THE TERM "FOLKLORE"
Folklore is perhaps as old as mankind. This term was suggested by William
Thoms, a British antiquarian in 1846. Thoms has realized that scholarly work
on materials of folkloristic nature was being carried on under various labels
such as "Popular Antiquities" or "Popular Literature"
and therefore needed a single label to designate this area of inquiry. He
therefore suggested "a good Saxon compound Folk-Lore - the Lore of the
people" to replace all other somewhat cumbersome terms, in a letter to
the Athenaeum
.
Thoms' coining of the term folklore, as he himself accepted in the same letter,
does not mean, as some people believe, that work on materials of folkloric
nature began with the coining of this term. The truth is that materials of
folklore had been studied with scholarly interest long before Thoms coined
the term. Besides the works of the Grimm Brothers, particularly of J. Grimm,
whose "household tales"![2. See, Deutsche Kinder and Hausmärchen [Tales for the Children and the Family] (Berlin, 1912).](../folklore%20intro/paw_pi.gif){kind=small}
appeared in 1812, and was recognized by Thoms himself,
and which is very often used as evidence by Western scholars to trace the
growth of folkloristic studies,
scholarly collections of folklore materials were done in Asia, particularly
India. One should have no doubt about Kathasaritsagara, Pañcatantra
or Jataka of being much older works than Grimms'
Thoms himself, as I said, appreciated the work of Grimm and wished if someone like him could do similar scholarly work in British Islands. Consider his following remarks :
"… until some James Grimm shall arise who shall do for the Mythology of the British Islands the good service which that profound antiquary and philologist has accomplished for the Mythology of Germany. The present Century has scarcely produced a more remarkable book, imperfect as its learned author confesses it to be, than the second edition of the "Deutsche Mythologie" and, what is it? -a mass of minute facts, many of which, when separately considered, appear trifling and insignificant, ---but, when taken in connection with the system into which his master-mind has woven them, assume a value that he who first recorded them never dreamed of attributing to them [Athenaeum, No. 982 (August 22, 1946), pp. 862-63].
This then should dispel the wrong thoughts some scholars of folklore might be having about the beginnings of folkloristic studies. That folklore studies had begun much earlier than the coining of the term "folklore" by Thoms, needs hardly to be emphasized.
WILLIAM THOMS' DEFINITION
At the time Thoms coined this term, it seems he had a very clear idea
in his mind as to what he meant by folklore. This, however, does not mean
that Thoms presented a definition of folklore in the manner we would have
expected him to attempt one, keeping in view our present standards and controversies.
But Thoms certainly had some kind of an itemized view of folklore in mind.
His words and phrases such as "manners", "customs", "neglected
customs", "fading legends", "fragmentary ballads",
etc., do present a rough outline as to what folklore meant to him and also
present a picture of his increasing awareness of folklore, which was "closely
associated with nineteenth century intellectual currents of romanticism and
nationalism" (Dundes, 1965:4).
William Thoms' contribution in coining and introducing the term "folklore",
as we realize it now, had two important consequences for the global folklore
scholarship. In the first place it lead to the establishment of an academic
discipline known as folklore (or folkloristics) in many parts of the world.
Secondly, it also generated a long and unending controversy, perhaps unknown
in the history of any other discipline of equal strength, about the definition
and, more often than not, about what should and should not be included in
the gamut of this new field of inquiry.
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DIVERSE APPROACHES
Historically speaking, many new fields of inquiries, sometimes investigating
similar data ushered into the era of cultural studies, almost under similar
circumstances, since Thoms coined the term folklore. With the result a variety
of overlappings occurred in the sense that many disciplines began studying
the same cultural phenomenon, and at times on identical lines. This arose
controversies regarding the boundaries of each area. The inevitable result
was that each discipline armed with imperialistic concept of annexing as much
as possible, began trying to bring the other discipline under its own umbrella.
For example, since folk literature (text bases ballads, epics, myths, etc.)
were being studied, both by literary scholars, representing the discipline
of literature, and folklorists, sometimes on similar lines and sometimes differently
folklore studies denying it the status of a separate discipline with its own
distinct characteristics. (And in fact folklore studies began much later than
the establishment of strong departments of literature everywhere. This trend
continued and still continues even in many developed countries of the world)
.
