’s ATU 171 under Wild Animals and Humans (150-199), which is also under Animal Tales.

The ATU Taxonomy is designed to assist folklorists studying the traditions of a culture or subculture and how they may have been shared through its folktales. Classification is based on storyline, the folktales’ structure, rather than characters’ actions.

Phylogeny of ATU 333

Critics of the ATU Taxonomy--yes, it has its detractors--have argued that folktale traditions are too fluid to categorize and that most ATU classifications are artificial constructs. To address the question with rigor, a researcher from the UK’s Durham University applied phylogenetic methods, focusing on Little Red Riding Hood, otherwise known as ATU 333.

As I started to write earlier, versions of ATU 333 have been recorded in different European oral traditions. In addition, in many cases, it’s difficult to separate ATU 333 from another common international folktale, ATU 123, The Wolf and the Kids.

Edna Hart illustration from “The Wolf and the Seven
Young Kids” in The Beacon Second Reader by
James H. Fassett, 1914, from Project Gutenberg.
(www.gutenberg.org/files/15659/15659-h/15659-h.htm)

The Durham University investigator examined a data set of 72 plot variables (e.g., whether the villain was a wolf, ogre, tiger, etc.) drawn from English translations of 58 versions of ATU 333 and ATU 123, from 33 populations (e.g., French, German, Italian, Iranian, Ibo), using three mathematical approaches commonly applied in phylogenetic analysis (cladistic, Bayesian inference and Neighbor-Net).

The three approaches gave similar results: the 58 folktales clustered largely into three groups. Two were distinctly ATU 333 and ATU 123, with most African tales being ATU 123. The third group encompassed most of the East Asian tales, which likely evolved by blending elements of both ATU 333 and ATU 123.

Wrap Up

You and I and the babysitter may care only about having some version of these folktales available when they’re needed. Still, we should appreciate any work that demonstrates the value of an untested methodology and thus opens the door for continued research toward increased understanding, in this case, of the transmission and evolution of oral narratives. Thanks for stopping by.

P.S.

Research publication in PLOS ONE:
www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0078871
Articles on study on Science Daily and Phys.org websites
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131113182602.htm
phys.org/news/2013-11-mathematical-insights-evolution-folk-tales.html
Phylogeny defined:
www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/458573/phylogeny
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phylogeny
Folktale classification system:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aarne-Thompson_classification_system
Wikipedia articles on ATU 333 and ATU 123:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Red_Riding_Hood
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wolf_and_the_Seven_Young_Kids
Example European versions of Little Red Riding Hood:
www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0333.html
Brothers Grimm version of The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids:
www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm005.html

Settled In Photo Addendum

Following last Friday’s Settled In update, I thought a few more photos might add to the aura of my new life in rural Wisconsin.

Our zip code is serviced by the post office, which is an annex to the gas station-convenience store (à la 7-Eleven) over there by the car and flag. It’s open 4 hours each weekday and 75 minutes on Saturdays.

There is an old windmill tucked in the trees nearby. I wonder when it was erected and if it was ever used. My father-in-law hadn’t seen it and that’s one of his fields in front.

Turkeys (i.e., birds) occasionally strut by my “office” window. Deer passed by twice. They were the only deer I’ve seen over the past year.

This was the largest sturgeon speared during 2014 season: 161 pounds, 77.1 inches, registered by John Skahen. The annual ice spearing season runs about two weeks but ends sooner if the pre-set harvest caps are reached.
 (dnr.wi.gov/topic/fishing/sturgeon/SturgeonLakeWinnebago.html)

While cross-country skiing, Vicki saw this fan pattern in the snow. She finally realized that it was produced by the wind causing the reed to blow back and forth, tamping down the snow (photo by Vicki)

Settled In

Where is it? What happened? How? Checking this blog on Sunday 2 March, I saw no blog. Instead there was a menu of peripherally related blog topics and beneath, in very small letters: “This Domain Name Has Expired” with the hyperlinked, “Renewal Instructions.”

That was the moment I embarked on a path of mistakes resulting in a week of wheel-spinning frustration followed by days of resignation until I would be reunited with my domain www.Retired--NowWhat.com.

I apologize profusely for the unannounced interruption.

Because the calamity was precipitated by our move from Virginia to Wisconsin--a change of email address that I neglected to share with the domain account--I was reminded that I’ve also neglected to update you on my year of settling in.

