Who owns the story?

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the concepts of individual and cultural ownership within folklore studies, and examines them with respect to storytelling, particularly telling personal experience and sacred stories. Among other issues examined are the rationales that storytellers use to claim rights to a story, and the suggestion that “ownership” in the storytelling profession could be considered synonymous with the right to tell that story. How storytellers view “respect” and how this plays out practically within the profession is also examined.