Documenting Field Work - Item Sample

F101 Introduction to Folklore

Sample Folklore Item #1 Documentation Sheet—for the field project

Informant: Mrs. Gertrude Holtz, age 62, of Jasper, Indiana

Collector: John Smith, age 18, of Bedford, Indiana

Title: A Proverb about Mouseholes [This title can be created by the informant, or by

the collector if the informant doesn’t suggest one.]

Genre: Proverb. “A proverb is a popular saying in a relatively fixed form that is, or has

been, in oral circulation. . . . the majority of true proverbs are metaphorical descriptions

of an act or event applied as a general truth.” From Jan Harold Brunvand’s The Study of

American Folklore: An Introduction. 4th ed. New York: Norton, 1998. Pp.91-92.

Folk Group [Always include the folk group that probably generated this particular

item. You should include as well the folk group with which the informant primarily

identifies if different from the group that generated the item.]: German-American

Collection/Performance Context: The item was collected on November 3, 2002, in the

living room of Mrs. Holtz’s home in Jasper. It was mid-afternoon, and others present

included the informant’s husband, Mr. Fred Holtz, and the informant’s daughter, Mrs.

George Smith. The collector is the informant’s grandson. Mrs. Holtz says that she

typically performs this item in ordinary conversation, especially with other German-

American people, such as those at her church.

Transcription of the item:

“It’s a poor mouse that has only one mousehole.” [She also related the proverb in

German: “Eine arme maus die nur ein einzig loch hat.”]

Commentary: Mrs. Holtz says that she uses the proverb whenever people seem to

act like they have only one option or don’t have a back-up plan. She said:

“Once I told your mom that [i.e., the proverb] when she complained about the

movie theater in town being closed for repairs. She seemed to think there wasn’t

anything else to do but go to the movies.”