Table Of ContentFolklore Foundation, India. Lokaratna Vol. IX, 2016. ISSN No.2347-6427
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Folklore Foundation, India. Lokaratna Vol. IX, 2016. ISSN No.2347-6427
LOKARATNA,
Vol. IX 2016
Lokaratna is the e-journal of the Folklore Foundation, Orissa, and
Bhubaneswar. The purpose of the journal is to explore the rich cultural tradition of Odisha for a wider readership. Any
scholar across the globe interested to contribute on any aspect of folklore is welcome. This volume represents the
articles on culture, folklore, education, and language pedagogy.
Cover Design : M.C. Lois Provost (Turchetti) is an Academic Performer, Artist Educator, Mythlore Researcher,
Canada
Folklore Foundation
President: Sri Sukant Mishra
Managing Trustee and Director: Dr M K Mishra
Trustee: Sri Sapan K Prusty
Trustee: Sri Durga Prasanna Layak
Lokaratna is the official journal of the Folklore Foundation, located in
Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Lokaratna is a peer-reviewed academic journal in English.
The objectives of the journal are:
To invite writers and scholars to contribute their valuable research papers on any
aspect of Odishan Folklore either in English or in Oriya. They should be based on the
theory and methodology of folklore research and on empirical studies with substantial
field work.
To publish seminal articles written by senior scholars on Odia Folklore, making them
available from the original sources.
To present lives of folklorists, outlining their substantial contribution to Folklore
To publish book reviews, field work reports, descriptions of research projects and
announcements for seminars and workshops.
To present interviews with eminent folklorists in India and abroad.
Any new idea that would enrich this folklore research journal is
welcome.
Book Review is made by Folklore Foundation. So new books may be sent to the
following address:
Dr Mahendra K Mishra
Request for online/manuscript submissions should be addressed to Mahendra Kumar
Mishra, Editor in Chief, Lokaratna, Folklore Foundation, Bhubaneswar, Odisha- 751010
Lokaratna Vol- IX, 2016
An e - journal of Folklore Foundation,
Odisha, Bhubaneswar
Editor in Chief: Dr Mahendra K Mishra
Editorial Board Dr. Anand Mahanand, EFLU, Hyderabad, Executive Editor
Dr Subhendu Mund,Eminent poet and Critic of Indian Literature,Bhubaneswar
Dr Harekrushna Meher, Retired Professor of Sanksrit, Odisha
Professor Ranjan K. Panda, IIT Bombay
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Folklore Foundation, India. Lokaratna Vol. IX, 2016. ISSN No.2347-6427
Dedication
This volume of Lokaratna is dedicated to
the memory of Prof John Miles Foley,
professor, Department of Oral Traditions in
Missourie University, USA. He was the
noted scholar of Oral Epic Research in our
time to explore the unspoken narratives of
the human civilization.He was our
inspiration to delve us in to the ocean of
folklore.
We the members of folklore foundation offer
our heartfelt gratitude to his immortal soul.
He will always be remembered by us for
thought and knowledge manifested in his
letters.
Mahendra Kumar Mishra
Editor in Chief
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Folklore Foundation, India. Lokaratna Vol. IX, 2016. ISSN No.2347-6427
Lokaratna
From the Desk of the Chief Editor
In 1995, I met Prof John Miles Floey in the
IX International Society for Folk Narrtive Research (
ISFNR) in CIIL, Myslre.ives ,He listened to my paper
“Ethnic Identity and Oral Narratives” and asked me
about my research background. I expressed how
Indian rural scholars lacked reference books on
folklore , also the research problems. He asked me if I
had gone through the books of Milman Parry, Albert
B Lord and of course his own writings. I said, “I
have heard these names, but have no scope to read
them due to lack of librarary and lack of
purchansing such costly books from abroad. He gave a
smile and said, “Okay, when I go back please remind
me about the books. I may be of help to your work.”
I came back but forgot to write to him. One fine
evening I got my new computer and started e mailing
to my all connected folklorists writing to them
about my work on folklore. Foley, after getting my e
mail wrote to me, “I am sending some books for
you.”
