Kerala - Kannur   

`State not paying attention to oral traditions'

Staff Reporter

No institution to archive oral discourse

KANNUR: President of the Indian Folklore Congress and vice-president of the International Society of Folk Narrative Research Jawaharlal Handoo said here on Monday that the State lagged behind in giving due attention to its oral discourse.

Dr. Handoo said Kerala was perhaps the only southern State where there was no institution archiving, researching and teaching its oral discourse.

Dr. Handoo, a reputed folklorist who has more than 20 books to his credit, told The Hindu that the real discourse of the country was its folk stories, folk songs, small ritualistic gatherings and small performing art forms. "Historical discourse in this country has still been guided by the palace paradigm. History books are nothing but the story of kings. There is no account of the social status of human beings, communities, their economic status, revenue and activities," he said.

Dr. Handoo was here to deliver the keynote address at a seminar on `Folklore studies in the context of post-modernism' at Payyannur College on Tuesday. The concepts of folklore and oral traditions had always implied an idea of change and continuity, he said. "Folklore is a shared phenomena and therefore it is authentic," Dr. Handoo said, adding that folklore was the discourse of the marginalised.

Literature in India had been serving the interests of the powerful people, kings and feudal lords, he said, adding that these interests were fulfilled by classical music, classical writing, architecture and dress code.

He said the oral traditions of the country had been sidelined by elitist culture. He called for "de-colonising and de-feudalising" the mind of the people for encouraging more studies on folklore.

"There must be an organised and institutionalised effort to study folklore. More and more countries the world over are moving towards their oral discourses," he said. Oral discourse is a heritage that has more than cultural value, he added. People in the country were managing their lives on the basis of the morals embodied in this heritage, he said.

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