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　　Affinities Between Folkloristics and Historiography

　　Author: Datta, Birendranath
　　Country Published: India
　　Publisher: National Folklore support Centre, Chennai
　　ISBN-8190148117
　　Year of Publication　-　　2003
　　Bib. Info: X, 132p. Appendices, Bibliography

　　Book Detail :

　　The book is an outcome of the Seventh Prof. H.K. Barpujari Endowment Lecture delivered by Birendranath Datta at Dibrugarh University in 1999. While exploring a meaningful dialogue between folklore and history and thus between folklorists and historians, the book tries to understand the relationship between these two disciplines in a comparative perspective by comprehending the usage of these terms and it attempts to establish folklore as a historical science through analysing some basic concepts of folklore. 'The contributions of North-East India towards the history and civilisation of the country had not received proper recognition or even attention from scholars and experts. This imbalance certainly needs to be corrected, not only for the sake of the region but also for that of the nation as a whole. The different components of the history of this region could be given a firmer foothold if scholars from Assam and Manipur put their heads together, either to identify newly admissible material, or to verify already identified material with the help of cross-references to Assamese and Manipuri traditional accounts.'

　　Content Details :

　　Contents Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 History and Historiography vis-a?-vis Folklore and Folkloristics a. History and Historiography b. Folklore and Folkloristics c. Indian Folklore Studies Chapter 3 Folklore's Concern with the Past and the Present: Obvious Affinities with History a. Folklore a Historical Science? b. The Modern Concept of Folklore c. Tradition and Its Implications Chapter 4 History of the People: A Dimly Lit Area a. Where are the People? b. History from Below c. The Centrality-Peripherality Issue in the Context of the History of Indian Civilisation d. Local History e. Subaltern History f. Ethnohistory Chapter 5 Collaboration between Historian and Folklorist: The Common Ground a. Transmission of Information and Source Material b. The Oral-Written Issue c. The Question of Objectivity d. History and the 'Non-literate' Communities e. Reconstructing History from Tradition: The African Experience f. Oral Tradition as Valid Material for Historical Research g. Oral History h. Oral Tradition Chapter 6 Writing of an Integrated History of North-East India: Traditional Local Material of Historical Value a. Marginalisation of North-East India and the Need for a Corrective b. Handy Local Material: Written Accounts c. Oral Material of Historical Value Chapter 7 Mythological and Legendary Material vis-a?-vis North-East Indian History a. The Enchanted Land of Myth, Legend and Folktale b. Legends: “Mythological” and “Non-Mythological” c. “Tribal Myths” and the Ways of Handling Them Chapter 8 Conclusion Appendix I Summary of the Song about the Initiation of a Naga （Woncho） Chief Appendix II Specimens of Manipuri Myths Appendix III Specimens of “Tribal” Arunachal Myths Appendix IV Photographs a. Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati b. Creation Myth of Akas, Mizoram c. Satra Complex, Barpeta （Assam） d. Kareng-Ghar （Ahom Architecture） e. Joydol, Sibsagar f. Sivadol, Sibsagar g. Goddess in Copper Plate of Ahom Rulers Bibliography