Fifty to sixty years ago - or perhaps even as less as 30 years ago - folktales formed a large part of the education of children. Grandmothers would impart the wisdom held within these fantastical stories and allow the eyes of their grandchildren to be filled with wonder and magic, even if the wisdom in all the allegories escaped them. In our ‘modern’ era of today, the practice of simple storytelling has reduced itself; oral traditions are lost and manuscripts are forgotten even though more and more of them are translated to the hundreds of languages of the world.

​

In light of such cultural devastation, and the age-old complaint of the youth being disconnected with their ancestral culture, I bring you this small and concise encyclopedia.

 

This book is neither meant to be comprehensive nor elaborate, rather it is meant to stimulate the reader’s interest in the folklore and cultures that are encompassed in the tales within this book.