Aspects of the Social Unconscious Reflected in Traditional Folktales: The Case of the Druze Community in Israel

This chapter examines some of the ways in which a traditional folk-tale of a particular ethnic community functions in the social unconscious of the members of it. It discusses the Druze version of the world-wide tale “The Wolf and the Kids”, and some of the ways in which the Druze version show various unconscious conflicts, desires, and dynamics, which can be understood in terms of their foundation matrix. The importance of community and collectivity is especially salient in traditional Arab societies such as that of the Druze. The characteristics of the Druze versions of the wolf and the kids, and especially the way in which issues of belonging and identification are emphasised in these versions, can also be viewed in light of the entangled relationship between the Druze and other ethnic communities in Israel. The Druze people consider their faith to be a new interpretation of the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.