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Folklore Foundation, India. Lokaratna Vol. IX, 2016. ISSN No.2347-6427
After a month or so, a huge parcel of books worth
about 45 000 rupees reached my home. I was
surprised to see these books which I had just not
expected.
Foley was kind enough to send all the published
Oral Tradition journal , and some valuable books on
oral Tradition, Epic formula, Epic Composition and
many books on oral epics.
It was his efforts that helped me to work on oral
epics of Kalahandi which appeared in 2008. I took
about 15 years in researching a rare genre of oral
epic narratives in Kalahandi reaching 7 ethnic
groups collecting and interpreting 24 epics texts..
It was his generosity to send such a huge stock of
books relevant to an Indian schopar working for the
forest people of Kalahandi.
Foley was the intellectual progeny of Albert B Lord
and MIlman Parry. His research has inspired many
Asian scholars and Institutions. The Chinese Institute of
Ethnic Literature is one, led by Prof.Chao Gegin. I
visited this institute in Beijing during 2012, I came
across many scholars of Prof Foley working in
Chinese oral tradition..
His absence is a great loss to the whole folklore
community of the globe. But his contribution has
led so many people inside and out side the
university to pursue his research and walk the
road for a quest for oral tradition. Now about more
than 400 oral epics in this globe have been
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Folklore Foundation, India. Lokaratna Vol. IX, 2016. ISSN No.2347-6427
significantly exploring teh most unknown areas of
culture that was orally perpformed. It is the
centurian work of Pary, Lord and Foley in West and
China , india, Vietnaam , Phillipines , Turkey and
the Central Asian states that have unravelled a new
horizon of oral epics of the lands , with out these , the
civilisational histories and its narratives are incomplete.
This volume is significant in terms of comleting 9 years
of Lokaratna, 9 is a number with cultural significance in
Indian myth. It represents the completeness of the matter. We
don’t f eel that we are eith er complete or incomplete. But we
are happy that the Lokaratna is gradually gaining
international attention and good number of articles are also
coming to us. This journal is also placed in many digital
libraries of the globe. This is a matter of great satisfaction. Need
less to say , till date we have not spent a single penny to
edit or produce the work due to the cooperation and
collaborative efforts of our friends. It is also because of the
contribution of technology, though it is always discussed that
technology is enemy of traditional folklore. But the reduction fo
digital divide and access of trchnology to the mst nonliterate
communities signifies the cord of both the end and ensures that ,
humanity can survive, by both the end of human
existence.
I am thankful to Dr Anand Mahanand, the executive editor
with out whose efforts this work could not have made possible. I
am also thankful to the contributors who have faith on our
intellectual endeavour.I am also thankful to Prof Mark
Turin,University of British Columbia,USA for his kind support
to publish this journal in his web site for a wider
dissemination across the globe.
Mahendra Kumar Mishra
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Folklore Foundation, India. Lokaratna Vol. IX, 2016. ISSN No.2347-6427
Editorial
Memory, Loss and Retrieval
Collective memory is the base on which forms of folklore
usually flourish. But the base for the memory is the community and
its core values, such as cooperation, commonality, caring and sharing.
As we are moving towards the life style that is based on corporate
culture, individual identities, fragmentations, cyber space and post modernism, such community
based values are fading away from our society. As a result, the folk forms, performances, rituals
and practices which normally flourish under such values are also diminishing day by day. There
have been multiple attempts towards preservation, documentation and dissemination of these
forms both at the government and non-governmental levels. Writers have a unique way of
making use of these folk forms and integrating them to other forms. They make use of folk
myths, folk sayings and songs in their master pieces in myriad creative and innovative ways.
The works of Tagore, Karnad and Mahasweta Devi exemplify such innovative attempts. This
how folklore and literature are beautifully blended. Language and pedagogy also play an
important role in disseminating these forms. We re happy to note that we have been able to bring
all these forms and practices together in this volume of Lokaratna. These articles enlighten us on
issues related to these forms in the present contexts. Each contributor of this issue made a
significant contribution towards the above mentioned goal.
