Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index Explained

The Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index (ATU Index) is a catalogue of folktale types used in folklore studies. The ATU index is the product of a series of revisions and expansions by an international group of scholars: Originally published in German by Finnish folklorist Antti Aarne (1910), the index was translated into English, revised, and expanded by American folklorist Stith Thompson (1928, 1961), and later further revised and expanded by German folklorist Hans-Jörg Uther (2004). The ATU index is an essential tool for folklorists, used along with the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature.[1]

Background

Predecessors

Austrian consul Johann Georg von Hahn devised a preliminary analysis of some 40 tale "formulae" as introduction to his book of Greek and Albanian folktales, published in 1864.[2] [3]

Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould, in 1866, translated von Hahn's list and extended it to 52 tale types, which he called "story radicals".[4] Folklorist J. Jacobs expanded the list to 70 tale types and published it as "Appendix C" in Burne & Gomme's Handbook of Folk-Lore.[5]

Before the edition of Antti Aarne's first folktale classification, Astrid Lunding translated Svend Grundtvig's system of folktale classification. This catalogue consisted of 134 types, mostly based on Danish folktale compilations in comparison to international collections available at the time by other folklorists, such as the Brothers Grimm's and Emmanuel Cosquin's.[6]

History

Antti Aarne was a student of Julius Krohn and his son Kaarle Krohn. Aarne developed the historic-geographic method of comparative folkloristics, and developed the initial version of what became the Aarne–Thompson tale type index for classifying folktales, first published in 1910 as Verzeichnis der Märchentypen ("List of Fairy Tale Types").[7] The system was based on identifying motifs and the repeated narrative ideas that can be seen as the building-blocks of traditional narrative; its scope was European.[8]

The American folklorist Stith Thompson revised Aarne's classification system in 1928, enlarging its scope, while also translating it from German into English.[9] In doing so, he created the "AT number system" (also referred to as "AaTh system") which remained in use through the second half of the century. Another edition with further revisions by Thompson followed in 1961.[10] According to American folklorist D.L. Ashliman,

"The Aarne–Thompson system catalogues some plots from which, for countless generations, European and Near Eastern storytellers have built their tales".[11]

The AT-number system was updated and expanded in 2004 with the publication of The Types of International Folktales: A Classification and Bibliography by German folklorist H.-J. Uther. Uther noted that many of the earlier descriptions were cursory and often imprecise, that many "irregular types" are in fact old and widespread, and that "emphasis on oral tradition" often obscured "older, written versions of the tale types". To remedy these shortcomings Uther developed the Aarne–Thompson–Uther (ATU) classification system and included more tales from eastern and southern Europe as well as "smaller narrative forms" in this expanded listing. He also put the emphasis of the collection more explicitly on international folktales, removing examples whose attestation was limited to one ethnic group.[8] [12]

The ATU Index

Definition of tale type

In The Folktale, Thompson defines a tale type as follows:

A type is a traditional tale that has an independent existence. It may be told as a complete narrative and does not depend for its meaning on any other tale. It may indeed happen to be told with another tale, but the fact that it may be told alone attests its independence. It may consist of only one motif or

System

The Aarne–Thompson Tale Type Index divides tales into sections with an AT number for each entry. The names given are typical, but usage varies; the same tale type number may be referred to by its central motif or by one of the variant folktales of that type, which can also vary, especially when used in different countries and cultures. The name does not have to be strictly literal for every folktale. For example, The Cat as Helper (545B) also includes tales where a fox helps the hero. Closely related folktales are often grouped within a type. For example, tale types 400–424 all feature brides or wives as the primary protagonist, for instance The Quest for a Lost Bride (400) or the Animal Bride (402). Subtypes within a tale type are designated by the addition of a letter to the AT number, for instance: tale 510, Persecuted Heroine (renamed in Uther's revision as Cinderella and Peau d'Âne ["Cinderella and Donkey Skin"]), has subtypes 510A, Cinderella, and 510B, Catskin (renamed in Uther's revision as Peau d'Asne [also "Donkey Skin"]).

As an example, the entry for 510A in the ATU index (with cross-references to motifs in Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk Literature in square brackets, and variants in parentheses) reads:The entry concludes, like others in the catalogue, with a long list of references to secondary literature on the tale, and variants of it.[8]

Critical response

In his essay "The motif-index and the tale type index: A critique", American folklorist Alan Dundes explains that the Aarne–Thompson indexes are some of the "most valuable tools in the professional folklorist's arsenal of aids for analysis".[1]

The tale type index was criticized by V. Propp of the Russian Formalist school of the 1920s for ignoring the of the motifs by which they are classified. Furthermore, Propp contended that using a "macro-level" analysis means that the stories that share motifs might not be classified together, while stories with wide divergences may be grouped under one tale type because the index must select some features as salient.He also observed that although the distinction between animal tales and tales of the fantastic was basically correct – no one would classify "Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf" as an animal tale, just because of the wolf – it did raise questions because animal tales often contained fantastic elements, and tales of the fantastic often contained animals; indeed a tale could shift categories if a peasant deceived a bear rather than a devil.[13]

