A study on the Growth of Folk literature in India: Folklore
Priyanshu Khandelwal
CSC, BML Munjal University
Abstract
Human activities are prompted by shifting
socioeconomic patterns produced by technological
advancement, which is primarily responsible for
environmental degradation. As a result, environmental
ethics must be instilled in the human consciousness.
Folklore is the only useful tool in dealing with this
problem. In India, Folk practices have played an
important role in resolving various key social-ecological
problems over the years. Folk practises should be
conserved for environmental sustainability and
restoration. Folk literature encompasses everything folk.
This paper provides a detailed study or overview of the
evolution of folklore. The paper also discusses its
significance, the history of folk literature, its research,
and its spread in India.
1 Introduction
Folk literature is an integral aspect of any society's
language and culture. Folk literature, also known as
folklore or oral tradition, is the traditional knowledge
and beliefs of societies that do not have a written
language. It is passed down orally and consists of both
prose and verse narratives, poetry and songs, myths,
dramas, rituals, proverbs, riddles, and the like, as does
writing literature. It has been generated by nearly all
known peoples, either presently or in the past [1].
The English antiquary William John Thoms invented the
term folklore in 1846 to replace the phrase popular
antiquities. Folklore, according to other writers, is the
body of expressive culture that includes tales, music,
dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular
beliefs, customs, and so on within a specific population
that includes the traditions (including oral traditions) of
that culture, subculture, or group [2]. It is also a
collection of techniques that allows those expressive
genres to be shared. Folkloristics is the academic and
usually ethnographic study of folklore.
Folk literature is explored for its intrinsic worth and
enjoyment, rather than as a separate literary form.
However, the absence of these materials as an intrinsic
component of our educational and socializing processes
is noticeable. Even with the newest discoveries of
folklore materials, stories published in elementary school
textbooks years ago continue to be recounted [2,3].
These can be utilized to instill morals, language style,
1
and a variety of other essential lemming elements in the
minds of learners. India is a country rich in cultural
diversity. Each culture has its own system of knowledge.
Since India's independence, the collection, preservation,
analysis, and study of folk literature have gained
considerable attention in all of the country's major
languages. However, the use of materials from folk
literature for purposes of instruction at various levels of
education is rather minimal [4]. The three models of
education, non-formal, formal, and informal that go from
teaching literacy to literature and other subjects, can
make use of folk literature as a powerful educational
tool.
Folk literature, like creative literature, is divided into two
basic categories: prose and poetry. Folk tales, myths,
legends, fairy tales, fables, animal tales, domestic tales,
numskull tales, ghost stories, anecdotes, folk dramas,
allusions, proverbs, and riddles are examples of prose
fiction. Other genres of folk poetry include ballads, 22
songs, lullabies, rhymes, folk metaphors, parodies, and
poetic sayings. Folk literature is an essential component
of folklore. Eighteen of the twenty-one definitions of
folklore presented in the standard dictionary of folklore
describe whole folklore as folk literature. It has been
noticed that the majority of folk literature is created and
passed down through word of mouth. While creative
literature register, overall, the experiences of an
individual, folk literature documents the entire society
[2-5]. Being the product of society, it describes society
and the age itself.
The most noticeable feature of folk writing is its orality.
Unless there are a few exceptions, it is usually in direct
contrast to written literature. The latter can be found in
manuscripts and books and may be maintained exactly as
the author or writers left it, even if this occurred years or
millennia ago. Thoughts, feelings, insights, and even fine
nuances of style can be experienced without regard for
time or location through these writings and books [5].
This is not achievable with oral literature. It is only
concerned with speaking, singing, and listening, and
hence relies on the existence of a living culture to carry
on a tradition.
The goal of this dissertation is to create a clear
impression of Folk Literature from the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries. What is the purpose of folk
literature? How did it become significant in Indian
culture? What is the backstory to that? What effect does
it have on society? These are the questions that must be
addressed in order to learn more about the growth of folk
literature. Documentary analysis was used to complete
the process.
2 Need and Relevance
Folk literature encompasses all myths, stories, epics,
fables, and folktales passed down through generations by
word of mouth. Being culturally literate includes
understanding the characters and events of folk
