Oral traditions in India

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It would be wrong to apply Western theories of folk literature to India’s oral traditions, Kumar cautions readers. Local beliefs and worldviews seep into the songs and tales that evolve in any particular community. Moreover, in the telling of the tales and in the mode of singing as well, the local forms and styles inevitably exert an influence. This is why alien norms and paradigms cannot be imposed on indigenous modes of expression, Kumar asserts.

Through the oral traditions of ‘Dree Busi’ and ‘Dree Ayu’ that form part of an important chapter of the Miji-Migun, the sacred literature of the Apatanis, the ancient agrarian community which lives in Arunachal Pradesh’s Ziro Valley, the knowledge of cultivation and habitat preservation in harmony with nature is transmitted. The language does not have a written script, but the translation reads like this:

“On our fertile land, we have sown our seed in plenty

that the ‘pengu’ our seasonal bird also enjoys a fair share.

Across our productive terrain, we have scattered kernels

That the ‘pugge’ our seasonal bird can also partake in the bounty.”