Similarly, when non-literary artifacts of cultures were studied by folklorists,
anthropologists behaved exactly in the manner scholars of literature had in
the case of studies carried on text-oriented folk literature. The real problem
was, and still continues, that the data a folklorist normally studies falls
within the province of two or more disciplines and this generates controversy
regarding the boundaries of the disciplines in question. Moreover, each discipline
at times was studying the same thing differently depending on the indigenous
methods of the discipline concerned. Unlike pure sciences, such as Physics
and Chemistry where the concept of a molecule or atom may be studied by both
and may in fact generate a similar theoretical attitude in both the sciences
and both may as well study the same substance or a phenomenon in an identical
manner and yet not cause any controversy, social scientists seem to be behaving
entirely differently. They do sometimes seem to recognize the fact on a purely
theoretical level, that a given phenomenon needs to be studied by an united
effort irrespective of the hard-to-define lines drawn between various disciplines,
but when it comes to practical handling of the data among various cultures
they seem to ignore this theoretical postulate. Folklore, unfortunately, has
been a very bad victim of these double standards.
Very few scholars seem to have realized that the links which connect folklore
on the one hand with humanities and on the other with social sciences, are
so strong that ignoring them might put, not only folklore studies, but even
those subjects that represent humanities and social sciences, into jeopardy.
While it seems necessary to draw a line, however thinner it might look, between
the areas a folklorist studies and the areas that come under the gamut of
related disciplines, at least for marking the boundaries of the discipline,
the fact remains that folklore still concerns many disciplines and will certainly
be studied across disciplines and sometimes with entirely different perspectives.
For example, an anthropologist studying a given phenomenon of a culture say
kinship system, almost always uses folklore data as supportive evidence to
sustain his conclusions about kinship system. Similarly a literary scholar
tends to relate a literary piece or its certain aspects such as theme etc.,
he studies to an item or items of folklore. A historian, particularly in the
present times when academic faith in written histories has begun to shake,
uses folkloric evidence for reconstructing the real history of the masses.
Known as "oral history", this kind of history-writing is practiced
in communities or cultures who lack all forms of written documentation of
their past. Obviously the objective here too is to write the history and not
study the folklore item for its own sake. A linguist or a psychologist in
the same manner uses folklore data for their own purposes. Their main concern
has primarily been, and rightly so, to study a given phenomenon in their own
purposes. Their main concern has primarily been, and rightly so, to study
a given phenomenon in their own fields of inquiries and use folklore data
as supportive evidence whenever possible. A folklorist, on the contrary, studies
a given item of folklore for its own sake and in doing so he relates the item
to the culture as a whole. Thus in a way both types of scholars engage themselves
more or less in a similar exercise. However, a real folklorist nevertheless
uses his own techniques and methods to study an item of folklore. For example
a folklorist, if he is a narrative specialist, studies the structure, language,
motifs and style of a narrative; its problems of diffusion, dissemination,
aspects of narration and the narrator, besides the factors other scholars
sometimes study. It is precisely at this point that a folklorist's work becomes
different than the work of a literary scholar, or a historian. That folklore
items need the attention of such scholars as well, besides the folklorist
himself, needs hardly to be emphasized. In a country like India this kind
of collective attention gains more prominence in view of the fact that Indian
heritage, Indian history and the complex Indian cultural system. This complexity
is such that no folklorist can describe it correctly or interpret it accurately
without the help of scholars representing other related disciplines.
Before commenting upon the concepts of material culture and folklife - a
new dimension added to traditional folklore scholarship - it is important
for a student of folklore to have a rough idea of what falls under folklore
and what remains outside it.
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A WORKING DEFINITION
Although it is difficult to suggest a ready-made framework in which folklore
items of various cultures or nations can be fixed, yet there does exist an
internationally accepted format which, with a little modification, can be
followed in respect of each culture or nation. This concept has been the guiding
principle for collection, indexing, archieving and above all analyses of global
folklore data. However, if a culture shows that the format does not suit its
requirements, which theoretically speaking, seems very rare, then a new format
needs to be devised. The point is that there is no known human society which
does not posses folklore. All available evidence leads us to believe that
all human societies have folktales, myths, folksongs, proverbs, riddles, ballads,
folk dances, etc. Despite this universal trait, there however are some genres
which seem to be culture-specific. For example, it has been noticed that some
cultures are particularly rich in certain genres. It is well known that the
fairy tale (märchen) is primarily a narrative genre of Indo-European
peoples which ahs diffused into other cultures and in the process also undergone
some changes. The types of transformed märchen one finds among American
Indians, Central and South African cultures are the fine examples of this
kind of diffusion. Similarly, based on my own observations, the Dravidian
cultures of southern India seem very rich in the genres of folk dance and
drama than the Indo-Aryans of northern parts of the country; who seem to have
thrieved in narrative forms. Moreover, it is to have thrieved in narrative
forms. Moreover, it is also true that diffusion and diverse dissemination
of folklore materials result in the mixing up of certain genres or in other
words two or more genres may lose the distinction by which they could be separately
recognized. This loss may be functional, structural or even both. For instance,
in Tamil and Kannada it seems proverbs and riddles are in free variation in
certain situations.
