Preserving the Culture of India Through Folklores and Storytelling
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Loading... - Advika Varma
- 18 Jan 2023
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Folklores and storytelling has formed the foundations of shared history, culture, and awareness amidst communities since ancient India.
So many of us have had the privilege of good night stories narrated by our grandparents. These night time stories were often filled with interesting myths and morals, and were a treat to the ears, weren’t they? Folktales and storytelling have been with us since forever. They were a major part of our childhood while growing up. Have you ever thought about the origins of folklores and storytelling in the Indian culture and their significance? The most basic understanding of the ‘folk’ that we’ve is that they’re related to ‘traditional’ and ‘native’, and sometimes ‘rural’. However, folklores and storytelling have a more nuanced and diverse background to them, especially in the Indian context, considering that the country is rife with so many different traditions, lifestyles, and art.
Folklores And Storytelling: The Oral Traditions
Folklores and storytelling were oral traditions but thanks to literature, most of these folktales and stories are now recorded in written formats. Years and years of ancient myths, dramas, and rituals in the form of prose narratives have been preserved and carried forward from generations to generations. The posterity of India’s rich oral tradition could only be preserved because of all the scholars, saints and writers who wrote down these stories.
One of the widely read, known and loved tales we all must have read sometime in our childhood are the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, Jataka tales of Buddhism, Panchatantras and Hitopadesha. These moralistic tales are built around expressions of strong self-reflections, righteousness, socio-political realities and deep insights. While these are the most famous and well known collection of tales, India, in fact, has diverse origins of stories and folktales, from distinct communities and tribes.
The Many Indian States And Their Many Legends
India is one of the most diverse countries in the world. Its regions have produced numerous stories revolving around a vast and broad array of themes, myths, rituals, and cultures. Most pertinent is the link between folktales and culture, which is very strong since stories from these culture form the very essence of their heritage and identities. Of course the tales from the north India have a different origin and cultural angles. Let’s take a look at some of folklores from different regions of India. Read More…