literature.
Folk literature, regardless of its origin, appears to have
evolved to satisfy a range of human needs:
1. The need to explain the natural world's
mysteries.
2. The urge to express our concerns and hopes
3. The desire to impose order on what appears to
be a random, even chaotic, character of life.
4. The desire to amuse ourselves and one another.
Their shortness, action, easily intelligible characters,
repeating aspects, fantastic components, and joyful
endings are especially appealing to youngsters aged
three to eight.
Folk literature can help children begin to develop a sense
of morality. It helps children to sort out good and evil in
the world arid to identify with the good.
3 Expansion of Folklore
Folklore began to spread in the late 16th and early 17th
centuries. The unique property of self-expression is
possessed by society as an integrated collectivity of
human beings. Folk literature refers to the experiences
obtained by a group or society when they find
spontaneous expression with some degree of aesthetic
and artistic competence. This section is about the history
of folklore, its studies, and its growth in India.
3.1 History of folk literature
The origins of recorded literature in Sumer and Egypt
5,000 or 6,000 years ago occurred in a society when only
folk literature was known. Throughout the millennia
since, written literature has been surrounded, and at
times completely overwhelmed, by the more humble
activity of the unlettered.
As the Middle Ages progressed into the Renaissance, the
value of folk literature on the work of writers grew.
Some of them, such as Boccaccio and Chaucer, belong in
the mainstream of literature. Later, in the 16th and 17th
centuries, writers such as Gianfrancesco Straparola and
Giambattista Basile went directly to folk literature for
much of their material [6].
2
3.2 Early Folklore Studies
Of course, interest in what is now known as folklore
existed long before the subject was given its modern
name. Popular beliefs and customs in ancient Greece and
Rome are mentioned in the works of Herodotus, Livy,
and Pliny. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,
colorful accounts of customary ceremonies, both home,
and community, were regularly in texts principally
preserved with 19 other things in England. Philip
Stabbe's "Anatomie of Abuses" (1583), Robert Burton's
"Anatomy of Melancholy" (1621), and H. Hission's
"Memoirs and observations on his journeys around
England," which was first published in France in 1698
and translated into English by J. in 1795 [7,8]. The
earliest significant work on the broad subject of folklore
was "Antiquitates Vulgares," or "The Antiquities of the
Common People," written in 1725 by the British
Clergyman and antiquary Henry Bourve (1696-1733),
which was mostly an account of popular rituals
associated with religious festivals. In 1777, John Brand
(1748-1806), a British Clergyman and Antiquary,
published Observations on the Popular Antiquities of
Great Britain, which became the standard British work
on folklore [8].
In Germany, philosopher Johann Gottfried Von Herder
and philologists Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm pioneered
folklore research. In 1778, Herder published a valuable
collection of German folk songs; the Grimm brothers
compiled "kinder - Und Haus" - Marchand household
stories (1812-15), and Jacob Grimm compiled Dentsche
Rechtsal Tertomer (1828) and Dentsche Mythologie
(1835), which was later translated into English as
"Teutonic Mythology" (1882-88) [9]. The serious study
of folklore began at the turn of the twentieth century.
With the development of folklore societies in various
regions of the world, researchers began to take an
interest in the subject, and within a short amount of time,
it achieved the status of an autonomous field of
knowledge.
3.3 Indian Folklore
India has a unique place in the history of World Folklore.
The wonderful stories from the Indian subcontinent have
shaped the theoretical development of folkloristics itself.
Max Muller's writings on Indian Myths, for example,
and Theodore RelfL's translation of the world-famous
'Pnchtantra' gave rise to the hypothesis of the fairy tale's
Indian origin. ' The huge story material that exists it$ the
subcontinent has the unique fortune of owning the
world's oldest narrative traditions. Aside from the
'Rigveda,' the Ramayana, Mahabharat, Puranas, and
Upnishads have all claimed to constitute an encyclopedia
of Indian religion and mythology [10]. The best
examples include Narayan pandit's 'I-Iitopadesha,'
Gunadhya's 'Brihatkatha,' Somdeva's 'Kathasaritsagar,'
Sihdasa's 'Vetal Pnchavimashti,' and other works such as
'Sukhasaptadi,' and 'Jatakas.' as shown in figure 1.
 Figure 1. Bhutanese painted thanka of the Jataka animal fables, in Sanskrit, compiled in the ninth century
Tales [15].
Jawaharlal Handoo, V. A. Vivek Rai, Komal Kothari,
M.D. Muthukumaraswamy, Birendranath Dutta, B.
Reddy, Sadhana Naithani, P. Subachary, Mahendra
Mishra, Molly Kaushal, and Raghavan Payanad are
some contemporary Indian folklorists. Figure 2 depicts
the folk paintings notable for folk arts in India, such as
Mughal paintings, Tanjore paintings, Madhubani
paintings, and so on. Several prominent modern board
games originated in India, including Chess, Parcheesi,
and Snakes and Ladders [5-8].

