Folk Tales from Himachal (original) (raw)
2004
This essay serves as an introduction to the folk practices and beliefs of East Punjab. It argues that although there are clear religious identities established by the major organized religions, this does not preclude participation in other practices which cut across these boundaries. These “folk” practices and beliefs cluster around the anxieties and ambiguities of death, common understandings of societal structure and its relation to work, the relationship of animals and the spirit world, the causes of misfortune, and the causes of and cures for disease. These modes of understanding the world are characterized by persistence and adaptability, that is, despite attempts to eradicate them, they are not going to disappear any time soon. ______________________________________________________
From Tradition to Superstition: A Journey Through India's Folk Tales and Beliefs
Literary Herald, 2025
Folklore in India has remained a source of Indigenous Knowledge. At its core, it inculcates Cultural Practices inspired from local wisdom and has contextual relevance. Many of these traditions had deep and sometimes very vital meaning in guiding day-today lives of the practitioners and also their spiritual domains. But as society evolves, science progresses, and culture morphs, many of these beliefs becomes outdated, turn eventually into superstitions. This article, "From Tradition to Superstition: A Journey Through India's Folk Tales and Beliefs," explores eleven different ideas, practices or customs based on folk traditions that once held pragmatic or symbolic value but have now been misinterpreted or reinterpreted and have turned into superstitions. The chapter explores origins, purposes, and later evolution of these folk tales. This article examines epistemological transformations that shaped indigenous knowledge. It explores the complexities of maintaining cultural wisdom in ways that do not uphold practices that are no longer rationalized or practical. This exploration provides perspective on how India's folk traditions figure into broader frameworks of cultural evolution and knowledge production.
Material Folk Culture of Solan District, Himachal Pradesh
IJCRT - International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT), 2020
The present study is upon material folk culture of Solan District, Himachal Pradesh. The study is entirely based on primary data through random sampling technique. The paper revolves around the folk food, folk dress and ornaments, folk medicines, folk art, folk musical instruments, agricultural tools and utensils included in the traditions of a culture, sub-culture, or group. Cultural study encourages the researcher towards the conservation of traditional culture that is still exist but slowly started extinct. The findings based upon the available data shows that the people are still following their culture when the technology and communication systems are changing rapidly in this area.
Constructing a narrative through Folk Rituals: perspectives from Jammu Region
Ritual is defined as repeated, habitual actions, but they are more purposeful than custom; rituals are frequently highly organised and controlled. As such Ritual is studied as a distinct category of folklore. Folklorists study rituals as their complexity and dramatic qualities make them dense with meaning: they are significant expressions of a group's traditions, beliefs, values and identity. Within this framework the present paper attempts to highlight that different kinds of rituals observed and performed in Jammu t region can help us to build up a narrative about region's traditions, beliefs, values and identity. In this connection the paper is largely focussed on the rituals associated with local deities and those performed by the women of the region.
An Ethnographic Approach to the Study of Folklore of Barumal Village in India
The focus of this ethnographic expedition is to study the folklore and traditions amongst the existing tribal populations of Barumal village in southern Gujarat, India. The fieldwork revolves around cultural and socio-economic aspects of their livelihood and this paper encompasses the knowledge from one such lens out of many. It tries to identify the importance of mythology and its roots. The data collected from three different population groups are Varlis, Kukanas, Dhodiya Patels that are set within the caste system based hierarchy inhabiting in the same region. The interview method was employed throughout with open-ended questions. The varied customs and traditions appearing in their lifestyle, occupation, and festivals are always associated with one god or another. The key informants felt the need to distinguish the history of their own tribe from the others by taking the help of myths passed down from their ancestors. Most of the key informants were mature adults including both ...
RELIGION, FOLKLORE AND ORAL TRADITIONS: SPECIAL REFERENCE TO EASTERN INDIA
Acme International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2017
A large number of folklore related to religious groups, cults, personality based cults, exists these days in every region of the Indian sub continent. In India religious diversity is respected and encouraged. People from diverse cultures and backgrounds have always accommodated and amalgamated in Indian society. The growth of the folklore provides an interesting window to study the mixing of the legends, oral traditions, religious beliefs, culture and the actual history of the region. For instance in Eastern India there exists variety of folklore , folk literature, Mangal-Kavyas (Panchali) that deals generally with the religious cults, sects, traditions and stories of gods and goddesses , various forms of worship, it's beliefs, rituals and variety of practices etc. The folklore also shows how and why we worship Trees, Sacred Animals, Birds, Emblems, Pictures, Signs, and Motifs etc. The main reason to worship these manifestations is to show devotions to god and goddesses. It symbolizes the religious and cultural practices of both Aryan and non-Aryan traditions. It shows cultural synthesis and ongoing process of socio-anthropological development of the society. Therefore an assessment of Indian culture is possible through a careful study of the religion and folklore .
Lokaratna An E journal of Folklore Foundation, India
This volume is contributed by the eminent folklorists across the globe. The focus is on ethnic identity, discourse on culture and language and cultural essays , including exclusive interview with the eminent writer Khushbant Singh