This chapter is the first of four chapters that set up a folk narrative typography: Big Stories; character anecdotes; microlegends; and everyday storying. It begins with a definition of “Big Stories” and its relationship to “myth” and “theme.” The chapter overviews the thematic content of the Big Stories at work on Lewis Island: tradition, environment, civility and community (including sharing the island), springtime, and the island as a sacred, spiritual place. It also covers how big stories are told in different situations during fishing, on the island, and at other times and places, including through the media. Some telling is not only performed, but also enacted: for example, through the sales method which redistributes fish equitably; in hosting visitors to watch fireworks on the river, and other ways which sharing the island rides the line between private and public property. Chapter 2 also discusses how these stories overlap and intertwine.
Methods in Folk-Narrative Research Their Status and Future