Comprehensive Essay on Folkways – The term ‘ folkways’ was introduced into sociological literature by W. G. Sumner in a book with the title ‘Folkways’ published in 1906. The word means literally “the ways of the folk”. ‘Folk’ means people and ‘Ways’ refers to their behavioural habits. ‘Folkways’ are norms to which we conform because it is customary to do so in our society.
Folkways are the accepted ways of behaviour. According to Sumner, folkways represent man’s unique means of adapting himself to the environment. The term is often broadly used to include customs, conventions, usages, etiquettes, etc. It includes several modes of behaviour which men have evolved to meet the needs of their social life.
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Definition:
(i) Gillin and Gillin say that “Folkways are behaviour patterns of everyday life which generally arise unconsciously in a group”.
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(ii) A. W. Green opines, “Those ways of acting that are common to a society or a group and that are handed down from one generation to the next are known as folkways.”
(iii) Lundberg has said that “Folkways are the typical or habitual beliefs, attitudes and styles of conduct observed within a group or community”.
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(iv) Merill says that folkways “are literally the ways of the folk, that is, social habits or group expectations that have arisen in the daily life of the group”.
(v) In simple words, ‘folkways’ can be understood as “repetitive petty acts of the people”.
Examples of Folkways:
The ways of eating, talking, dressing, playing, walking, working, greeting, conversing, expressing love and affection, etc., represent folkways. Taking three meals a day, walking on the right side of the road, driving on the left, wearing different kinds of dresses at different times, regular brushing of the teeth, washing of the clothes, taking bath regularly, respecting the elders, showering love and affection on the younger ones, wife and husband expressing mutual love, etc., represent different kinds of folkways.
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Nature of Folkways:
(i) Social in Nature:
Folkways are the products of man’s group life. They are created by the groups for their sustenance and maintenance. Individuals get social recognition by conforming to the folkways.
(ii) Repetitive in Character:
A social practice becomes a folkway when majority of people observe it constantly and regularly. The oft-repeated practices of the majority normally become the folkways, because such practices become standardized practices by constant repetition. In this sense also folkways represent the mass phenomena and not the individual peculiarity.
(iii) Unplanned Origin:
The origins of folkways are very obscure. Sumner believed that they arise automatically and unconsciously. They are not the result of any advance planning. Someone in the group starts a new way (may be a hairstyle, a dress style, a conversational style) and in course of time it becomes popular and a good number of people may start following it. But by the time it becomes the folkway; neither the originator nor the time of origin can be traced. For example, we cannot name the person who invented the greeting style or the hairstyle. Neither can we fix precisely the date of its origin.
(iv) Informal Enforcement:
Folkways constitute one of the types of informal means of social control. Folkways are not as compulsive and obligatory as that of laws or morals. Conformity to the folkways is neither required by law nor enforced by any special agency of the society. Those who violate folkways are not punished by formal means. They are not absolutely obligatory though they are considered as necessary.
For example, one who does not brush his teeth regularly, take bath daily, and wash his clothes regularly and properly, is not going to be punished by law. But such an individual is put to gossip and ridicule. One can neglect and violate one or a few of the folkways but no sane person can neglect and violate all of them.
(v) Folkways Differ a Lot:
Folkways differ from group to group and society to society. They may also undergo changes in course of time within the same group or society. It is customary in India for women to keep their hair long while their counterpart in the West normally keeps it short. Table meals are common in the West whereas majority of the Indians squat on the floor and take their meals with hands. But now changes have occurred.
Further, folkways vary with age and sex in almost all the places. They vary according to the social-class status. They differ according to region, ethnic group, racial group, caste, class and occupation.
(vi) Folkways are numerous:
It is not possible for anyone to enlist all the folkways. No encyclopedia could contain all of the folkways observed by all of the peoples of history. They are so diverse and numerous. Folkways touch upon even the tidbits of our social behaviour. No social act of man can escape from its boundary. They range from most of the trivial acts and behaviour patterns to the most- serious ones.
(vii) Folkways are subject to Change:
Folkways change with changing social conditions. Still changes are often resisted. Some folkways undergo relatively rapid change. Sumner called them ‘fashions’. Fashions relating to dress, hairstyle, architectural designs, etc., have undergone rapid change. Folkways associated with beliefs and practices regarding the family, property, etc., resist change very often.
Social Importance of Folkways:
The Folkways are the foundation of every culture. When fully assimilated they become personal habits. They save much of our energy and time. They are generally observed by the people. Hence all are free to solve problems and strive towards individual and collective goals.
They have reduced much of our mental strain and nervous tension by helping us to handle social relations in a comfortable way. Sumner believed that “the life of society consists in making folkways and applying them. The science of society must be construed as the study of them”. This is, of course, an exaggerated view.
Folkways have become a universal characteristic of human societies. No society does or could exist without them. Hence they constitute an important part of the social structure. They contribute to the order and stability of social relations. Human infants learn the folkways through the elders as naturally as they grow older.
They become a part and parcel of the personality of the infants through the process of socialization. They learn different folkways at different stages relevant to their class, caste, racial, ethnic and other statuses. Much role-playing in occupational statuses has almost become part of the folkways. We are made to follow them because they are binding.
They become with us a matter of habit. They come to form the unstated premises in our mental life. They provide predictability to both of our behaviour and that of others. As one of the types of informal means of social control, folkways have assumed importance in the study of social control.