Tall Tales — An American Tradition
It’s a tall order to establish a folklore and mythology for an entire country, especially when you’re a melting pot of immigrant belief systems, native cultures, and tribal societies who have been brought here against their own will. In this type of environment, the mythological waters can muddy all too quickly.
Most folklore stems from ancient, oral traditions, where stories are shared down from generation to generation. The mediocre ones fade over time, but the better ones get carried forward, morphing and modifying themselves along the way at the discretion of the storyteller.
The American Folklore Society points out that:
“Folklore is our cultural DNA. It includes the art, stories, knowledge, and practices of a people. While folklore can be bound up in memory and histories, folklore is also tied to vibrant living traditions and creative expression today… It is one of the many ways we communicate who we are.
Often–but certainly not always–rooted in the past, folklore is one of the ways we share with each other the things we see as vital and important. It is a central, every-day part of life and how we make sense of the world today, and it is at the heart of all cultures–including whatever culture we call our own–throughout the world. Folklore is a fundamental part of what it means to be human.”
As new societies form and take shape, so will the folklore and mythology that define them. Many cultures have hundreds, if not thousands of years to establish their lore, usually in a very organic way. But, being such a young country, the United States is still culturally in its “teenage years,” lacking the depth and layered storytelling only time can provide.
That’s why it’s so fascinating to see what has floated to the top of America’s melting pot first — The Tall Tale.
Uniquely American in their telling, “Tall Tales” manifested as stories that were told as if they were true but contain exaggerated or unbelievable parts. Some tall tales were exaggerations of real events, while others are completely make-believe. Tall tales were often funny because the exaggerations in the story tend to be the main focus of the whole story.
A key part of American folk literature, tall tales are believed to have started from the bragging contests that tough American frontiersmen would start when they gathered around a fire. Most tall tales come from the 1800s, when courageous explorers had exciting adventures on their way to the Wild West.
But some of these larger-than-life figures already existed in the stories of Indigenous People and African-American cultures, who only recently got their day in the sun to share their rich, mythological histories outside their own communities.
Now, popular tall tale characters from American folklore you may or may not have heard of include:
Johnny Appleseed — An American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Ontario, as well as the northern counties of present-day West Virginia.
Nanobozho (Nanabush) — The Ojibwe trickster figure and culture hero who can take the shape of male or female animals or people. As a trickster figure, it is often Nanabozho’s goal to create problems, which often highlight the struggles of the Native people.
John the Conqueror — Also known as High John de Conqueror, John, Jack, and many other folk variants, is a folk hero from African-American culture. Sometimes, John is an African prince (son of a king of Congo), said to have ridden a giant crow called “Old Familiar.” He was sold as a slave in the Americas. Despite his enslavement, his spirit was never broken. He survived in folklore as a reluctant folk hero, a sort of trickster figure, because of the tricks he played to evade those who played tricks on him.
Bess Call — The younger sister of Strongman Joe Call, she was as powerful as her brother. Bess was just under six feet tall as an adult. She was as broad as Dutch barn, had two sets of teeth. One day a European wrestler came to America to wrestle Joe, and found out just how strong and determined Bess was!
John Henry — An African American, who worked as a “steel-driving man” — a man tasked with hammering a steel drill into rock to make holes for explosives to blast the rock in constructing a railroad tunnel. The story of John Henry is told in a classic blues folk song, which exists in many versions.
Annie Christmas — Described as a 7 feet tall, she is a supernaturally strong African-American woman Louisiana keelboat captain. She has been described as a female counterpart of the John Henry character. Annie defies traditional gender hierarchies and the rules and expectations for female behavior. She drinks exorbitant amounts of liquor and dominates men who challenge her authority. She wears a pearl necklace, and each pearl represents the defeat of someone who has unsuccessfully challenged her.
Pecos Bill — A cowboy who used a rattlesnake named Shake as a lasso and another snake as a little whip. His horse, Widow-Maker (also called Lightning), was so named because he was Texas’s first and most notorious serial killer, leaving a trail of dead bodies clear across Texas It is also said Bill sometimes rode a cougar instead of a horse. On one of his adventures, Pecos Bill managed to lasso a twister among other incredible deeds.
Paul Bunyan — A giant lumberjack whose exploits revolve around the tall tales of his superhuman strength and labors. He is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox, equally as large an impressive as his wood-chopping counterpart.
Ultimately, folktales become reflections of our dreams, aspirations, and even our prejudices if we’re not careful. They grow and change as we do. Hopefully, these tall tales will continue to expand in depth, breadth, and authenticity, reflecting the incredibly diverse stories that celebrate the human spirit in us all.
For in the end, everyone needs a hero, and we all have a tale to tell.
