‘Touhoide’ and Meitei Women: Exploring ‘Fear’ in Select Meitei Oral Narratives (original) (raw)

Courtship, Marriage, Consent and Violence against Women in the Meitei Society A Feminist Viewpoint

The emotive vocabulary woven by the mothers of Meitei society in their voices against the state violence on the female body is substantially effective in highlighting the violence against women by the state forces. The other side of the story is the disturbing trend of the recurrent cases of violence against women particularly rape, betrayal and killing of young girls and women in Meitei society which are evident in the local dailies and reports on crime against women. The paper seeks to nuance the expressions of violence against women in the tradition of " koiba " and " chenba " by employing the Bourdieusian concept of habitus and feminist criticism on its limits. .

The Woman Body in “Tolo’na I Ha’dara”: A Mamuju Oral Narrative

Proceedings of the 4th BASA: International Seminar on Recent Language, Literature and Local Culture Studies, BASA, November 4th 2020, Solok, Indonesia, 2021

The study intends to illuminate the concept of Mamuju's women beauty in Tolo'na I Ha'dara's story and depict Ha'dara's autonomy on her body. This folktale is also one of Mamuju's oral narratives. It is hardly found that the study of it becomes crucial to preserve the culture represented since oral narratives reflect the civilization in the past. The study is conducted through descriptive analysis to explain that patriarchy was rooted a long time ago. The study finds out that beauty in Mamuju is a metaphor with pineapple shoot, lappa-lappa 'savory food made of glutinous rice and coconut milk wrapped in coconut's leaf,' balurdako,' and swing. Ha'dara has the autonomy of her body since the beauty is utilized to gain her will. However, a woman's weak body is also shown when she could not fight against Ca'bulung and even dies in his hand.

Oral Narrative and Cultural Memory: A Critical Perspective on the Male Self and Female Other in Ayelala Myth

International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature

INTRODUCTION Quite phenomenally, the subtext of gender and its allied manifestations have remained a most contentious site given its predominance in all cultures stemming from human evolution. Understandably so, gender relations have seen a constant and continued (re)negotiation with shifting alliances and re-definitions. For a long while, gender relations became repeatedly captured through the prisms of religion, culture, collective perception and the social environment. In the opinion of Emenyi (2005: p.36),-human life is structured in relation to the aspirations and expectations or constraints which the society designs for the two sexes.‖ Such role constructs delved into the subconscious of the individual eventually surfacing in presupposed responses to life's realities. The current study also implicates the symbolisms that accompany the socio-cultural context of gendered power relations. This is because, within the locus of genders powers, forms and appearances produce both assumed and understood meanings with often systemic implications. The polarisations occasioned by society's prescriptions structured the roles into a rigidly ‗acceptable' male self and female other. Oniemayin (2010) has argued that within the traditional past-the woman was expected to be contented with her traditional role of home making, child minding and providing satisfaction for the husband, who is the total head of the home, and the important others whose satisfaction or not can determine her continued stay in the husband's house‖ (p. 143). Such expectations not only limited the aspirations of the female but provided a long-held cocoon within which her overall existence was grotesquely guaranteed. In broadening an understanding of these realities, the present study situates and examines the worship, ritual performances and the historical evolution of Ayélála (a female deity venerated among the Ìlàjẹ and Ìkálè ̣ people in Ondo State) and the impact of such worship on gender space and power relations among adherents. Today, the Yorùbá subgroups known as the Ìkálè ̣ and Ìlàjẹ are majorly found in Ondo State.

Luba folklore and women's ethno-gendered discourse of wifehood in “Cintu Wa Bujitu”

This paper investigates Lubà-kasààyi folklore, particularly a folk song, in order to reveal an ethno-gendered construction of wifehood. It aims to show girls' socialization into a sexist and patriarchal discourse and how such a practice ideologically initiates them into their future subservient role of caterers for the husbands' alimentation needs. Moreover, folklore seems to perpetuate traditions, and so the gender inequality inscribed within them, a situation that is particularly apparent in villages.

Women against Death: Georgian Folktales in Context of Oriental and Occidental Paradigms. ISFNR Conference Presentation 2018 Ragusa, Italy.