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FOLKLORE AND FOLKLIFE
However, despite these problems of genre and analytical categories, folklore
has been defined differently by different scholars.
These definitions not only define the folkloric phenomenon, but also try to
list the genres which make this phenomenon. Naturally, as I said earlier,
the controversies emerged, and these as expected centred around the same old
problem trying to draw a line between cultural anthropology and folklore studies.
Within these definitions, and outside them in the wider academic circles -
both of anthropology and of folklore - there was at least one thing on which
by and large all seemed to agree and that was folk literature or to use Bascom's
term "verbal art".
Scholars generally seemed to be in agreement that verbal art or folk literature
is folklore and is a separate area of inquiry, different from cultural anthropology.
But when it came to stretching the word folklore to include, besides verbal
arts or oral literature, material culture, social folk customs, performing
folk arts, etc., generally designated by the term folklife, the controversies
became more evident. Scholars began suspecting that both the student of folklife
and cultural anthropology might be finally studying the same subject matter
with identical theoretical perspective and hardly different conclusions. Ward
H. Goodenough puts to rest such speculations in his following remarks:
He further states:"The separation of cultural anthropology and folklife study … is not a reflection of an intrinsic difference in their respective subject matter; rather it is a reflection on how Euro-American scholars have identified themselves with the peoples whose customs and cultures they study. Anthropology - because of its early concentration on peoples with hunting and horticultural economics, on the mistaken assumption that they were fossilized relics of a general past human state - has come to be associated popularly with the study of so-called primitive peoples. But the designation primitive peoples. But the designation primitive hardly fits the people who produced the civilizations of Central and South America, of West Africa and of the Orient. Consequently anthropology has come to be viewed more recently as the study of non-Western peoples. The disciplines of rural sociology and folklore in the United States and of folklife in Europe, on the other hand, dealt with Western peoples. There is nothing wrong with such a division of labour on practical grounds. What has been wrong is the false assumption by some that it represented a basic difference in the kinds of phenomena studied, an assumption following from an ethno-centric conceit of the sort expressed in the idea 'the white man's burden'" (1976 : 19-20).
"We are reaching a point where we can say that folklife represents that aspect of cultural anthropology which concentrates on the study of one's own national cultural heritage. When an American studies Japanese community he is doing anthropology, whereas his Japanese colleague is studying folklife. When a Japanese anthropologist studies an American community, he is doing anthropology, but an American working in same community is studying folklife" (Ibid. : 20).
Many anthropologists and folklorists might not agree with Goodenough as far
as this definition is concerned. However, it clearly demarcates the areas
of folklife studies and cultural anthropology. Goodenough, as it seems, concentrates
on local and non-local (or native and non-native) aspects of cultural studies
and makes it the dividing line between cultural anthropology and folklife
study. He, in fact, believes that the subject matter and the approaches of
both are invariably the same. While there can be no doubt about the subject
matter being the same for both; the claim that the approaches of studying
them are also same seems highly doubtful. Wouldn't Goodenough agree that given
the same subject matter to a folklife specialist and a cultural anthropologist
for study, the results would not be the same. For example, the study of the
"Folk Boats of Eastern French Louisiana",
"The Whitaker-Waggoner Log House from Morgan Country",
or "Tollgate Lore from Upstate New York: A Contribution to Folk-Cultural
Studies"
published in the same volume in which Goodenough makes the above distinction,
are not, strictly speaking, the kind of studies the cultural anthropologists
normally do. One of the basic differences is in the manner the data as his
'own'; looks at it from the viewpoint of his 'self' being a part of the phenomenon.
Furthermore, he also hesitates to treat this phenomenon as 'past' instead
looks at it as a part of the present and not far form 'civilization' but a
living aspect of his civilization. These and other attitudes certainly change
the dimensions of theoretical bias; and folklore specialists begin thinking
of their area of inquiry as a living phenomenon with hopes both for the present
and future. "Our only opportunity", writes Nils-Arvid Bringéus,
"of obtaining an all round study of folklife is still and always will
be the present way of life itself … In the future we must not simply
be content with reminiscences instead testimonies. We must also study what
is alive. We must learn to find easier ways of getting into homes, not just
old people's homes, to densely populated areas instead of to the sparsely
ones. The ethnologist is looking for the normal situation. Superficially it
may mean that ethnology becomes less historical. But its objectives in the
study of society must still be to demonstrate the part played by tradition
as the motor of our culture. Consequently, a historical perspective is needed
in an analysis of the present and in planning the future" (1968). Thus,
it is clear that folklife studies do not focuss on the ramnants of primitive
cultures "still alive today", instead such studies focuss on the
individual in the midst of social conflict, the present and the future.
