Table Of Content

Folklore Foundation, India. Lokaratna Vol. IX, 2016. ISSN No.2347-6427 1 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 2 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 3 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.” 4 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 5 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 6 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 7 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 8 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! 9 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 10