Introduction: Locating the Study of Folklore in Modern South Asian Studies (original) (raw)

From acrobatics to worship: bringing together South Asian folklore Reviewed title

Patrick Vanden Berghe, independent researcher (patrickvandenberghe@gmx.net) Research publication on South Asian folklore has a 200-year history. From the late eighteenth century, European travelers and scholars set out to document the cultural practices and beliefs of South Asian groups and people. The aims of this research were multifold: gaining knowledge in a new field of study through a comparative study of local traditions and stories, the wish to convert people by getting insight in their customs andlast but not least-social and political control. While doing some research on Indian culture, my attention was recently drawn to the work of Kamiel Bulcke S.J, a Belgian priest who played a key-role in the study of the Ramayana. Bulcke has received most fame as being the author of the most-used Hindi-English dictionary.

Unit-2 Brief History Of Folklore Studies With Special Reference To India

2017

Structure 2.0 Objectives 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Early philology and the Grimm Brothers 2.3 W. J. Thoms and the word 'folklore' 2.4 Folklore and ideology 2.5 Different academic approaches 2.6 Growth of folklore studies in India 2.6.1 The missionary period 2.6.2 The nationalist period 2.6.3 The academic period 2.7 Let us sum up 2.8 References and further readings 2.9 Check your progress: possible answers 2.0 OBJECTIVES After reading this Unit, you will be able to: understand the beginning and growth of folklore studies, in India in particular, and in the other parts of the world in general; explain the ideological contexts for the study of, and interest in, folklore; and explain the diversity of perceptions about folklore in different places and at different times.

MIGRATING FROM THE CITY TO THE OUTSKIRTS IN SEARCH OF KNOWLEDGE: FOLKLORE STUDIES IN INDIA, A DISCUSSION

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.

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.

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.

Folk Literature of South Asia

Journal of South Asian Literature, 1975

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Rethinking Indian Folk life, Expressions and Knowledge Systems

Folklore is not an isolated domain which came to India as field of study, it came with all other social sciences like the Sociology, Anthropology etc. Lets first remember that there was nothing called the “Social Sciences” in India before the advent of colonialism. Social Sciences emanate from the West. Hence people like Claude Alvaris called them Euro centric.