Institute of Georgian History Proceedings XIV , 2018

The paper gives an account of the Georgian folklore versions of the international tale type ATU 899 Alcestis: A young man is doomed to an early death: He is predestined to die on his wedding day. Norns predict his death for the third day after his birth. God intercedes with the Norns, and they agree that the young man may live if another person is willing to die for him or to give him half of his own remaining lifetime. His parents refuse, but his bride is ready to die for him. God saves both the young man and the woman who is willing to sacrifice herself. Georgian folktales and folk lyrics evidently show the parallels with Ancient Greek and Hindu mythologies. An overview of Georgian archival material and publications outlines the characteristics and transformations of the tale type ATU 899. The female character of the Georgian folktale could be regarded as a duplicate of Alcestis from Euripides’ drama, and Savitri from Mahabharata. All of these women used their power of dedication to their husbands to prevent the death. This paper interprets certain features of mythological and religious views in Georgian folklore that are apparently universal and have wide distribution in the world folklore that their generality may be presumed to result from recurrent reactions of the human psyche to situations of the general order. There is an astonishing similarity between myths collected in widely different regions. The differences are there too, of course, between cultures and culture areas but the basic idea of these myths are equal.

The Gendered Nature: Tiṇai and the Creation of Identities

Perspectives, 2024

The paper analyses the concept of tiṇai (five eco-zones) to reconstruct gender ideals that existed in early Tamil society. Caṅkam literature constitutes the primary source for the study. Based on the literary as well as archaeological explorations, the essential characteristics of the society during this period are understood as a militaristic one expanded to neighbouring regions that idealised heroism and performed various rituals related to war and victory. Within this socio-cultural context, these eco-zones are portrayed as five distinct realms, each imbued with its unique physiological essence, serving as a metaphor for the emotional landscape of the characters, and this sets the backdrop for the tales of love, longing, and sorrow. The paper expands its purview into the Tamil notions of love and marriage using various kinds/ forms of animal imagery. Sources have shown that an adult male was supposed to serve the ruling class upon attaining a certain age, and women were married off when they were still at a tender age. The treatment of these categories was never equal; however, in most instances, they were imposed with the responsibility of upholding the community’s pride. Be it a man fighting on the battlefield or a woman reaching the marriage age. The paper will conclude with a discussion on the role of flora and fauna in the creation and propagation of gender ideals that contribute to a gendered understanding of nature.

Myth, Womanhood & World Making: A Rereading of Zami

Myth, names and migration are tied. They are cartographic. They define the ontological plane and provide access to previously coded worlds. This is a response paper to a "rereading" of Audre Lorde's "Zami: A New Spelling of My Name - A Biomythography." It reflects on the connection between mythopoesis and migration in constructing alternative notions of womanhood.

The Oral Folk Literature of the Ancient Meiteis of Manipur: An Analysis of its Cultural Significance by Thounaojam Caesar and Reena Sanasam

Oral narratives are the earliest forms of storytelling as they exist in every culture as a part of religious rituals, folk music and songs. They include ritual texts, curative chants, epic poems, musical genres, folk tales, creation stories, songs, myths, spells, legends, proverbs, riddles, tongue twisters, word games, recitations and other narratives not recorded in writing. With the invention of writing, the ancient forms of oral narratives have undergone a lot of changes and have become valuable works of literature. However, the charm of oral narratives often told by improvisation and even gestures as a part of tradition cannot be transcribed into literature. As oral stories are brought down from generation to generation and are committed only to the memory, the various stages of the growth of such narratives give an account of the culture of the people. These are the sources of popular entertainment and are closely associated with festivals and religious ceremonies. At present, our society feels the need to safeguard and protect these indigenous forms of arts from the danger of extinction due to the impacts of globalisation and commercial entertainments. The exploration of the meanings and themes of ancient narratives, in a broader social context, and the significant role of the variant folklore genres in maintaining collective wisdom, national identity, solidarity and traditional moral values are points of great concern in this study. Keywords: Oral Folk Literature, Ancient Meiteis, Cultural Significance, Manipur, India