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About the author

Figure 1.
Picture of my sister and I sasquatch hunting

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Welcome to Folklorehistory

Welcome to Folkorehistory, a blog where I discuss the history of two popular myths the yeti and mermaids. I am a third-year biology major and have always been a fan of folklore. Growing up in British Columbia it was common to hear stories about sasquatches in the woods by my home, the mythical creature that very few ever claimed to see. I believe this is where my passion for folklore comes from, as my family and I would often go on “sasquatch hunts” trying to find evidence of the creature. Although we never did find any evidence, it's still some of my favourite childhood memories. Being able to explore the forests, running and jumping on trees that have fallen, and seeing small animals like squirrels in their natural habitat made me appreciate the sasquatch myth, even though we never saw one. The photo for my “about the author” section was from one of these hunts, where instead of seeing a sasquatch, we saw a colony of beavers building a dam. 

 

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For many years of my life I truly believed in sasquatches, I was sure that one of these days I was going to see one with my own eyes. Of course this never happened, but it never made the adventures we went on any less fun. My father was the one who made my sister and I believe in them so strongly, claiming he had seen a sasquatch before we were born in the same forest we would go to at least once a month. As I’ve matured I’ve realized he didn't actually see one, it was just a story he told us to make us more excited to go on our hunts. However, it never made the adventures we went on lose any of their magic.

I’ve learned many lessons on these adventures, my parents always made sure we respected the forest by cleaning up after ourselves and admiring the animals from a distance. My siblings and I were taught that although the animals were cute (especially in spring when all of the babies were born) they were never to be disturbed as this was their home and we were simply visiting. This caused me to gain a different type of appreciation for nature that I noticed some people didn’t have. We would often see trash left behind by others that had been torn up by animals and unfortunately, especially at the beach, we would see animals that had died because the garbage had wrapped around their necks. This upset me not only because an innocent animal had died due to human negligence, but our parents had also told us that sasquatches hated seeing garbage and would avoid places with litter. As silly as it may sound, this made my sister and I start bringing garbage bags on our trips to pick up any trash we found on our hunts, often arguing at the end of the day about who found more. This white lie our parents told us made me more aware of the ecological footprint I was leaving behind and made me make a conscious effort to not do any harm to the environment.

Even though I no longer believe in sasquatches, the lessons I have learned from it has followed me through life. I believe that is the purpose of most (if not all) folklores. Although most folklores lack logic (e.g. mermaids having a human torso would require human lungs and thus be impossible to breathe underwater), there are still lessons to be learned from them. In mermaid folklore, we are told to respect these creatures as they can either bring good luck (knowing when storms are coming) or misfortune (killing a mermaid could result in a curse or loss of wealth). The lessons taught by mermaid folklore are to respect sea life and to do no unnecessary harm, as it could result in bad luck.

I believe that folklore is an extremely important part of society as a whole. The lessons we learn and the insight we gain from the myths help guide humankind towards a more understanding way of life. I hope your main takeaway from this blog is that folklore has been integrated into all cultures since the beginning of civilized society. It's important to understand that folklore is not simply bedtime stories, there are many lessons to be learned and values to be taught. Though not as common anymore, at one point in time people strongly believed in these myths and based entire religions and beliefs on them.

© 2023 by Folklorehistory. All rights reserved.

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