ABSTRACT
Versions of folktales which exist among different ethnic groups can be seen to be shaped by cultural frameworks particular to that group. Folktale motifs which represent complex embedded cultural codes and ethnic differences convey a particular concept of ethnic subjectivity and ethnic identity. That is to say, to investigate folktale is to explore a path to identify the cultural subjectivity of a group, for folktale is an “important means of expressing group identity as well as, frequently, a symbol of that identity” (Jordan, 1975: 170). In other words, we can say that subjectivity and ethnicity have crucial areas of overlap. Folktale can thus be both a local and global phenomenon. The term ‘local’ in this sense is normally understood as cultural subjectivity and identity characteristic of a nation as distinct from others. However, it can also refer to the subjectivity and identity among ethnic groups within a nation.
