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Activity 23
Earthly and Heavenly Explanations

Adapted from "Earthly and Heavenly Explanations," in Culture's Storehouse: Building Humanities Skills through Folklore.  New York: Global Perspectives in Education, 1978. pp 46-54.

Grade Level

Middle School

Introduction

In this lesson, students explore the use of animals in folk-tales and the special qualities of myth through a Latin American story about origins.  Students will recognize similarities between their own hopes and ambitions and those expressed in the tales.

The story is chosen to reveal commonalities among people from all corners of the earth.  Latin American peasants think about going to the moon; so do 20th century astronauts.  A young girl in traditional Mexico dreams of romance; so does a young girl in contemporary America.  But questions arise which prompt people of both sexes to question traditional assumptions about their future roles.

The story centers around the Peruvian animal tale "The Fox and the Mole." Questions and activities continue the exploration of how our explanations for things help form lifelong attitudes.  The tale also provides opportunities to treat the literary convention of animal characters.

Teacher/Student Objective

The major goal of this activity is to help students to realize that the hopes and dreams of people around the world are similar in nature.  The activity uses animal metaphor in a fairy tale/myth, which may help form a person's goals and expectations.  The teacher may also want to seize the moment to distinguish characteristics and meanings of myths, fairy tales and folk-tales, and to underscore their importance in the lives of all people.

Gauging Student Understanding

The progress indicators cited reflect desirable end goals. Teachers should be prepared to use a wide variety of observational, testing and authentic achievement evaluation measures in judging the progress of students.

Through the process of examining a Peruvian folk-tale, the students will reveal their ability to translate an individual folk-tale specific to one country to an understanding of the universal hopes and aspirations of people all over the globe.  In this manner, students will deepen their realization that, while there may be cultural differences among peoples regarding lifestyles, the hopes and desires of all humans provide a global unity that brings us closer together.

Suggested Materials

• Copies of Handout 23A, "The Fox and the Mole."
• Some obvious examples of advertisements which use animals to represent certain human characteristics.

Initial Data for Consideration and/or Process

"The Fox and the Mole" is a Peruvian Indian folk-tale about how things came to be.  It also has a lot to say about the practical limits of daring and dreaming.  The characters of the tale are not people, but animals.

• Why do you think a storyteller might sometimes wish to use animals as characters?

The animals in this tale have a special meaning because of Peruvian tradition.  The ancient Peruvian people were totemistic, which means that animals and even objects were held sacred and worshiped.  Some Quiche Indians (pronounced Key-chee) believed they were descendants of sacred animals and birds like the condor, the snake and the jaguar.  Among the Incas, the condor was thought to be the messenger of the gods.  The moon was revered as a divinity second only to the sun.  The cleverness of monkeys and foxes earned them human respect as well.

Strangely enough, although the fox enjoys a worldwide reputation for cleverness, it does not proceed from any scientific observation: there is no evidence that foxes are any craftier than other preying animals.  Still, the fox has been a symbol of cleverness and deceit for centuries.  Can students think of any other animal who has a reputation for a particular character trait? (e.g., eagle, elephant, lion, hyena, etc.)

Other Possible Activities

Investigate the settings in which tales like "The Fox and the Mole" have been told.  Check with the school librarian, or search the Internet for information about the uses of folk-tales in the lives of people all over the globe.  Some other questions of interest might be:

• Who told the stories in the ancient Indian tribes?
• Where and at what time of day were stories told?
• Was music a part of the telling?  Dance?  Costume?  Acting?
• You may want to reenact an Indian storytelling session with as many authentic props as you can muster.  This could be a good introduction to the study of New World Indians.

Another project could be to find out how alive the folk-tales are in Latin America today.  Students could use the Internet to conduct research.

• Are they still retold?  Taught in school?  Depicted in song or art?

The fox character is still alive in America today as the accompanying advertisement indicates.  Look for foxes elsewhere in contemporary life.  Begin with phrases, ads or commercials, consumer products, songs and movies.  Catalogue your findings and list the meanings or characteristics each fox has.

• How similar are your results to the kind of fox in the old folk-tale you just read?
• Can you find similar examples for moles or other burrowing animals?

Many folk-tales use animals as characters.  See if you can find others.  See if any categories of human characteristics emerge.  Begin with the animal characters such as: Br'er Rabbit, Bugs Bunny, Ananse the Spider and Monkey.

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