Folklore of Tribal Communities

PREFACE

The present study is based upon the field work conducted on the Folklore of four different tribes of Orissa namely Santal, Kharia, Oraon and Munda in the two different districts.

Folklore is a medium through which the soul of the human being expresses itself colourfully and in such creation it finds an artistic fulfilment and entertainment. This is no less true in the case of these tribes of Orissa. Myths, legend and folklore all being parts of the same oral tradition, intertwine and influence each other. Themes from mythology sometimes occur in legends, while in simple cultures myths are hard to separate from folktales. Nevertheless, each of the three types does have a particular character of its own. Mythology is closely bound-up with religion. Its concern is with matters that shape the lives of men, the creation of the world, the origin of life and the meaning of death, etc. Myths are set in a distant and unrecognisable past. Legends on the other hand, have a known historical past. In legends facts are moulded in an imaginative or even fantastic way, their heroes often possessing magical or super natural powers. But they are rooted in reality. Folklore the third category of Oral tradition, includes songs and ballads, dances and music, impromptu drama and traditional customs and beliefs. All these are important in maintaining a culture.

In the present work within the limited space and obviously with a view to securing the appeal to a wider public, it has been possible for me just to present some of the collections of the folklores of the four different tribes, such as Santal, Kharia, Oraon and Munda from the two different districts of Orissa. The study concerns the Hill Kharias and the Santals of Mayurbhanj district and the Oraon and Munda of Sundergarh district. We have taken some of the folklores of these four tribes and described them with comparative fullness. We have also given in short an account regarding their general features, customs and institutions and observed certain important variations. These four different communities represent four different types and stages of primitive culture and thus furnish fruitful materials in the study of Social Anthropology for a comparative study and clear comprehension of the earlier stages in the evolution of human culture.

Nityananda Patnaik