Every tradition, its own room.

Oggu Katha or Oggukatha is a traditional folklore singing, praising and narrating the stories of Hindu gods Mallana, Beerappa and Yellamma.

The Oilliphéist (Irish: ollphéist, from Irish oll 'great' and péist 'worm, fabulous beast, monster, reptile') is a sea serpent or dragon-like monster in Irish mythology and folklore.

Ojapali is an Assamese narrative song–dance tradition performed by an ensemble led by an oja (lead) and supported by pali (chorus).

Olonkho (Yakut: олоҥхо, romanized: oloñxo, Yakut pronunciation: [oloŋχo]; Dolgan: олоӈко, romanized: oloñko; Russian: Олонхо́) is a series of Yakut and Dolgan heroic epics.

Issun-bōshi (一寸法師; "One-Sun Boy"; sometimes translated into English as "Little One-Inch" or "The Inch-High Samurai") is the subject of a fairy tale from Japan. This story can be found in the old Japanese illustrated book Otogizōshi.

In Japanese traditional beliefs and literature, onryō (怨霊, lit. 'vengeful spirit', sometimes rendered "wrathful spirits", "hatred spirits", "resentful spirits", "ruthless spirits", "envious spirits", "dark spirits", "fallen spirits", or "do…

Oral gospel traditions is the hypothetical first stage in the formation of the written gospels as information was passed by word of mouth. These oral traditions included different types of stories about Jesus.

Oral storytelling is the human activity and tradition of intimate storytelling, dating back before ancient times, in which a speaker verbally relates a story to an audience in physically close proximity.

Orality is thought and verbal expression in societies, distinct from the technologies of literacy (especially writing and print).

"Ordnung muss sein" (reformed) or "Ordnung muß sein" (traditional) is a German proverbial expression which translates as "there must be order". The idea of "order" is generally recognized as a key cliche for describing German culture.

The Orkneyinga saga (Old Norse: [ˈorknˌœyjeŋɡɑ ˈsɑɣɑ]; Scottish Gaelic: Seanchas Arcach nan Lochlannach; also called the History of the Earls of Orkney and Jarls' Saga) is a narrative of the history of the Orkney and Shetland islands and th…

Ossian (; Irish Gaelic/Scottish Gaelic: Oisean) is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson, originally as Fingal (1761) and Temora (1763), and later combined under the title…

Otogi-zōshi (御伽草子) are a group of about 350 Japanese prose narratives written primarily in the Muromachi period (1392–1573).

A deal with the Devil or Faustian bargain is a cultural trope exemplified most famously by the legend of Faust, who was signed a contract with the demon Mephistopheles in exchange for knowledge and pleasure.

The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers (French: Douze Pairs), are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century.

The Panchatantra (IAST and ISO: Pañcatantra; Sanskrit: पञ्चतन्त्र; lit. 'Five Treatises') is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story.

Paremiography (from Greek παροιμία - paroimía, "proverb, maxim, saw" and γράφω - grafō, "write, inscribe") is the study of the collection and writing of proverbs. A recent introduction to the field has been written by Tamás Kispál.

Pargat Diwas, or Valmiki Jayanti, is an annual Indian festival celebrated in particular by the Balmiki religious group, to commemorate the birth of the ancient Indian poet and philosopher Valmiki, who is thought to have lived around 500 BCE…

Parintins Folklore Festival (Portuguese: Festival Folclórico de Parintins), also known as the Parintins Festival (Portuguese: Festival de Parintins), is an annual Brazilian folk festival held in Parintins, Amazonas in Brazil.

Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore.

"The Goat and Her Three Kids" or "The Goat with Three Kids" (Romanian: Capra cu trei iezi) is an 1875 short story, fable and fairy tale by Romanian author Ion Creangă.

Père Fouettard (French for 'Father Whipper' / 'Old Man Whipper'; pronounced [pɛʁ fwɛtaʁ]) is a character who accompanies Saint Nicholas on his rounds during Saint Nicholas Day (6 December) dispensing lumps of coal or beatings to naughty chi…

"Peter Klaus" is a German folk tale. The story was written as "Der Ziegenhirt" ('The Goatherd') by Johann Karl Christoph Nachtigal, who published it in 1800 under the alias Otmar.

Philippine mythology is rooted in the many indigenous Philippine folk religions.

The plot is the series of related events in a narrative. So, each event (except the final one) affects at least one other. Plot may be synonymous with storyline.

The Poetic Edda is the modern name for a collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems written in alliterative verse (known as Eddic poems).

Polynesian mythology encompasses the oral traditions of the people of Polynesia (a grouping of Central and South Pacific Ocean island archipelagos in the Polynesian Triangle) together with those of the scattered cultures known as the Polyne…

Popol Vuh (also Popul Vuh or Pop Vuj) is a text recounting the mythology and history of the Kʼicheʼ people of Guatemala, one of the Maya peoples who also inhabit the Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo, as well as…

The Prithviraj Raso (IAST: Pṛthvīrāja Rāso) is a Brajbhasha epic poem about the life of Prithviraj Chauhan (reigned c. 1177–1192 CE).

The Prose Tristan (French: [Roman de] Tristan en prose), also known as Tristan de Léonois, is a 13th-century Old French expanded adaptation of the Tristan and Iseult legend into a vast prose romance (although containing lyrical passages).

