Most of the studies on folklore focus on European literature. But just as rich are Asian tales of deities, monsters and heroes. Let’s take a look at some of these. The most well-known are the Epic of Gilgamesh which has two versions in Sumerian and Akkadian; Mahabharata by Veda Vyasa; the Persian epic Shahnameh by Ferdowsi; and Ramayana by Valmiki. Ramayana has different versions in the region including the Burmese version Yama Zatdaw, the Malay Hikayat Seri Rama, the Javanese Kakawin Ramayana and the Cambodian version Reamker. To document all the epics of Asia would fill a book. I’ve picked some examples from each country below. The Book of Dede Korkut is an epic of the Oghuz Turks or Turkomans. It is made up of twelve legends. The first story is about Boghach Khan, while the twelfth narrates the rebellion of the Outer Oghuz. Dede Korkut is supposed to be the narrator of these tales. The Epic of King Gesar , is the epic cycle of the culture hero Gesar of the k...
There are connections you make in life you do not know will change you. That is how I describe the impact made by a tiny white mouse we named Cowl. One of my sisters brought him home with a second male mouse we named Topper because they did not have anywhere to go. The mice were bought as specimen for a class activity, but the buyer (or perhaps the seller) have mistaken them for female mice. They were supposed to get females, not males; and because there was no use for two male mice, my sister who is a university instructor, brought them home. My mother is scared of rodents, so we did not know about her decision until she came home and called me to see what she brought. I thought it was funny but I was also scared for the mice because I knew my mother would object. Plus we were already raising two dogs so it might not be a good idea to house mice that they would usually hunt (my dogs have killed mice and rats before). They already had their own tiny cage and names. We decided to p...