Folklore is not playing and dancing show festivals and other mass measures. His function is not restrictend to preparation of collections of verbal folk work. It is important to realize that folklore is not living isolated from policy, and that he is often attracted to her. Secret services in industry of folklore were often an important constituent of certain political fight for a national revival and national identity. It is indisputably that nearby Croatian and Serbian national cultures, as well as there folk culture and folklore, have not only general lines but also origins of similar genres, themes and reasons taking into account their linguistic affinity. The tendencies of giving of certain standards or folklore genres as general signs of South Slavonic unity and simila fate of both nations had also a certain political motivation.
Folklor nisu puka igra i ples koji se prikazuju na smotrama i drugim javnim priredbama. Njegova se funkcija ne iscrpljuje u zbirkama usmene književnosti. Važno je imati na umu da folklor ne živi izolirano od politike i da u nju nerijetko biva uvučen. Istraživanje folklora bijaše dijelom političke borbe za nacionalnu afirmaciju i nacionalni identitet. Nesporno je da međusobno susjedne hrvatska i srpska nacionalna kultura, podjednako kao i njihova narodna kultura i folklor, posjeduju ne samo zajedničke crte nego i razradu sličnih žanrova, tema i motiva, uključujući jezičnu srodnost, premda se folklor nikad ne javlja u standardnom ili književnom izrazu nego u lokalnim govorima. Tendencije da se nametnu neki obrasci ili folklorni žanrovi kao jedinstveni označitelji jugoslavenskoga jedinstva i zajedničke sudbine bijahu također motivirane politički.
