Comparative Literary and Cultural Overview of Folklore Studies in Bangladesh and India (original) (raw)
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Interplay of Folklore, Literature, and Society A Critical Examination from Northeast India
This study analyses Northeast Indian folklore, literature, and society. A thorough literature review addresses the complicated relationships between literature and folklore, the role of literature in cultural identity, and socioeconomic influences on both genres. The study examines how Northeast Indian literature uses folklore to conserve culture and confront current challenges. It also investigates how literature promotes intercommunal conversation, identitybuilding, and cultural representation by criticizing societal norms. The paper also examines how literary adaptation revives folklore and cultural legacies and how socio-political factors shaped Northeast Indian literature. Gender dynamics are examined in literature to challenge gender norms. The paper also explores how Northeast Indian literature contributes to the national discussion by promoting an understanding of the region's particular concerns and presenting alternative perspectives. The study highlights Northeast Indian literature's adaptability, diversity, and transformational force in preserving the cultural legacy, encouraging social change, and transforming the literary scene. It helps us comprehend how folklore, literature, and society interact.
Perception through the Personified: A Study of Children's Folklore from Bihar, India
IAFOR JOURNAL OF LITERATURE AND LIBRARIANSHIP , 2023
The research explores the children-related literature of Bihar, an eastern state of India, in order to find their impact on the perception of the listeners. There is a range of research on folklore from India; however, there has yet to be much research on children-related folklore in Bihar. Considering this research gap, the present research intends to study the effect of children's folklore on shaping their psyche. Through a qualitative analysis, the research attempts to find answers to questions such as: how do the verbal elements of the Bihari folklore affect children's way of thinking; do these folk genres always boost their wisdom or at times question their sense of perceiving morality; does folklore play any role in spreading awareness. We recorded rare folklore and folk beliefs and interviewed the natives of three districts as representatives of the ancient Magadh, Mithila, and Anga regions of Bihar. We concluded that folklore and folk beliefs could be important tools in spreading wisdom, humanitarian perspectives, and environmental consciousness among children. Therefore, the folk genre contributes to raising awareness of cultural norms within society.
Introduction: Locating the Study of Folklore in Modern South Asian Studies
South Asian History and Culture, 2017
The study of folklore served an important role in the development of South Asian Studies, yet, ironically, folklore was mostly studied in relation to classical Sanskrit texts within academe. The study of vernacular folklore was, on the other hand, relegated to amateurs and collectors, but with the publication of an important volume, tellingly titled Another Harmony (1986), since it revised the folk/classical divide, folklore reentered areal studies with a newer generation of scholars who were interested in a variety of new approaches that went beyond the textual interface. This introduction briefly traces that history then introduces the current set of papers to point out both the problems and prospects of returning to the folkloristic project.
The Ad Litteram Journal, 2022
Do the tribes call themselves tribals or do we call them the tribals? These are the exact words with which one of my course instructors during my M.Phil. coursework from the University of Delhi decided to open his introductory class on Oral Tradition and Tribal Literature (in India). This conspicuous enquiry prompted an uncomfortable silence in the class because the answer to this immediately demanded, one, a deep revaluation of certain prejudiced assumptions about indigenous people’s communities, and second, to realise the ways in which knowledge usually moves from the center to the margin when it comes to the identification and representation of marginalized communities. Later, a more fieldwork-based approach to research into regional culture, oral narratives and belief practices with the help of appropriate tools allowed most of us to sensitize ourselves to view the marginalized communities being more than just ‘beneficiaries’ of government schemes. What emerged was a gaze ‘inward’, a step backward from the mainstream and identify the inequalities. In purview of this larger background, the present paper purposes to array a certain aspect of how folklore studies in independent India is deciphered and practiced. This is attempted on the basis of taking notes from emergent discussions by various scholars of Indian folklore studies, by considering fresh perspectives on tribal lore and life, by ruminating over various sources of Indian mythology and other overlooked parameters. This paper is qualitative in nature and intends to highlight the significance of folklore studies as a knowledge driven discipline that allows a systematic study of all the living songs, stories, belief narratives and performances of the common people that never got represented in the curriculum books.
Anthropological Perspectives on Folklore: Underpinnings on Some
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The main objectives of this article is to explore how people use folklore for interaction, and how folklore is useful for managing social/cultural situations for identity making. Pedestal on qualitative secondary data were obtained from various literature, books, journals and articles. The conceptual frame of the study respite on four field approaches of anthropology which comprehend folklore at local, regional, national, and global scales and are supportive in reflecting the understandings in application and seeking ways to adjust with communities to assist them in preserving folklore or in bridging the knowledge-community dissection--understanding and analyzing ethnic behaviors, their identity and institutions, human-culture-nature relation, micro-macro structural relations. With a unique cultural heritage, Nepal is copious with diverse folklore based on legends, religion, popular beliefs etc. They are the traditions of ethnic cultures, subcultures, or groups to express feelings. ...
FROM FOLKLORE TO "FOLKLORESQUE": TRANSLATIONS AND ADAPTATIONS OF HIMALAYAN FOLKLORES
Journal of Higher Education and Research Society: A Refereed International , 2024
The Central Himalayan region of Kumaun is a land which has stirred the imagination of people since time immemorial, by virtue of the diverse range of prevalent oral traditions and customs. However, this region has suffered prolonged cultural isolation owing to its geographical position, and also on account of the inclusion of Kumauni language and culture with Hindi. This sentiment has been shared by various Kumauni artists, scholars, and academicians who attempted to integrate Kumauni oral traditions and culture with cosmopolitan popular culture by translating and adapting the oral narratives, leading to changing the dynamics of folklores considerably in the popular culture world. The integration of oral narratives into the popular culture with the change of context and structure, through films, comics, songs, games, literature, etc., has led to the emergence of the genre of folkloresque, which has further challenged the traditional perspectives and predefined social and cultural constructs. This paper attempts to examine the emergence of folkloresque in various genres of Kumauni folklores, as they find their way into the popular culture through translations and adaptations. The paper also seeks to analyse how these translations and adaptations have not only led to the preservation, popularisation, and digitalisation of folklores, but they have also challenged the traditional perspectives in which the oral narratives and traditions were viewed, thereby creating liminal cultural spaces leading to a growing sense of cultural ambiguity.
Anthropology and Folklore Studies in India: An Overview
Anthropology and Folklore Studies in India: An Overview , 2020
Anthropology has a long tradition of folklore studies. Anthropologist studied both the aspect of folklore i.e. life and lore. Folklore became a popular medium in anthropological studies and using emic approach researchers try to find out the inner meaning of different aspects of culture. This paper focused on the major approaches of the study of Anthropology and Folklore. It is an attempt to classify different phases of Anthropology of Folklore studies in India and understand the historical development of Anthropology of Folklore studies in India. It is observed that, both theoretical and methodological approaches were changed with the time and new branches are emerged with different dimensions.