Richard M. Dorson, has outlined four broad sectors of folklore and folklife studies. These are:
1) Oral literature,
2) Material culture,
3) Social folk custom, and
4) Performing folk arts
Let us examine these four groups in respect of folklore and folklife data
of India.
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ORAL LITERATURE
Oral literature called verbal art or expressive literature are "spoken,
sung, and voiced forms of traditional utterances". Traditionally this
has been known as folk literature as well. Oral narrative is one big sub-division
of this group, which in turn has its own manifold distinctions. For example,
myth, fairy tale or märchen, romantic tale or novella, religious tale,
folktale, legend, animal tale, anecdote, joke, numskull tale, etc., are the
major forms of oral narrative genre. Each of these forms will have many sub-forms
depending on the culture in which the form or forms are available. For example,
myths have many forms particularly in India. Etiological myths are very common
in out country, and so are religious myths. Many of these ancient myths and
the religious tales have been recorded in ancient works such as the Kathasaritsagara,
etc. Similarly we have the world's best tradition of written animal tales
as evidenced by famous Pan?catantra and Jataka. Legends too have many forms,
but the historical legends of western India, particularly of Gujarat and Rajasthan
are very famous. Mythical legends and religious tales of south India are also
very well known.
Another major sub-division is oral poetry or folk poetry. This too has its own family of related forms. For example, folk epics, ballads, folksongs, lullabies, work songs and songs associated with ritual and rites (sam*skaras) such as birth, marriage and death are commonly found in almost all parts of India. And so is the rich oral poetry connected with festive occasions, feasts and ceremonies. Holi", Di"pavali", Pongal, Onam, Durgapuja and Baisakhi" are well known such festivals of India.
Proverbs and riddles are also an important part of oral literature. Unlike prose narrative forms and oral poetry, proverbs and riddles do not show much multiple existence, but are highly structured set forms of oral literature. While proverbs and proverbial expressions have, due to reasons of their important functions in societies, now formed an inseparable part of the written literatures throughout the world; riddles have stayed in the folklife and still function in folk societies as important devices for imparting knowledge about cultural semantics, logic and the behavioural paradigms among the younger members of such societies. Many collections of proverbs and riddles in various Indian languages have appeared now.
Folk speech "embraces the local and regional turns of phrase that deviate
from the standard language" (Dorson, 1972 : 2) which is usually taught
in schools in an informal manner. One of the main characteristics of folk
speech is that it is more restricted to oral circulation. Within the total
vocabulary of every speaker there is a large number of words that he never
writes and seldom uses in formal situations. These words or expressions may
be taboo words or expressions or they may be a kind of passive vocabulary.
Moreover, these characteristics of folk speech are not only limited to vocabulary
but these exist at the level of grammar, idiom and phonetics. For example,
slang in this respect is folk speech. India abound in language diversity and
therefore the potential of folk speech research is great on this land. Besides
these major forms of oral literature, there are minor forms which also fall
under the above rubric. These are, chants, prayers, laments, cries and even
hollers.
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MATERIAL CULTURE
In contrast to verbal art or oral folklore, is physical folklore generally
called material culture. According to Dorson, "material culture responds
to techniques, skills, recipes and formulas transmitted across the generations
and subject to the same forces of conservative traditions and subject to the
same forces of conservative tradition and individual variation as verbal art"
(1972 :2). This aspect of folklore and folklife is visible rather than aural.
The kind of questions that concern a student of material culture are varied.