A proverb (from Latin: proverbium) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic language.

The púca (Irish for spirit/ghost; plural púcaí), puca (Old English for goblin), also pwca, pooka, pookah, phouka, and puck, is a creature of Celtic, English, and Channel Islands folklore.

Punjabi folklore (more particularly its folksongs) is a core part of the Punjabi culture. Other important components of Punjabi folklore are farces, anecdotes, idioms, folktales, and sayings.

A Punjabi Qissa (plural: Qisse) is a tradition of Punjabi language oral story-telling that emerged in Punjab region of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India, with the fusion of local Punjabi people and migrants from the Arabian peninsula …

In Greek and Roman mythology, Pyrene (Ancient Greek: Πυρήνη, romanized: Purḗnē) is an Iberian princess whose tragic fate gave the Pyrenees their name.

The Quran (Arabic: الْقُرْآن, lit. 'the recitation' or 'the lecture'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, and is believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God (Allāh).

Ramlila or Ramleela (Sanskrit: रामलीला, romanized: Rāmalīlā; literally 'Rama's lila or play') is any dramatic folk re-enactment of the life of Rama according to the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana or secondary literature based on it such as the…

Rana rupta et bos (The Frog that exploded, and the ox) is a Latin retelling from the Liber primus of the Fabulae (1:24) of the Roman poet Phaedrus (1st century); the Latin text is itself based on The Frog and the Ox, one of Aesop's Fables.

In narratology and comparative mythology, the Rank–Raglan hero archetype is a combined or independent set of narrative patterns proposed by the Austrian psychoanalyst Otto Rank and later on by the British amateur anthropologist Lord Raglan …

In Slavic folklore, the raskovnik or razkovniche (Serbian Cyrillic and Macedonian: расковник; Bulgarian: разковниче [rɐsˈkɔvnit͡ʃɛ]; Russian: разрыв-трава; Polish: rozryw) is a magical herb.

"Rätsel" (Riddle) is a German riddle-song from the 1806 collection of folks songs Des Knaben Wunderhorn by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano. The text is written in iambic tetrameter.

Renaud (or Renaut or Renault) de Montauban (Modern French: [ʁəno d(ə) mɔ̃tobɑ̃]; German: Reinhold von Montalban; Italian: Rinaldo di Montalbano; Dutch: Reinout van Montalban or Montalbaen) was a legendary hero and knight who appeared in a 1…

A riddle is a statement, question, or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved.

The riddles of Dunash ben Labrat (920×925-after 985) are noted as some of the first recorded Hebrew riddles, and part of Dunash's seminal development of Arabic-inspired Andalusian Hebrew poetry.

Robert the Devil (Latin: Robertus Diabolus) is a legend of medieval origin about a Norman knight who discovers he is the son of Satan. His mother, despairing of heaven's aid in order to obtain a son, had asked for help from the devil.

Regarded as the last successful pirate of the Caribbean during the 19th century's suppression era, the life of Roberto Cofresí has been romanticized in his native Puerto Rico and neighboring nations.

Robin Hood and the Potter is a 15th-century ballad of Robin Hood.

The Round Table (French: la Table ronde; Welsh: y Ford Gron; Cornish: an Moos Krenn; Breton: an Daol Grenn; Latin: Mensa Rotunda) is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate.

In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalki; Cyrillic: русалка, Russian pronunciation: [rʊˈsaɫkə] , plural: русалки; Polish: rusałka, plural: rusałki) is a female entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with wa…

Rushen Coatie or Rashin-Coatie is a Scottish fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in his More English Fairy Tales. It is Aarne–Thompson type 510A, the persecuted heroine, as is Cinderella.

A Russian fairy tale or folktale (Russian: ска́зка, romanised: skazka; plural ска́зки, skazki) is a fairy tale in Russian culture. Various sub-genres of skazka exist.

Russian Fairy Tales (Russian: Народные русские сказки, variously translated; English titles include also Russian Folk Tales) is a collection of nearly 600 fairy and folktales, collected and published by Alexander Afanasyev between 1855 and …

The Sack Man (also called the Bag Man or Man with the Bag/Sack) is a figure similar to the bogeyman, portrayed as a man with a sack on his back who carries naughty children away.

Saint George and the Dragon is a legend in which Saint George—a soldier venerated in Christianity and among the Druze—defeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers.

Saint Guinefort (modern French pronunciation: [ɡinfɔʁ]) was a legendary 13th-century French greyhound that received local veneration as a folk saint.

Samson's riddle is found in the biblical Book of Judges, where it is incorporated into a larger narrative about Samson, the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites.

Sassui Punnhun or Sassi Pannu is a Sindhi, and Balochi and Punjabi tragic folktale.

Schleicher’s fable is a text composed as a reconstructed version of the Proto-Indo-European language (PIE), published by August Schleicher in 1868. Schleicher was the first scholar to compose a text in PIE.

Scottish mythology is the collection of myths that have emerged throughout the history of Scotland, sometimes being elaborated upon by successive generations, and at other times being rejected and replaced by other explanatory narratives.

Selkies are mythological creatures that can shapeshift between seal and human forms by removing or putting on their seal skin.