Communicating Words and More: A study of oral traditions of Radh Bengal (including the districts of Purulia, West Mednipur and Bankura) (original) (raw)
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Communicating words and more-A study of oral traditions of Radh Bengal
Indian Folklore Research Journal, 2011
The paper looks into the oral traditions in the form of anecdotes, riddles, poems and stories from the Radh region of the state of West Bengal, comprising of the districts of West Mednipur, Bankura and Purulia. Geographically, the expanse is composed of red laterite soil and is an extension of the Chhotanagpur plateau region. The work portrays an analysis of historical representation of data through the collection of a vast amount of folklore from the region. These not only help to ascertain a reflection of a rich tradition transmitted through generations, but also help portray the cognitive representation of socio-cultural and religious developments through history which serve as important contexts for their origination. Their survival itself is a testimony to this, a testimony conveyed, communicated and transferred through time.
Oral literature of Tribal in Southern Rajasthan
Folklore of Vagad is unfathomable, encompassing the rich cultural heritage of legends, songs, customs, history, artifacts, music, proverbs, tales and myths etc. and is a marked with regularity and dynamism. This paper includes the outreached and unheard topic of Vagad region which has very diversified and unexplored field need to identified and recognized by several prestigious entity of academics and historians. Folklore of Vagad is unfathomable, encompassing the rich cultural heritage of legends, songs, customs, history, artifacts, music, herbal and myths etc. and is a marked with regularity and dynamism. It also includes the Scattered Genre of Vagad's folklore where proverbs and riddles are likely to be heard and situated in each and every person's tongue around the region. We will discuss the majority of sayings, riddles and idioms present in the vast and diversified area of Vagad which are many in numbers and have very little or can say, still finding its glory to understand or looking for its inclusion in mainstreams of Modern ethnographic Literature.
Weekly Village markets have been at the centre of village life of the Radh region of Bengal through ages. These markets have been the places of confluence of different types of people of village society. The days these markets become operative are usually waited for with lots of expectations and with great excitement by village people even today. All the limitations of village life are attempted to be overcome through them. Hence these markets are having almost innumerable references and depictions in folklores, to be specific in oral traditions, especially in rhymes and riddles which are usually secular in nature but in some cases they are quasi-religious. These folklores are social texts bearing specific anthropological nuances that do often depict the predominant trend of social evolution. These village markets are having direct links with the lives and livelihoods of village artisans. They are quite significant instruments for depiction of village life, its evolution rather mobility and for having a psychoanalytic view of village life.
From Oral tradition to digital media- Folklore in West Bengal
Literature for children in India draws heavily on mythological themes. This literature has been translated into various forms with the advance of mass media in India. As digital technology takes over, stories in particular collections of children’s stories from Bengal, like the 100-years-old Thakurmar Jhuli (Grandmother’s Bag of Tales) are not exempt from change. Through the changes in time and modes of expression and the changes through transcribing and digitisation, however, one distinct quality makes these stories resemble their ancestors from the days of oral tradition—they continue the same process of learning and training of the younger generation.
Complimentary disciplines and their significance in India- Oral traditions, folklore and archaeology
The paper is an attempt towards understanding the importance of the disciplines of folklore and culture studies, especially those pertaining to oral tradition which forms an important part of the intangible heritage of man and his environment and the discipline of archaeology in India. Both are complimentary disciplines and needs to be studied for a holistic understanding of the term culture and folk traditions in a society. The paper traces a brief background of both the disciplines of folklore studies as well as archaeology as it developed in the sub-continent and thereby attempts to highlight the need to perceive and understand both. A cumulative study is an imperative necessity in the recent global world where the term ‘culture’ denotes a much wider definition than was connoted decades ago as part of the civilisation of man.
This paper is based on an excavation of archival works from the pages of the journal, Indian Antiquary. The paper is a study of the folklores contributed to the journal by Guyborn Henry Damant during the mid-nineteenth century in Bengal. The paper delineates the different trajectories of the quest for such contributions in the space of the Indian Antiquary and tries to locate the reasons of folklore excavations, translations and their subsequent publication in the journal. The paper also takes a look at the role of the native associates in the process of publishing the folklores to the journal.
Folklore and Ethnicity: A Study among the Rabhas of Assam
2018
Folklore is playing a pivotal role in propagating the ideas of ethnicity and identity in the world. By referring the value of folklore every community of the world try to glorify their past and present in modern times. In India, the role of folklore towards ethnic and identity movement is taking remarkable place especially in North Eastern India. The main aims of this paper are: i. to highlight how the Rabhas of Assam using the folkloric element in the political movement, ii. to study the role of folklore in integrating diverse groups and iii. to explore the role of folklore towards serving the ethnic unity and nationalism among the Rabhas. Methodology The study was based on amalgamation of primary and secondary method. For the primary method, interview method was conducted for collecting relevant data. A few printed books, magazines and others materials published by the distinguished publishers and the reception committee of conferences were used for the secondary sources.
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.