Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 3 1885.djvu/395

Rh (b) Divisions:

—1. Tales of all kinds, sagas (such as world-sagas, god-sagas, hero-sagas, elf-sagas, ghost-sagas, &c.), nursery-tales, drolls, cumulative-tales, and apologues.

2. Folk-songs, under their various heads.

3. Weather-lore.

4. Proverbs.

5. Local and personal saws, and prophecies.

6. Riddles.

7. Folk-speech. I think the inclusion of this study, as suggested by Mr. Nutt, may very well be defended, and at all events it would be wise to adopt it provisionally.

—1. Worship, corresponding very nearly to the class of sagas in folk-thought, and including not only god-worship but luck-worship, and every practice the object of which is to propitiate the powers which are believed to influence man's fortunes or destiny.

2. Folk-law. Although the customs of savage and barbarous peoples do not generally come within the juridical definition of law, I prefer this term to that of Folk-wont, because the latter covers a larger ground, and will be more usefully as well as accurately employed to denote the whole range of folk-practice.

3. Folk-leechcraft, including so much of magic as is not included under the head of worship. Leechcraft is an established word, expressing exactly the thought, and is therefore better than leechdom.