Sarita Sahaya in her article titled ― Mythological Conception of Tridev and Indian Society:
Beliefs, Philosophy and Social Control‖ discusses believers‘ comparision to the power of the
trinity with state machinaries. Thus, she tries to connect the past with present in a very interesting
way. C.M Bandhu, on the other hand in an article titled ― Bharath: Oral Epics and their
Performances in the Himalayas‖ discusses how different forms o folk oral epics are performed in
the himalyan regions. Tatyanya Fedosova in her article ―Altai Heoic Epos and Its Role in
Forming Ethnic identity‖ explores how epic can play a significant role in forging ethnic identity
of a community. P. Subbachari‘s paper ―The Concept of Mental Text of Epic – An Encounter of
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Folklore Foundation, India. Lokaratna Vol. IX, 2016. ISSN No.2347-6427
East and West‖ compares the process of learning orally in Indin tradition and the literature
created in that process. His intensive study and elaborate description of research lay bare a rare
and unique tradition. .N.S Grebennikova‘s article ―Landscape Codes in the Culture of
Mountainous Altai‖ explores how landscape codes help us to unravel and understand signs and
their significance. Mahendra K. Mishra in his informative and scholarly article ― Tribal Folklore
and Oral Tradition‖ discusses the role of community in the making of culture and curriculum and
underlines that the role of the community should not be overlooked as it plays a significant role
in participation and preparation of pedagogy of the child. Digambar M. Ghodke in his article ―
Language and Culture of the Waddar Community in Maharastra‖ gives an overall view of the
unique culture and language of the Waddar Community in Maharastra. Indranil Acharya and
Anjali Atto in their article ―Politics of Cultural Amnesia :A Case Study of Machhani Folk Drama
Form of Purulia‖ discuss the Machhani folk form in detail and explain how the form became a
victim of the politics of exclusion. They interrogate the criteria set by the western experts for an
endangered folk theatre and highlight the features that make them immortal.Jayanta Kumar Dash
in his article‖ Happiness to Gross National Happiness: A Theoretal Perspective‖ gives a
historical perspective of happiness and explains what it means in Bhutan in the context of
constitutional commitment. Hari Madhav Ray in his article ― Riddles and Leisure Time Ridling in
Rajbanshi‖ analyses ten riddles that are available in Rajbanshi language and describe their soci-
cultural specificity and distinctness. Shradha Sharma‘s article ― Heroes of a Folktale‖ deals with
features of folktales and message they provide to us. D Aradhana Das and Debashsish
Mohapatra in their article ―Loyalty Towards Own Language and Culture: A Case Study of Tai
Phake discuss how language is being used to capture political power, how they can face danger
and what should we do to preserve our languages. They also throw light on how loss of language
can lead to loss of identity, culture and so on. Shaktipada Kumar in his article ― Purulia Chhou
Dance: A Mnemocultural Response to the Performing Traditions of India‖ foregrounds the
vigorous and artistic dance form which has wild and aesthetic body movements. He introduces
the dance form, elaborates its feature and highlights how it is different from other forms and its
significance in the history and culture of the people. Sarat Kumar Jena‘s article ―Colonial
Modernity in British Odisha and the Rise of Fictional Narratives in Odia Literature: Locating
Gopinath Mohanty‘s Tribal Narratives‖ foregrounds how colonial modernity had an impact on
the writings of the time. He foregrounds this impact by analysing different aspects of the novel
Paraja.Ratna Prabha Barik‘s article‖ Human Rights and Constitutional Safeguards of Tribals
india: A Theoreticl Perspecive‖ makes a study of the relationship between human rights and
constitutional rights of the tribal people. Anuja Mohan Pradhan‘s article ―An Orthography for