In describing the motivation for his work,[14] Uther presents several criticisms of the original index. He points out that Thompson's focus on oral tradition sometimes neglects older versions of stories, even when written records exist, that the distribution of stories is uneven (with Eastern and Southern European as well as many other regions' folktale types being under-represented), and that some included folktale types have dubious importance. Similarly, Thompson had noted that the tale type index might well be called The Types of the Folk-Tales of Europe, West Asia, and the Lands Settled by these Peoples.[14] However, Dundes notes that in spite of the flaws of tale type indexes (e.g., typos, redundancies, censorship, etc.;[1]

"they represent the keystones for the comparative method in folkloristics, a method which despite postmodern naysayers ... continues to be the hallmark of international folkloristics".[1]

Author Pete Jordi Wood claims that topics related to homosexuality have been excluded intentionally from the type index.[15] Similarly, folklorist Joseph P. Goodwin states that Thompson omitted "much of the extensive body of sexual and 'obscene' material", and that – as of 1995 – "topics like homosexuality are still largely excluded from the type and motif indexes."[16] In an essay, Alan Dundes also criticized Thompson's handling of the folkloric subject material, which he considered to be "excessive prudery" and a form of censorship.[17] [18]

The ATU folktype index has been criticized for its apparent geographic concentration on Europe and North Africa,[19] or over-representation of Eurasia[20] and North America.[21] The catalogue appears to ignore or under-represent other regions. Central Asian examples include: 's The captive Khan and the clever daughter-in-law (and variants);[19] The travelling girl and her helpful siblings;[22] and Woman's magical horse, as named by researcher Veronica Muskheli of the University of Washington.[23]

In regards to the typological classification, some folklorists and tale comparativists have acknowledged singular tale types that, due to their own characteristics, would merit their own type.Although such tales often have not been listed in the international folktale system, they can exist in regional or national classification systems.[24]

Distribution by origin

A quantitative study published by folklorist S. Graça da Silva and anthropologist J.J. Tehrani in 2016, tried to evaluate the time of emergence for the "Tales of Magic" (ATU 300–ATU 749), based on a phylogenetic model.[25] They found four of them to belong to the Proto-Indo-European stratum of magic tales.

Ten more magic tales were found to be current throughout the Western branch of the Indo-European languages, comprising the main European language families derived from PIE (i.e. Balto-Slavic, Germanic, Italic and Celtic):

Particular items

Example

See also

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

International collections:

Notes and References

  1. Dundes . A . Alan Dundes . 1997 . The motif-index and the tale type index: A critique . Journal of Folklore Research . 34 . 3 . 195–202 . 3814885 .
  2. Book: von Hahn, Johann Georg . 1864 . Griechische und Albanesische Märchen . de . Greek and Albanian Folk Tales . 1st . Leipzig, DE . W. Englemann . 43–61 .
  3. Book: Jacobs, Joseph . 1916 . European Folk and Fairy Tales . G.P. Putnam's sons . New York, NY / London, UK . 215–216 .
  4. Book: Baring-Gould, S. . Sabine Baring-Gould . Appendix . Henderson . William . Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders . London, UK . Longmans, Green . 1866 . 300–311 . Google .
  5. Book: Jacobs, J. . Joseph Jacobs . Appendix C . Burne . C.S. . Charlotte Sophia Burne . Gomme . G.L. . George Laurence Gomme . The Handbook of Folklore . London, UK . Folk-lore Society / Sidgwich & Jackson . 1914 . 344–355 . https://archive.org/details/handbookoffolklo00burnuoft/page/344/mode/1up . archive.org .
  6. Book: Lunding, Astrid . 1910 . The System of Tales in the Folklore Collection of Copenhagen . Folklore Fellows' Communications . 0014-5815 . 2 .
  7. Antti . Aarne . 1910 . Verzeichnis der Märchentypen . de . List of Fairy Tale Types . Folklore Fellows' Communications . 0014-5815 . 3 . Helsinki, FI .
  8. Book: Uther, H.-J. . Hans-Jörg Uther . 2004 . The types of international folktales: A classification and bibliography, based on the system of Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson . Folklore Fellows' Communications . 0014-5815 . 7 . 284–286 . Helsinki, FI . Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia .
  9. Book: Thompson, S. . Stith Thompson . 1928 . The Types of the Folk-Tale: A classification and bibliography. Antti Aarne's Verzeichnis der Märchentypen, translated and enlarged . Folklore Fellows' Communications . 0014-5815 . 74 . Helsinki, FI . Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia .
  10. Book: Thompson, S. . 1961 . The Types of the Folktale: A classification and bibliography . Folklore Fellows' Communications . 0014-5815 . 184 . Helsinki, FI . Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia .
  11. Book: Ashliman, D.L. . D. L. Ashliman . 1987 . A Guide to Folktales in the English Language: Based on the Aarne–Thompson classification system . New York, NY . Greenwood Press .
  12. Book: Donald . Haase . 2008 . The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales . Greenwood Publishing Group . .
  13. Book: Propp, V. . Vladimir Propp . Morphology of the Folktale . 5 ff .
  14. Book: Uther, Hans-Jörg . Classifying folktales: The third revision of the Aarne–Thompson tale type index . Folklore Fellows' Communications . 6 July 2009 . 0014-5815 . 184 . 915 . folklorefellow.fi .
  15. News: Wareham . Jamie . 21 August 2020 . Why this charming gay fairytale has been lost for 200 years . Forbes . 2020-08-22 .
  16. Goodwin . Joseph P. . 1995 . If ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise: What we don't know can hurt us . Journal of Folklore Research . 32 . 2 . 155–164 . 3814371 .
  17. Dundes . Alan . Projective Inversion in the Ancient Egyptian "Tale of Two Brothers" . Journal of American Folklore . 115 . 457 . 2002 . 378-394 [380] . 10.1353/jaf.2002.0031 . Stith Thompson, arguably the greatest American folklorist of the 20th century, ... Thompson’s prudishness comes as no surprise when one recalls that he bothered to write a special footnote to his entry Motif X 700, Humor concerning sex. In what was supposed to be a comprehensive six-volume worldwide listing of folk-narrative motifs, he does not list so much as a single bibliographical citation for this category..
  18. Book: Bronner . Simon J. . From Etic to Emic units in the structural study of folktales . Meaning of Folklore: The analytical essays of Alan Dundes . University Press of Colorado . 2007 . 103 . 10.2307/j.ctt4cgrzn.9 . DOI accessed 26 Aug. 2023.
  19. Berezkin . Yuri . Duvakin . Evgeny . June 2016 . The captive Khan and the clever daughter-in-law . Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore . 64 . 33–56 . 10.7592/FEJF2016.64.khan . free .
  20. Book: Horálek, K. . Folk Poetry: History And Typology . Arthur S. Abramson . Linguistics and Adjacent Arts and Sciences: Part 2 . 741–808 [775] . Berlin, Boston . De Gruyter Mouton . 1974 . 10.1515/9783110821659-004 . 978-3-11-082165-9 . Negative or skeptical views of the possibility of classifying folklore material on a typological basis find support in the fact that the classification systems successfully applied to European folklore material have not proved valid for material from other continents..
  21. Thuillard . Marc . le Quellec . Jean-Loïc . d'Huy . Julien . Berezkin . Yuri . 2018 . A large-scale study of world myths . Trames . 22 . 4 . A1–A44 . 10.3176/tr.2018.4.06 . free .
  22. Berezkin . Yuri . 2019 . The travelling girl and her helpful siblings: An unnoticed boreal tale and the ATU index . Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore . 75 . 71–90 . 10.7592/FEJF2019.75.berezkin . free .
  23. Muskheli . Veronica . 27 April 2013 . The fate of magically strong heroines in central Asian folktales . . The Nineteenth Annual Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies Northwest Conference – From symbolism to security politics, literature, and imagery in Russia, eastern Europe, and central Asia .
  24. Goldberg . Christine . 1996 . 'The Blind Girl', a misplaced folktale . Western Folklore . 55 . 3 . 187–212 . 10.2307/1500481 . 1500481 .
  25. Graça da Silva . Sara . Tehrani . Jamshid J. . January 2016 . Comparative phylogenetic analyses uncover the ancient roots of Indo-European folktales . Royal Society Open Science . The Royal Society . London, UK . 3 . 1. 150645. 10.1098/rsos.150645 . 26909191 . 4736946 . 2016RSOS....350645D .
  26. Petschel . Günter . "Freunde in Leben und Tod" (AaTh 470) . Fabula . January 1971 . 12 . Jahresband . 111–167 . 10.1515/fabl.1971.12.1.111 . 161210849 .
  27. Kaasik . Mairi . A Mortal Visits the Other World – the Relativity of Time in Estonian Fairy Tales . Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics . 2013 . 7 . 2 . 33–47 .
  28. Web site: Maarten Janssen . Multilingual Folk Tale Database . 2020-01-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20190316180353/http://www.mftd.org/index.php?action=atu. 2019-03-16.
  29. Bottigheimer . Ruth B. . 1993 . Luckless, witless, and filthy-footed: A sociocultural study and publishing history analysis of "The Lazy Boy" . The Journal of American Folklore . 106 . 421 . 259–284 . 10.2307/541421 . 541421 .

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