Figure 2. A rare Tanjore style painting

The folklore of India includes the folklore of India and

the Indian subcontinent. The Indian subcontinent is so
diverse in terms of ethnic, linguistic, and religious
groups that broad generalizations regarding its folklore
are problematic. India has 24 officially recognized
languages and an estimated 1,200 languages in total,
many of which lack written scripts. Each of these has its
own subculture, customs, and oral traditions [10,11]. The
colorful local bias of Indian folklore distinguishes it
from classical Sanskrit literary traditions. India has a rich
folk painting and decorative arts tradition that is
respected and loved all over the world today.
Indian folktales can be used to impart religious 4 Impact of folklore on Society
principles or moral lessons to children, as well as to It is now known as multiculturalism, cultural
entertain them. Panchatantra, Hitopadesha, and The adaptability, and syncretism. Folklore study focuses on
Jataka Tales are among them. "Beer Kherwal" and "Bidu social functions, which fall within anthropology, rather
Chandan" are heroes of the Santals[11], one of India's than theological and philosophical approaches.
first tribal tribes believed to have migrated southward
Some of the most common societal effects are:
from the Northwest. The Gonds' folk hero is "Chital
Singh Chatri." Banjara folk heroes include "Lakha ● To aid in decision making
Banjara" and "Raja Isalu." ● The transmission of essential values
● Instill cultural values
Garba and Dandiya Raas from Gujarat, Sambalpuri
● Highlight significant traditions
dance from Odisha, Chhau, Alkap, and Gambhira from
● Celebrate your differences.
West Bengal, Bihu dance from Assam, Ghoomar dance
● To cultivate strong character attributes (caring,
from Rajasthan and Haryana, Bhangra and Gidda from
resourcefulness, trust, or courage)
Punjab, Dhangar from Goa, Panthi dance from
Chhattisgarh, Kummi and Karagattam from Tamil Nadu, The use and protection of various plants, animals, sacred
Kolattam from Andhra Pradesh, Yak [12-14]. groves, and so on by the ethnic groups of West Bengal's
Rarh region are based on their cultural worth. Folk
The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are India's two most
customs should thus be protected in order to ensure
famous and extensively read epics. The Panchatantra, a
ecological sustainability and ecological restoration. Folk
collection of traditional narratives compiled by Vishnu
practises have played an important role in resolving
Sarma in the second century BC, is another notable
various social-ecological problems over the years. Folk
collection of Indian traditional stories. The Hitopadesha
customs should thus be protected in order to ensure
of Narayana is a collection of anthropomorphic fabliaux,
ecological sustainability and ecological restoration.

3
To summarise, folklore is clearly a part of the societal
fabric. They define who we are and what we stand for.
Folklore has a significant impact on society.
5 Conclusion
Folklore is naturally passed down from generation to
generation. Folklore is important in human life because
it connects the cultural, social, religious, and
psychological worlds of humans into one package,
resulting in a diverse fluid continuum known as human
life. Folk tales are told in every civilization to entertain,
educate, and protect the culture [2,4]. They are regarded
as important for both national and global culture. Folk
tales should be viewed as effective tools for
understanding and increasing cultural interchange.
The user of folklore understands what folklore is because
they use it with purpose and meaning. However, theorists
approach folklore from a theoretical standpoint. From an
ethical standpoint, folklorists should learn as much as
they can from the folk, and the folk should reveal the
hidden meaning of folklore to the folklorists so that both
of their interpretations can help give folklore a new
meaning and explore the possibility of using folklore in
the new socio-cultural domain.
[10] Michalopoulos, Stelios, and Melanie Meng Xue.
"Folklore." The quarterly journal of economics
136.4 (2021): 1993-2046.
[11] Stavrou, Ekaterina. "Determining the cultural
identity of a child through folk literature." American
Journal of Educational Research 3.4 (2015):
527-534.
[12] Arbona, Anna Devís, and Silvia-Maria Chireac.
"Romanian Folk literature in our classes: a proposal
for the development of intercultural competence."
Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 178
(2015): 60-65.
[13] Kuli, Jawahar Jyoti, and B. N. Bordoloi. "Folk
Literature of the Misings." (2020).
[14] Jaimini, Ms Rajni, and D. P. Raghav. "Folk
Literature and Social Space: Interdependences and
Correlations." International Journal of English
Literature and Social Sciences 7.2 (2022): 187-192.
[15] Rana, Shalini. "Kashmiri Folklore and Culture: A
Postcolonial Study of Kashmiri Folk Life and the
British Antiquary."

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