Seite 20 [20]
OCR
Part I. Interdisciplinary Approach to Storytelling ] 19 2.1 Ethnographical Connections The narrative structure of oral legends, tales and sagas is dealt with by ethnography. These language monuments preserve the linguistic features present at the time of writing, and in this sense, they represent a research field for language historians. For ethnography, however, it is the socio-cultural aspects of these narratives and their functions in the community that are of interest. The narrative forms of ancient storytelling have been passed down from generation to generation and reveal the dominant worldview of a given community, as well as peoples relationship to others, to nature, and to transcendence. At the macro level, such narratives are national identity stories (e.g., heroic epics), and at the micro level these narratives spread through personal networks (e.g., through gossip). The collection of oral narratives related to folk traditions is one of the main aims of ethnographic research. These narratives are then examined in terms of their cultural-social determinants and functions. A prerequisite for storytelling within a community is the existence of a common language, common speech patterns and customs, and common rituals. The oral transmission of texts was passed down in communities of memory until they were collected and transcribed (Keszeg, 2011). Ethnographers’ transcriptions were stored in thematic collections, such as the collection of sacral healing texts (Pécs, 19851986) or the collection of texts related to Hungarian folk traditions (Dömötör, 1983). Hungarian folkloristics also focus on the collection of folk ballads and their interpretations in local contexts. Folk ballads are local folk narratives that recount a tragic plot in verse-song form, revealing the circumstances of a murder or other violation of the law as well as the punishment of the perpetrator. The narrative structure and melody served to transmit the story in local memory. Narratives can also be grouped according to their role in social behavior. Voigt (1972) classified folk narratives according to their function and purpose. Within certain rites, different genres have become established and acquire their legitimacy in particular social situations. Keszeg (2011) names weddings as an example, in which a number of genres fulfill different functions, such as the groom's farewell, the bridal send-off, and the ceremonial songs before meals. Ethnography also explores elementary narrative structures. The trend towards the typological study of fairy tales and epic works originated in Scandinavia at the end of the 19" century. Carl Wilhelm von Sydow distinguished the stages of story development on the basis of story types. In von Sydow’s typology, the first level is the statement, which can be a propositional or prohibitory predicate about people's beliefs and worldviews. The memorat is a formulation of individual experience in narrative. The fabulat is the most complex level of communication, in which the narrator represents episodes in the form of a poetic narrative. Such texts are the various sagas and tales present in the public consciousness. Von Sydow typologized the
