The Folk Tales of Bihar: an Anthropological Perspective

Abstract

Folklore, like all other products of man’s artistic endeavour, is an ideological manifestation of human creativity. Folklore includes all myths, legends, folk tales, ballads, riddles, proverbs and superstitions (Dundes 1989). The term folklore was first coined by William J. Thomas in 1846. Like other elements of human culture, folklore is not mere the creation of chance. Folklore exists in time and space, and is are current in people’s linguistic and social contacts, during the passage of years and accompanying historical change (Thompson 1946). The folk tale is an important constituent of folklore. Even today the folk tale is one of the principal forms of entertainment and education for a large proportion of the world’s inhabitants. In India, for example, millions of people narrate folk tales for entertainment and aesthetic purposes. Folk tales are orally transmitted from one generation to another; often, especially in recent times, this may also occur in written form. Characterised by improbable background, folk tales usually emphasise a moral at the end of the story. The folk tales of different regions represent the thoughts, ideas, mental state, traditions, manners and customs and even the wit and wisdom of the people of that region. Apart from their entertainment value, they provide an insight into the present and past traditions and culture of the region from which they originate. Bihar, one of the most important states of India, has a rich tradition of folk culture. ‘Panchtantra’, the collection of famous Indian folk tales, has its origin in the telling of morality stories to the princes of ‘Pataliputra’ (Patna ‐ the capital of Bihar). Apart from folk tales, Bihar is rich in numerous ballads and folk songs sung on different occasions either in order to increase the efficiency of human labour or for recreational purposes. Similarly, proverbs and riddles indicate a deep insight into worldly matters.