Welcome back. Have you been anxiously awaiting a status on my move to the farm? I’m sorry. I’ve held off reporting because there just hasn’t been the excitement, the adventure, the wow! you expect from me. I won’t delay any longer.

Review

In one breathless recap, a year ago my wife Vicki and I moved from the East to the Midwest, a territory foreign to me, to an apartment over a garage in a former carriage house, former barn, next to a large house that, like the former barn, is older than the hills, if there were any hills, and is occupied by my retired, flying farmer father-in-law, who has lived there for a handful of years short of his entire life.

Unpacked

Vicki’s labels will certainly
help when she unpacks.

I have unpacked. There are more boxes to unpack; but the notion that, after a year, one doesn’t really need what’s in those boxes is mistaken. I need everything. In fact, I’ll occasionally look for something, remember packing it and be content knowing that it’s safe downstairs in one of those boxes that, any day, Vicki might unpack.

Getting Out and About

I’m doing better at finding my way around and negotiating the city roundabouts (Driving in Circles). My only regular in-person socializing beyond the supermarket check-out and Vicki’s family is at the Saturday Coffee Hour, which actually lasts all morning even if I don’t.

One recent coffee hour discussion almost got me to venture out to the nearby lake, where ice fishing is widely practiced. It wasn’t talk about plain old ice fishing that attracted me; it was the talk about the annual season of spearing lake sturgeon, which can grow bigger than I ever did.

Alas, given the need to view the process over at least two days (cutting the hole in the ice is typically done the day before the season opens), the lack of any commitment from the fish to swim by (people have gone fish-less over 20 years); and this winter’s subzero temperatures and wind chills, I added the activity to next year’s list.

Exercising

I continue to supplement or substitute a stationary bike ride for my daily predawn jogging and afternoon walks. Winter cold, snow, ice--I can tolerate; the wind is my downfall.

That’s neither me nor my recumbent
bike. It’s an Exerpeutic 900XL, which
Amazon customers rate much higher
 than mine.

I venture boldly into the predawn darkness if weather.com tells me this zip code’s “feels like” temperature isn’t too much colder than about five degrees below 0 F. Inevitably, I am waylaid by wind, presumably from another zip code. Afternoons are really no different. The breeze that hardly lifts leaves I see from our window is not the gale that awaits me around the curve.

Unlike my frequent encounters with wildlife (i.e., animals) in the suburbs back east, whether because of hunting, the lack of contiguous cover or local wildlife neuroses or sleeping habits, I have not come upon a single creature during predawn outings. My afternoon tally is two--one raccoon and one rabbit, not counting birds and squirrels.

Wrap Up

The stone fence along the road.

It’s always a kick to notice something I’ve missed. The latest is the stone fence along our road. How many times had I seen piled rocks and never put it together? Maybe I’ll write about it.

Reading, writing, searching and researching are how I spend most of my time, much of it for this blog. I’m always looking for topics as well as guest bloggers if you can suggest either. Thanks for stopping by.

P.S.

Should you have time and interest, I described our move and initial months in assorted blog posts, particularly Moving Out, Settling In, Plumbing and Me, Settling In Part 2 and Empowered!, as well as in associated photo addenda.

Blue Light Addendum

Wow! Am I behind the times. Not only has light therapy been practiced since ancient times, it’s been recommended for years for certain skin, sleep and mood disorders, including season affective disorder (SAD).

One manufacturer is already promoting blue light in addition to full spectrum light boxes that generally emit 10,000 lux (i.e., they’re very bright). Since the research I reviewed in last Friday’s Blue Light Boost was published only last month, I’ll guess the manufacturer took the initiative to extend nighttime exposure findings to daytime.

Rather than ramble on for this addendum, I’ll refer you to Wikipedia for an interesting discussion of light therapy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_therapy), and I’ll, of course, show example products. For convenience and photos, I’ve relied again on Amazon, selecting products that are highly rated by customer reviews.

Philips goLITE BLU Light Therapy Device.

NatureBright SunTouch Plus Light
and Ion Therapy Lamp.

Lightphoria 10,000LUX Energy Light Lamp
by Sphere Gadget Technologies.

Day-Light Sky 10,000 LUX Bright
Light Therapy Lamp (DL2000).

Verilux HappyLite Deluxe Sunshine Simulator.