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Folklore Foundation, India. Lokaratna Vol. IX, 2016. ISSN No.2347-6427
Kui Language‖ deals with the need for a suitable coding procedure for Kui language which
should be easier to adopt by children at the primary level and for dissemination. Nguyen Huynh
Trang and Hemanga Dutta in their article ―Language Attitudes and English as a Global
Linguafranca: An Empirical Study among the Overseas Vietnamese Students‖ explore the
language attitudes of Vietnamese towards English. Subhasis Nanda‘s article ― Text, Text Factors
and Reading Comprehension: Issues of Bilingual Learners‖ discusses how a text type, its length
and form can have an impact on reading comprehension of bilingual learners. In a related article
titled, ― First Language as a Resource in the ESL Writing Classroom‖ N. Satish Kumar explores
the use of learners L1 to facilitate language learning. Jayanta Kumar Das in his article ―
Language Syllabus: Perspectives from Educational Value Systems, Linguistics and
Psycholinguistics‖ discusses the factors that lead to change of syllabi and explores criteria for
designing appropriate syllabus. Aishwarya Gulati and Archana Gulati‘s article ―Imaging the
Mind:Portrayal of Contemporary Issues in Visual Arts‖ deals with representation of
contemporary problems depicted in visual arts. Tara Purnima in her article ― The Tales of the
Tribes: Animation as Participatory Film-making Practice‖ discusses the participatory aspect of
animation film. Binay Pattanayak‘s article ― M-TALL Akhra: Children‘s Languages in Quality
Education in Jharkhand, India‖ deals with the role of M-TALL Akhra in imparting education to
children effectively.The articles are thus, scholarly contributions and interventions to prevalent
issues and ideas.A field based research paper on pata paiantings of Odisha written by
Mamata Dash entitled Feminization of Folk Art: A case study of Patta Painting Of Odisha
,explores the gendered discourse of folk art. The Lotha-Naga Traditional Cultural Beliefs and
Practices: Reflections in Folk Narratives written by Rembemo Odyuo reflects the beliefs
and customs as narrated in the oral tradition of Naga community.
. The Volume includes three book reviews. In addition to these we two interviews of
prominent scholars of language studies namely Professor Ganesh N. Devy and Professor
Michael Kenstowicz. The Lokaratn Khajanaa section includes Baul songs of Bengal in English
translation. It also has five folktales. We hope that the articles, reviews, interviews and folk
forms will be an enlightening and interesting treat to our readers. We thank the contributors for
their contributions. We also thank Subhasis Nanda for formatting and proof-reading the articles.
Thanks are due to Dr Mahendra K. Mishra, Editor-in-Chief and our editorial team members for
reviewing the articles and giving their valuable feed- back. Finally we wish our readers Happy
Reading!
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Folklore Foundation, India. Lokaratna Vol. IX, 2016. ISSN No.2347-6427
Anand Mahanand,
Executive Editor, Lokaratna
CONTENTS
Sl no. Title Page
no.
From the Chief Editor‘s Desk 3- 9
Editorial
1 Contents 10-12
2 Culture, Folklore and Literature
3 "Mythological Conception of Tridev and Indian Society: Beliefs, Philosophy and 13-20
Social Control"
Sarita Sahaya
4 Bharat : Oral Epics and Their Performances in the Himalayas 21-28
C.M. Bandhu
5 Altai Heroic Epos And Its Role In Forming Ethnic Identity 29-35
Tatyana Fedosova
6 The Concept of Mental Text of Epic – An Encounter of East and West 36-43
P. Subbachary
7 Landscape Сodes in the Сulture of Mountainous Altai 44-50
N.S. Grebennikova
8 Tribal Folklore and Oral Tradition 51-65
Mahendra K Mishra
9 Language and Culture of the Waddar Community in Maharashtra 66-82
Digambar M. Ghodke
10 Politics of Cultural Amnesia:A Case Study of Machhani Folk Drama Form of Purulia 83-95
Indranil Acharya
Anjali Atto
11 Happiness To Gross National Happiness: A Theoritical Perspective 96-108
Jayanta Kumar Dash
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