He might want to know how men and women in tradition-oriented societies construct
their homes following the traditional norms of folk architecture. He might
as well want to know how people in traditional societies "make their
clothes, prepare their food, farm and fish, process and earth's bounty, fashion
their tools, and implement and design their furniture and utencils" (Dorson,
1972 : 2-3). A student of material culture knows that this kind of folk behaviour
existed prior to and continues alongside mechanized industry and therefore
he might also compare the two traditions - the folk and the modern - and try
to establish correlations. For example, a student of folk architecture may
discern certain patterns in the overall folk architecture of a given folk
culture area and then find their modified, improved versions in the modern
present day architectural styles of the same region thereby proving the continuity
of folk designs in the modern urban civilization. By a similar endeavour he
might come up with similar results as regards food, tools, methods of agricultural
production, etc. In India most of such work is done by cultural anthropologists
although admittedly not from the same view-point a folklife expert would have
done. For example, despite the massive anthropological effort in the sub-continent
very little has been done in the area of folk costumes, folk architecture
and folk food. A real folklife study in India will make some impact on the
Indian folklore scholarship when we shall have books and specialized papers
on the fishermen of coastal Kerala, carpet-making of Mirzapur, the Patas of
Midnapur, the pottery and toy-making of Assam, the dyers and quilt makers
of Rajasthan, the agricultural tools and bullock carts fashioned by Gadia
Lohars, the boat-makers of Kashmir, the huts of high altitude living Gojars,
the ox-rearers of Haryana, the silk weavers of Sambalpur and the basket making
crafts of Meiteis and Tangkhul Nagas of Manipur. All these matters are the
genius of Indian folk culture, threatened by the rapid growth of industrial
society and still ignored and neglected. However, the potential of this area
is very great in a country like India where most of the people still live
in tradition-oriented societies and follow their folkways of life.
Folk arts and crafts, as is well known, are objects of material culture that simultaneously give pleasure and serve some practical social and economic end. "if a pleasure-giving function predominates the artefact is called art; if a practical function predominates it is called craft … the interior of a house is designed primarily as economic; its exterior is designed primarily to be seen, and its function may be classed as primarily as aesthetic" (Glassie, 1972 : 253).
One of the most interesting and fascinating aspects of material culture of India is its arts and crafts. These arts have followed definite continuity in the history of folk art of this country. Yet these art forms have not received the attention they deserve and are still in a state of neglect. Many of our well established museums and archives have not kept a corner for these traditional art forms. It is only recently that some attention has been given to preserve these forms of art. However, the style of life in Indian villages and the folkways of Indian masses in general have, and still are, helping these arts to survive the thrust of the changing times and the disdain Indian scholars have shown towards them.
Glassie's above interpretation does not touch upon the relationship of folk arts with social custom, religion or ritual. In the western context, which however seems the basis of Glassie's interpretation, it might not be so significant; but in India these arts and crafts besides having aesthetic and practical functions, have at times a ritualistic-religious function as well. In this sense then the study of Indian folk arts and crafts falls under both rubrics: Material Culture and Social Folk Custom. However, knowing that these categories are made more for reasons of academic arrangement for simplified teaching rather than to challenge or meddle with the highly complex problem of folklore genres, we though it proper to include a brief introduction to this aspect of folklife in the section on Material Culture, and thus follow the pedagogically oriented Dorsonian classification.
Folk arts in India have a vast range in terms of form, diversity and function. The decorative paintings on the rural homes, having both aesthetic and the ritualistic significance is a Pan-Indian phenomenon. Although the motifs of such paintings might vary from one region to another or from one folk culture zone to another, the structural unity seems by and large the same. For instance, the snake and sparrow motif is predominant in South and East coast; and animal, tree and flower motifs seems to dominate such art in northern plains. The ritualistic Rangoli", the Mehndi decoration on bride's hands, the Thapa of festive occasions are some of the best examples of this kind of folk art in India.
The impact of these artistic expressions on the Indian mind has been so great
that one finds these basic folk designs, irrespective of their aesthetic or
ritualistic objective, forming, the fundamental pattern of the higher artistic
expressions such as architectural excellence of temples, etc. Some of this
folk art has also begun to influence the modern socio-economic structure of
our cottage industry. For example, the Sanganer prints, Kashmir rugs, Muradabad
brassware, Karnataka sandal and rosewood inlay works, leather work of Tamilnadu
and the bamboo work of central and north-eastern India are becoming prestigious
export items of modern Indian cottage industry. These are, as is well known,
the polished versions of the ancient folk art of this country. Studying these
folk arts and the changes that have occurred to them is certainly one of the
most interesting and challenging areas of Indian folklife studies.
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SOCIAL FOLK CUSTOMS
Another important area of folklore and folklife, very close to material
culture, is the field of social custom. "Here the emphasis is on group
interaction rather than on individual skills and performances" (Dorson,
1972:3). Investigations in this area are more concerned about the family and
community observances of the people living in villages, tribal belts and even
industrial areas of Indian cities. Of particular importance are the rites
de passage of birth, initiation, marriage, death and similar rites. These
rites, as is well known, have special significance in Hindu life and therefore
have a well spread field. songs and tales and other forms of oral literature
associated with these rites form an essential part of the first sector, i.e.,
Oral Literature, while as social custom and ritualistic observances are studied
in Social Folk Custom.
