OLD SPIRITS IN NEW CONTEXTS: THE SUPERNATURAL NARRATIVES FROM THE FOLKLORE OF KINNAURA TRIBES OF INDIA

Abstract

Abstract

In the process of understanding the Indian civilisation the transmission of cultural tradition of both continuity and change may be seen within the totality of a communication system. Within the total system a crucial subsystem is the oral means as expressed for instance in the performance of myth, songs, dance, tales, proverbs and riddles. All of these are the forms of Folk Literature, having no written language and transmitted by word of mouth through the generations. Folk tales, like other forms of Folk Literature are the medium of imparting knowledge, travel from one story teller to another with certain modifications and changes depending upon the whim and idiosyncrasy of the individual storyteller. The Folk tales of Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh India, a tribal district serves as a last boundary of India as of other indigenous societies of the Himalaya are ,one of the most comprehensive repositories of the folk wisdom. In these, one may found the preserved unpretentious manner the hopes the aspirations of the people the hard realities of their mundane existence and wonders of the unimagined world that they have cherished through generations. The subject matter of Kinnauri folktales is very varied, covering a vast panorama, extending over Religious tales, Historical Tales, Ghost Tales, Tales of Fairies, Ethical Tales, Animal Tales etc. One of the most significant things that Ghost stories do is communicate to us about culture. Like any folklore, supernatural narratives directly or indirectly tells about the very different culture of this small district situated in