Folklore as Resistance
Humans are weird, on one hand, we seem to have an innate and instinctive desire for freedom and self-determination, and on the other, we seem to be genocidal maniacs, constantly finding a way to categorise, exploit, and massacre the other. This yin and yang of human nature has played itself over and over again throughout history in different renditions. Whenever a group has an advantage over the other, they attempt to wipe them out, spurring the subjected people to new extremes in their struggle towards liberation. This cycle of history has led to the rise of heroes, exceptional individuals who are ready to make the ultimate sacrifice so that the consequent generations can live a better life. A sacrifice for the sake of an idea or a community has a mystical appeal, unrivalled in methodology and storytelling. From Christ to Aaron Bushnell, we have been fascinated by their bravery and their sacrifice.
What happens, however, when dying is not enough? When the odds are so skewed and the oppressors so savage that even self-sacrifice is not sufficient? We see such cases in the struggles of liberation over millennia, most recently in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The Palestinians have fought and died for their rights of liberty and self-determination for close to a century now. And despite the countless people who have willingly sacrificed their lives for a cause their oppressors remain as brutal, repressive, and bloodthirsty as ever. So what does one do in the face of such unyielding barbarism? They resist by keeping their culture and folklore alive. Despite the Israeli attempts at hijacking nearly every aspect of Palestinianess, the indigenous population has been steadfast in reproducing their folklore. Whether it is the food, the stitching, the dances, the songs, or the stories, Palestinians have never abandoned their roots burrowed deep under the foundations of this new apartheid ethnostate. While the Palestinians give life to the land in the same way they have done for centuries, Israel bulldozes buildings and sacred religious sites to make way for sterile settlements. Where Palestinians respect their land and speak to it in ways it understands, Israel burns ancient olive orchards and creates a desert of destruction. Folklore in the face of colonialism is a rejection of the oppressor. It draws water from the deep wells of memory to irrigate the thirsty macerated lands, removing all hope the tyrants have of wiping the lands featureless. When armed struggle reaches its limits, folklore becomes our tool of defiance. And Palestinians are not the only ones. We can see examples of this in Ireland during the centuries of occupation by the British or the Jewish populations of Spain and Portugal, who kept the flame of their folklore alive behind closed doors during the Inquisition and the Nazi purges.
We at Folkloric stand with all the oppressed people of the earth and make no moral judgments on their choice of tools for their liberation. While we are not advocates of violence, we also do not claim to understand what oppression over generations can do to a person and their decisions. We believe that folklore is rooted in ancient wisdom and memory and salute all those engaged in their unyielding struggle against erasure.
As a Palestinian once said to a Christian Zionist: “Christ, my grandfather, is your God.” May you stand proud and majestic as an olive tree. May you reap the fruits of your immeasurable sacrifice. Always and forever, Free Palestine.
[originally posted to Patreon on 4/2/25]