Similarly the ritual and custom associated with the festivals, such as Holi", Di"pavali in north and central India, Durgapuja in the east and south, Gauri"-Ganapati in the west coast, Pongal and Onam in deep south and hundreds of similar festivals also form an important segment of Social Folk Custom. These festivals, just like the rites may have literary as well as ritualistic aspect. Most of these festivals in our country seem to be embedded with agricultural activity and therefore follow a calendrical cycle. Moreover these may also be closely associated with the concepts of Indian world view ad the religious practices. For example, there are thousands of little customs and ritualistic practices being observed by Indian village folks for the sake of rains, agricultural prosperity and for warding off natural calamities such as floods, famines, etc. Among the tribal populations such practices are more common.
The religious aspects of Social Folk Custom in India are multidimensional
and highly complex. This aspect also encompasses the most complex caste hierarchy
we have in our society and the world has ever known. This also concerns the
network of interrelations the caste hierarchy has with the religious hierarchy.
For example, besides the by and large pan-Indian mode of worshipping the Hindu
Pantheon, there are other modes of worship in India which seem to be very
ancient and are still practised by a sizeable population. Despite intense
acculturation that has taken place between the established pan-Indian modes
or "great tradition" and the local modes of worship, the "little
tradition" one finds elements which do distinguish one from the other.
The Bhuta and Teyyam worship in the south-west coastal India is a good example
to show the process of intense acculturation and the survival of indigenous
cultural traits
Similarly the religious practices of many tribal groups of the country, who
did not maintain close contact with the established mainstream religious system
also shows maintenance of indigenous modes of worship which have obviously
been preserved carefully. Even in the established pan-Indian religious systems,
there seem to have appeared, from time to time, fresh waves of religious thought
which have created new sub-divisions and made the already complex caste system
of the land more complex. These and other aspects of Social Folk Custom naturally
become the concern of a student of Indian folklore and folklife.
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PERFORMING FOLK ARTS
The fourth and the last sector of folklore and folklife studies may be
designated as the Performing Folk Arts. This sector concerns primarily traditional
music, dance and drama. The word performance in the growing new thought of
folkloristics, especially in the contextualists' jargon, is associated with
every item of folklore, irrespective of its generic applications. According
to this school all items of folklore when delivered are performed. However,
performance here strictly means the conscious presentation of these arts -
dance, drama, folk music, etc. - by individuals or groups who carry these
art forms from one generation to another. Dorson further clarifies it. According
to him, "while the renditions of a folktale or a folk song are now usually
referred to as performances, they are more casual in nature than the conscious
presentation of these arts by individuals or groups with folk instruments,
dance costumes and scenario props. The performing arts intersect each with
the other and often appear in conjunction" (Dorson, 1972 :4).
One of the most important areas of this sector is the traditional music, which is "passed on by ear and performed by memory rather than by the written or printed musical score" (List, 1972 : 363). Besides having its limited independent place in the genre of performing folk art, traditional music, as we are aware, usually crosses generic barriers and forms part of many other genres. For example, folk dance, folk drama, dance-drama, oral poetry, ritual and prayers always carry some element of music with them.
Folk music, more often than not, is confused with popular music. Avoiding
the pitfalls of controversy about 'folk' and 'non-folk', suffice it to say
here that "folk music and popular music are not synonymous terms although
as forms they share common traits. Popular music may or may not be transmitted
by the musical score. It is often varied in performance and at times is improvisatory
in nature. Popular music, however, is generally an ephemeral commercial product
intended for mass consumption rather than a tradition known and practised
in a restricted area or by a sub-culture" (List, 1972 : 364). However,
in India, cities and villages have always been in contact and popular and
folk music have influenced each other. Folk music has not only influenced
popular music in India but also some of the classical forms of music. In recent
years we find popular forms (such as the cinema music) and the classical forms
influencing the folk forms. For example, many folksongs have been created
or rather designed on the basis of popular cinema or movie tunes and so have
the cinema song writers used many folk tunes in their lyric productions. The
classical music has similarly penetrated into folk forms. The music of the
Tot?t?ams of highly ritualized Teyyam performances in coastal Kerala seems
to imitate the classical musical scores of the Vedic rituals.
If one compares the musical scores of both one would clearly notice that the
classical forms have been adapted for the expression of folk content.
