The Back-Folk: Day XXVI
Folklore: The Mother, crows, tales
It is thought that Alice Telescoping prepared a volume of work on the folklore of the Back-Folk, but this does not seem to have been published, and her original notebooks do not seem to have survived. As a result, the majority of what is known about the folklore of the Back-Folk comes from her correspondence with others, or her recorded comments. These are corroborated by a handful of other local comments and stories.
Certainly, there seems to be a strong focus on a “mother” element of the land, similar to the folklore and myths of many other areas. In the case of the Back-Folk, the mother focus is on the woodland surrounding the dùn (and the same word in the Back-Folk language is often used to reference The Mother and the woodland itself).
Birds seem to be important, particularly the crow. The crow is not treated with reverence, particularly, but certainly with respect – some stories allude to a longstanding truce and agreement.
It is unclear whether the few tales that are known are truly considered by the Back-Folk to have happened, or whether they are understood to be allegorical. Many feature named individuals – often different named individuals, with a handful of exceptions. Many of the tales are used to encourage children to understand what path it is they want to take, and who they want to be.
