Every culture carries its wisdom through stories, songs, and traditions passed down through generations. In India, this rich tapestry of cultural knowledge has been preserved and studied through what we now call folklore. Understanding how this field emerged helps us appreciate the depth of India’s oral and cultural heritage.
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How the term “folklore” came to be
The story of folklore begins in England in 1846. William John Thoms, a British antiquarian, introduced the term “folklore” in a letter to the journal The Athenaeum. He wanted a simple English term to replace phrases like “popular antiquities” or “popular literature.” Writing under the pseudonym Ambrose Merton, Thoms suggested combining two Anglo-Saxon words: “folk” (meaning people) and “lore” (meaning traditional knowledge). The new compound word captured his vision perfectly-folklore was the knowledge and traditions of ordinary people.
Thoms defined folklore as encompassing customs, beliefs, superstitions, ballads, proverbs, legends, and nursery rhymes passed down through oral tradition. He was concerned that rural traditions were disappearing due to increasing travel and communication, especially with the expansion of railroads. His goal was to encourage scholars across England to document these vanishing traditions before they were lost forever.
Folklore studies arrive in India
The concept of folklore as an academic field reached India during the 19th century, coinciding with British colonial rule. Folklore studies in India began with missionaries, British government officials, and travelers who collected and documented Indian oral traditions, often with colonial motivations. These early collectors were primarily interested in understanding local cultures to aid governance and missionary work.
The late 19th century marked a turning point. As Indians became aware of their cultural heritage through these very colonial writings, folklore became instrumental in stimulating the spirit of nationalism. During the Swadeshi movement, leaders like Rabindranath Tagore in Bengal started collecting ballads, nursery rhymes, and myths. In Madras (now Chennai), Natesa Sastri published “The Folklore of Southern India”, a massive four-volume collection of Tamil folk tales. He believed folklore represented the authentic thoughts and characteristics of the people.
After India’s independence in 1947, folklore studies entered what scholars call the “Academic Period.” Universities began offering formal folklore programs, particularly in South India, where hundreds of scholars trained in modern folklore research methods. This period emphasized analytical approaches rather than mere collection, transforming folklore into a respected academic discipline.
Folklore as collective cultural expression
Vladimir Propp, a Soviet folklorist, offered a distinctive perspective on folklore. In his groundbreaking 1928 work “Morphology of the Folktale,” Propp analyzed Russian fairy tales and identified 31 basic structural elements that appeared in similar sequences across different stories. His work revealed that folklore wasn’t just random stories but represented the entire creative output of a community-a collective cultural expression.
Propp viewed folklore as more than individual tales. It encompassed the complete range of a community’s creative production: stories, songs, myths, superstitions, and beliefs. This perspective emphasized that folklore belongs to everyone in a community, not to individual authors. It emerges from shared experiences and collective imagination.
In India, this understanding resonates deeply. Indian folklore includes the Panchatantra fables, regional epics like the Tulu Epic, folk songs performed during agricultural work, festival rituals, and oral histories of local heroes. These traditions reflect shared values, social structures, and the relationship between communities and their environment.
The living, changing nature of folklore
Unlike written texts that remain fixed, folklore changes with each retelling. This dynamic quality is one of its defining characteristics. Each storyteller brings their own interpretation, adds local references, or adjusts details to suit their audience. Over time, these small variations accumulate, leading to diverse versions of the same tale across different regions.
Consider how the Ramayana exists in countless regional versions across India-from the Tamil Kambaramayanam to the Bengali Krittibasi Ramayana. Each version maintains the core story but adapts characters, emphasizes different moral lessons, and incorporates local cultural elements. This fluidity allows folklore to remain relevant to each new generation and geographical context.
The oral transmission of folklore depends on human memory and performance. Each performance differs from the previous one, as storytellers adapt to their audience’s reactions, current events, or their own creative impulses. This ongoing transformation ensures folklore remains a living tradition rather than a museum piece.
In India, this dynamic nature has preserved cultural heritage while allowing it to evolve. Folk songs about historical figures incorporate contemporary political commentary. Regional festivals adapt their rituals to modern contexts. Oral epics include new characters representing current social issues. This adaptability has helped Indian folklore survive centuries of social change.
How folklore differs from written literature
The distinction between folklore and written literature lies primarily in their modes of transmission and stability. Written literature exists in fixed form-an author’s words preserved exactly in manuscripts and books. Readers centuries later can experience the same text the author created.
Folklore, by contrast, lives through oral performance and memory. It has no single authoritative version. Instead, it exists in multiple variations across different communities and time periods. Oral tradition served as the primary means of communication and cultural transmission for millennia before writing systems developed.
Written literature typically has known authors who receive credit for their creative work. Folklore emerges anonymously from communities, with no single creator. While individual storytellers may be skilled performers, they see themselves as transmitters of tradition rather than original authors. The community collectively owns the tradition.
Another key difference involves purpose and function. Written literature often aims for artistic achievement, individual expression, or entertainment. Folklore serves broader social functions: educating children about moral values, preserving community history, explaining natural phenomena, maintaining social cohesion, and passing down practical knowledge. In Indian villages, folklore has traditionally conveyed information about agriculture, medicinal plants, seasonal patterns, and social responsibilities.
The relationship between folklore and literature isn’t always clear-cut. Many written works draw heavily from oral traditions. Sanskrit epics like the Mahabharata and Ramayana existed as oral traditions long before being written down. Modern Indian literature frequently incorporates folk motifs, proverbs, and narrative structures from oral traditions.
Folklore’s strength lies in its community ownership and adaptability, while written literature’s power comes from its preservation of specific creative visions. Both forms contribute to cultural heritage in complementary ways.
What do you think? How has folklore shaped your understanding of your own cultural heritage? In what ways do you see oral traditions continuing to evolve in the digital age?
References
- https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2014/08/he-coined-the-word-folk-lore/
- https://www.etymonline.com/word/folklore
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0262728015581286
- http://www.ciil-ebooks.net/html/folkintro/ch5.htm
- https://www.vedantu.com/question-answer/published-folklore-of-south-india-in-massive-class-10-social-science-cbse-608c3b24cd81200cafb30909
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Propp
- https://ancienttheory.com/the-evolution-of-folklore/
- https://www.britannica.com/art/folk-literature/Characteristics-of-folk-literature
- https://www.rockandart.org/oral-traditions-passed-through-generations/
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/oral-tradition
- https://www.britannica.com/art/folk-literature/Cultural-exchange-in-written-and-oral-traditions
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