India has a rich tradition of ancient folk music. The cultural diversity of the land multiplied the forms of these traditions and made them more colourful and enchanting. The potential of collecting, preserving and even using the traditional music of this country for mass entertainment and other cultural purposes is so great that even a generation of hard work may not be enough. Moreover, for the sake of theoretical purposes also traditional music of India has a hidden potential. In fact it can, perhaps, answer many complex questions ethno-musicologists have been facing not only in respect of Indian traditional musical systems, but of the entire south Asian musical phenomena. For example, there seems a kind of inbuilt categories in Indian folk music which might answer the problem of genres scholars find hard to explain in this kind of folkloric phenomenon. Traditional musical systems and associated dance forms have generic names. Kajari", Li"la, Phag, Bhajans, Jhumars, etc., are not mere names of folk tunes but folk categories denoting genres and their complex relations. In a way they look as simple terms for complex folkloric phenomena.
Of equal importance are the traditional musical instruments of this land. In fact a particular kind of folk music is, at times, identifiable by its instruments only. Just as a tale or a folksong is passed on from one generation to another by word of mouth so is the instrument and the kind of music associated with it passed on from one generation to another by ear and memory. The impact of instruments on folk music in India, as elsewhere, is so strong that many kinds of folk traditions are known by the name of the instrument or instruments. For example, Lad?i"shah of Kashmir, Pen?a of Manipur, Kamsa of Karnataka, are not only the names of instruments but strong folk musical traditions.
Not much serious work has been done in the area of folk musical traditions
of India. In fact the area of -- a well developed branch of folkloristics
in the West -- is yet to take shape in our country. The work of government
sponsored Sangit Natak Akademi at New Delhi and its regional counterparts
in the States have begun to collect and archive folk music of various regions
of the country. A few non-governmental agencies have also taken up the task
of collecting and archiving these rich treasures of folklore .
However, these efforts do not match the vastness of folk music that India
is, and should be, proud of.
A similar situation exists when we talk of folk dances and the highly sophisticated classical dance forms of India. That they have not only influenced each other, but have in fact nourished each other is a fact that hardly needs emphasis. "In the Indian sub-continent", writes Kapila Vatsyayan, "… dance forms … have survived, whose origins can be traced back to pre-historic times; new forms have grown up in other places; the buoyant tenacity with which they have continued in spite of many momentous historical, sociological changes presents a bewilderingly rich and complex phenomenon" (1976 :14). Scholars who believe that folk and classical dance traditions have remained separate are in fact ignoring the multidimensional complexities of Indian culture. The interdependence of these equally strong traditions can be measured only when we try to fathom the depth of these complexities. "Each cultural unit of India", comments Vatsyayan again, "is one such multidimensional sphere, which moves around its own axis, and has a relationship of interdependence and communicability with other such units" (1976 : 16).
Folklorists who specialize in performing folk arts of India, particularly
dance forms are sure to face the problem of classical and non-classical or
the so-called "great tradition" and "little tradition".
The success of a skilled folklorist does not lie in wasting his energies in
drawing lines between folk and non-folk traditions (which however do not seem
to exist; or even if they do, they are in such a everchanging and floating
condition, that it would be a kind of deceptive illusion to claim that one
can hold on to such lines); but in viewing the entire phenomenon of continuities,
of changes, of mutations, and transformations; for these are so essential
for a living civilization that India is.
Like folk music, the area of Indian folk dances is also very vast. Most of the time they go together and share many important characteristics. Furthermore, these art forms not only require the keen eye of an expert as far as the ear and action is concerned, they also need equal attention for the costumes, stage, instruments, the audience and the overall interaction of all these aspects, which are essential for the totality of the performance. For example, studying Vatal Damaly of Kashmir, Kud of Jammu, Gaddi" of Himachal Pradesh, Jagar, Rasali"la, Ramali"la, Naut?anki" of Uttar Pradesh, Bhangr?a of Punjab, Phalgun Daph of Haryana, Chhau of Bengal, Jadur, Rijai Langi, Jata-Jatin of Bihar, Saila, Rina, Kaksar and Mancha of Madhya Pradesh, Paik, Maya Shavari" of Orissa, Jhumar, Gauri" of Rajasthan, Rasa, Garba of Gujarat, Tamasa, Jatra, Bhavai of Maharashtra, Dhimsa, Garagabi, Ki"lu Guralu of Andhra Pradesh, Podi-Kazhiat?t?am, Karagam, Kollat?t?am of Tamil Nadu, Bi"su Kamsale, Yaks?agana, Vi"ragase of Karnataka, Teyyam, Kathakali, Mohini"at?t?am of Kerala, Bi"hu, Oja Pali of Assam (see, Kapila Vatsyayan, 1976), will be incomplete without looking into the structure of actions of the dancers, their costumes, the structure of the stage (fixed or mobile), the audience-dancer interaction, etc. in other words capturing the total performance, in an holistic manner, is what is desired of a good study of Indian folk dances.
