Every tradition, its own room.

The Hamzanama (Persian/Urdu: حمزه‌نامه Hamzenâme, lit. 'Epic of Hamza') or Dastan-e-Amir Hamza (Persian/Urdu: داستان امیر حمزه, Dâstân-e Amir Hamze, lit. 'Adventures of Amir Hamza') narrates the legendary exploits of Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttali…

Hanasaka Jiisan (花咲か爺さん), is a Japanese folk tale. Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford collected it in Tales of Old Japan (1871), as "The Story of the Old Man Who Made Withered Trees to Blossom". Rev.

Hasht Bihisht (Persian: هشت بهشت, lit. 'Eight Paradises') is a collection of speeches (or narrative poems) authored by the Indo-Persian poet Amir Khusraw around 1302.

Heer Ranjha (Punjabi: [ɦiɾ ɾaːnd͡ʒ(ʱ)aː]) is a classical Punjabi folk tragedy.

The Helm of Cannae is an artefact in the antiquities collection of Franz, Count of Erbach-Erbach, at Erbach Palace in Erbach im Odenwald.

Hercules and the Wagoner or Hercules and the Carter is a fable credited to Aesop. It is associated with the proverb "God helps those who help themselves", variations on which are found in other ancient Greek authors.

A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength.

Heungbuga (Korean: 흥부가) is one of the five surviving stories of the Korean pansori storytelling tradition. It is also called Baktaryeong (박타령) or Hungboga (흥보가). The other stories are Simcheongga, Chunhyangga, Jeokbyeokga and Sugungga.

Hinilawod is an epic poem orally transmitted from early inhabitants of a place called Sulod in central Panay, Philippines. The term "Hinilawod" generally translates to "Tales from the Mouth of the Halawod River".

Echtra Cormaic or Echtra Cormaic i Tir Tairngiri (Cormac's Adventure in the Land of Promise) is a tale in Irish mythology which recounts the journey of the high-king Cormac mac Airt to the Land of Promise resided by the sea-god Manannán mac…

Hlöðskviða (also Hlǫðskviða and Hlǫðsqviða), known in English as The Battle of the Goths and Huns and occasionally known by its German name Hunnenschlachtlied, is an heroic poem in Old Norse found in Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks. Many attempts…

Hotu-iti (also, "Tongariki territory") is an area of southeastern Easter Island that takes its name from a local clan. Located in Rapa Nui National Park, the area includes Rano Raraku crater, the Ahu Tongariki site, and a small bay.

Huei Tlamahuiçoltica ("The Great Event") is a tract in Nahuatl comprising 36 pages and was published in Mexico City, Mexico, in 1649 by Luis Laso de la Vega, the vicar of the chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Tepeyac outside the same city.…

Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle, and is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as such.

Huon of Bordeaux is a popular character of French romance. He is the title character of a late 13th-century chason de geste, a French epic poem with romance elements.

Iara, also spelled Uiara, Yara or Hiara (Portuguese pronunciation: [iˈaɾɐ], [wiˈaɾɐ], [ujˈaɾɐ]) or Mãe das Águas ([ˌmɐ̃j̃ dɐz ˈaɡwɐs], "mother of the waters"), is a figure from Brazilian mythology based on Tupi and Guaraní mythology. The Ia…

The Iliad ( ILL-ee-əd; Ancient Greek: Ἰλιάς, romanized: Iliás [iːliás]; lit. '[a poem] about Ilion (Troy)') is one of two major surviving ancient Greek epic poems, along with the Odyssey, attributed to Homer.

Indigenous astronomy in lands claimed by Canada encompasses traditional Indigenous practices of observing, naming, depicting, and narrating celestial bodies, as well as work to bring Indigenous perspectives into scientific astronomical prac…

Indigenous Philippine folk religions are the distinct native religions of various ethnic groups in the Philippines, where most follow belief systems in line with animism.

Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era.

"Iron John" (also "Iron Hans"; German: Der Eisenhans) is a German fairy tale found in the collections of the Brothers Grimm, tale number 136, about an iron-skinned wild man and a prince.

Island of California (Spanish: Isla de California) refers to the long-held global misconception, dating from the 16th century, that the California region was not part of mainland North America but rather a large island separated from the co…

Ivan Tsarevich (Russian: Ива́н Царе́вич or Иван-царевич) is one of the main heroes of Russian folklore, usually a protagonist, often engaged in a struggle with Koschei.

Japanese dragons (日本の竜/龍, Nihon no ryū) are diverse legendary creatures in Japanese mythology and folklore. Japanese dragon myths amalgamate native legends with imported stories about dragons from China, Korea and the Indian subcontinent.

Japanese folktales are traditional folk narratives of Japan, primarily transmitted orally.

Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology.

Jean de l'Ours (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ də luʁs]) or John the Bear, John of the Bear, John-of-the-Bear, John Bear, is the leading character in the French folktale Jean de l'Ours classed as Type 301B in the Aarne–Thompson system; it can …

Jesper Who Herded the Hares (Danish: Jesper Harehyrde) is a Scandinavian fairy tale, first recorded by Danish folktale collector Evald Tang Kristensen in the first volume of Æventyr fra Jylland.

A jiāngshī (simplified Chinese: 僵尸; traditional Chinese: 殭屍; pinyin: jiāngshī; Jyutping: goeng1 si1), also known as a Chinese hopping vampire, is a type of undead creature or reanimated corpse in Chinese legends and folklore.

Jinn (Arabic: جِنّ‎), also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies, are supernatural beings in Islam, ancient Arabian religion and Arabic folklore and mythology.

Jiraiya (自来也 or 児雷也, literally "Young Thunder"), originally known as Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki (尾形周馬寛行), is the toad-riding protagonist of the Japanese folk tale Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari (報仇奇談自来也説話, The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya).

John Henry is an American folk hero. A Black American freedman, he is said to have worked as a "steel-driving man"—a man tasked with hammering a steel drill (such as a star drill or similar) into a rock to make holes for explosives to blast…

A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally.

The Jómsvíkinga saga ("Saga of the Jomsvikings") is a medieval Icelandic saga composed by an anonymous author. The saga was composed in Iceland during the 13th century. It exists in several manuscripts which vary from each other.

The Judgement of Solomon is a story from the Book of Kings in which Solomon ruled between two women who both claimed to be the mother of a child. Solomon ordered the baby be cut in half, with each woman to receive one half.

A jumart, bif, or baf is a mythical hybrid between a bull or cow and an equine (horse or donkey).

Kachi-kachi Yama (かちかち山; kachi-kachi being an onomatopoeia of the sound a fire makes and yama meaning "mountain", roughly translates to "Fire-Crackle Mountain"), also known as Kachi-Kachi Mountain and The Farmer and the Badger, is a Japanes…

Kadangot Makkam is a regional Hindu goddess worshiped in the North Malabar region in Kerala, India.

Kaibyō (怪猫, "strange cat") are supernatural cats in Japanese folklore.

The Kalevala (IPA: [ˈkɑleʋɑlɑ]) is a 19th-century compilation of epic poetry, compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Finnish, Karelian and Ingrian folklore and mythology, telling a story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies…

Kalīla wa-Dimna (Arabic: كليلة ودمنة) or Kelileh o Demneh (Persian: کلیله و دمنه) is a collection of interconnected animal fables that combine moral instruction and political lessons with entertainment.

In English, to "spirit away" means to remove without anyone's noticing. In Japanese folklore, spiriting away (神隠し, kamikakushi; lit. 'hidden by kami') refers to the mysterious disappearance or death of a person, after they had angered the s…

Kamishibai (紙芝居, "paper play") is a form of Japanese street theater and storytelling that was popular during the Great Depression of the 1930s and the postwar period in Japan until the advent of television during the mid-20th century.

Kapaemahu refers to four stones on Waikīkī Beach that were placed there as tribute to four legendary mahu (third-gender individuals) who brought the healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaiʻi centuries ago.

In the Australian Aboriginal mythology of the Aboriginal people of south-eastern Australian state of Victoria, the Karatgurk were seven sisters who represented the constellation known in western astronomy as the Pleiades. According to a leg…

Kasperle, Kasper, or Kasperl (different spellings in German variants and dialects; Czech: kašpárek) is a traditional puppet character from Austria, German-speaking Switzerland and Germany.

The Kathāsaritsāgara ("Ocean of the Streams of Stories") (Devanagari: कथासरित्सागर) is a famous 11th-century collection of Indian legends and folk tales as retold in Sanskrit by the Shaivite Somadeva from Kashmir. Kathāsaritsāgara contains …

Khun Chang Khun Phaen (Thai: ขุนช้างขุนแผน, pronounced [kʰǔn tɕʰáːŋ kʰǔn pʰɛ̌ːn]) is a long Thai epic poem which originated from a legend of Thai folklore and is one of the most notable works in Thai literature.

The Kilkenny cats are a fabled pair of cats from County Kilkenny (or Kilkenny city in particular) in Ireland, who fought each other so ferociously that only their tails remained at the end of the battle.

King Arthur (Welsh: Brenin Arthur; Cornish: Arthur Gernow; Breton: Roue Arzhur; French: Roi Arthur) was a legendary king of Britain.

King Goldemar (German: [ˈɡɔldəmaːʁ]; also spelled Goldmar, Vollmar, and Volmar; German: [ˈɡɔldmaːʁ, fɔlmaːʁ]) is a dwarf or kobold from Germanic mythology and folklore.

Kiyohime (清姫) (or just Kiyo) in Japanese folklore is a character in the story of Anchin and Kiyohime, which dates back to the 11th century.

Knecht Ruprecht (German pronunciation: [ˌknɛçtˈʁuː.pʁɛçt] ; English: Farmhand Rupert, Servant Rupert or Farmhand Robert, Servant Robert) is a companion of Saint Nicholas as described in the folklore of Germany.

The Knights of the Round Table (French: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde) are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the French-language Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century.

"Kobutori Jiisan" (こぶとりじいさん, Kobutori jīsan) translated directly as "Lump-Taken Old Man" is a Japanese folktale about an old man who had his lump (or parotid gland tumor) taken or removed by demons after joining a party of demons (oni) cele…

Korean creation narratives are Korean shamanic narratives which recount the mythological beginnings of the universe.

Korean mythology (Korean: 한국 신화; Hanja: 韓國神話) is the group of myths told by historical and modern Koreans.

Kuamoʻo Moʻokini (ca. 1100–1200) was a priest who made Hawaii's first heiau, Mo'okini Heiau, in the Big Island of Hawaii, United States, as a person who actually existed or was only in the legend.

Kurozuka (黒塚, "black mound") is the grave of an onibaba in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture (previously Oodaira), Adachi District, or the legend of that onibaba.

Jean de La Fontaine collected fables from a wide variety of sources, both Western and Eastern, and adapted them into French free verse.