Dance in the lives of our tribal people has the same status as drums, we are told, have among the people of Africa. For dances of the tribal people of eastern India retain their originality, simplicity and spontaneity. Be it Kimbu or Zeliang of the Nagas, Loho of the Jaintias, Wangala of the Reangs. In the tribal context at least one thing certainly is less blurred: there are no "little traditions" and there are no "great traditions" either.
Folk drama is another important field in the performing folk arts sector.
Drama in folk communities has been very little discussed in folkloristics,
primarily because it has not often been regarded as a folk genre. And even
when it has been so designated, it has commonly been discussed as a part of
performance types in festivals and rituals18.
However, in recent years more folkloristic work on south Asian data has widened
the scope of studying folk drama and has also helped the theoretical growth
in both anthropology and folkloristics, so much so that anthropologists like
Peacock believe that semantic aspects of cultural change and the cosmological
categories of human societies can be accurately deciphered through drama and
more particularly through folk drama.
Drama of any sort "calls for the play world by the players generally through the use of conventional symbolic objects -- masks, costumes, a special area for playing -- and conventional stylized action. Drama, in other words is primarily recognized as a play activity and therefore is closely related to game, dance, and ritual. All of these call for the establishment of a play world that is recognizably removed from the real world and yet in many ways similar to it" (Abrahams, 1972 : 354). A folk drama's special characteristic is that it differs from the written, sophisticated drama in performance, audience relationship and in mode of transmission.
The traditions of Indian folk drama are vast. Most of the forms of folk drama,
as said earlier, are associated with ritual and festival and have close affinity
with music and dance. Some of these forms, as is well known, are mobile and
resemble the village drama of Africa ,
and yet many have fixed stages as one notices in the classical drama whose
tradition is equally strong. It is interesting to note that classical forms
of dance, drama and music in India have, and still remain, a kind of urban
phenomenon. In ancient days also these classical forms seem to have flourished
in and around palaces and temples. Rural India seems to have never grasped
these classical forms and does not grasp it even now. Rural folk has always
lived with its own folk forms, preserved them and enriched them. This is true
of folk drama as well. However, despite these characteristics, there has been
enough contact between these two strong traditions and this contact has resulted
in what we noticed now in Yaks?agana and Kathakali:
a layer of sophistication or classicalization over the traditional core of
folk drama. This classicalization is evident in the texts as well. Folk drama's
text is not fixed, but classical drama's text remains always fixed. Folk forms
whose texts have now become fixed or frozen evidence this kind of classicalization.
Besides the above examples, a very popular folk drama of north Karnataka S"an"gya-Balya
clearly exhibits this contact. This contact is now becoming more frequent
and meaningful in view of the fact that modern dramatists and literary scholars
are turning to their own cultural traditions in search of meaning and metaphor
relevant in the modern context. Therefore, not only are dramatic folk plots
or characterization becoming important for these modern experimentalists,
but even the stage, folk idiom, folk costume and other aspects of folk traditions
are presented in the modern context in such a manner in which the traditional
meaning and the metaphor become a continuum: i.e., relevant always and meaningful
in every era.
Many fascinating forms of Indian music and dance are, however, linked with
what is now being labeled as dance-drama and recognised as a kind of a new
genre; on the assumption that it contains the elements of both the dance and
the drama. For instance, Yaks?agana of Karnataka, Kathakali of Kerala,
Tamas?a of Maharashtra, Tamil Vi"thinat?akam of
Andhra Pradesh and Thirukkothu of Tamil Nadu are some of the
famous dance-drama forms of India, according to this assumption. However,
one has to be cautious in following these genre-models developed primarily
on Western data, that make distinction between the folk drama and the dance-drama.
The Oriental, particularly Indian folk drama, almost always carries the elements
of dance and music within it so much so that it is possible to drawn a line
between the dance, the music or the drama part of it. It was in view of this
fact only that I suggested to see Indian folkloric phenomena, particularly
the phenomenon of performing folk arts, holistically in an Indian manner and
from an Indian point of view instead of fixing it in an a priori Western genre-model.
That the elements of dance and music are inseparable parts of Indian folk
drams seems in fact a fundamental characteristic of south Asian drama and
needs a different treatment than given so far by experts.
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