UNIT 13 FOLK MEDIA

Structure
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The Concept of Folklore
13.3 What are Folk Media?
13.4 Role of FoIk Media in Rural and Tribal Settings
13.5 Types of Folk Media
13.5.1 Folk Dance
13.5.2 Folk Theatre
13.5.3 Folk Songs
13.5.4 Puppetry
13.5.5 Folk Art and Handicraft
13.5.6 Oral Narrative Tradition

13.6 Effectiveness of Folk Media

13.7 Use of Folk Media in Training
13.8 Case Study
13.9 Let Us Sum Up
13.10 Glossary
13.11 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

13.1 INTRODUCTION
Folk media bring to our mind the images of folk dances and ballads, folk
songs, puppetry, craft and oral tradition. These are the various media of the
folk, the indigenous channels of communication.
Folk media have not disappeared, as many of us feared they would, in the
presence of the overpowering electronic media. Rather they have been
functioning effectively along with one another, reinforcing each other in the
process.
Before telling you about “folk media”, this Unit introduces you to the concept
of “folklore”. In order to understand “folk media”, one has to first understand
the concept of folklore. This is because it is folklore that provides sustenance
to the folk media.
This Unit introduces you to folk media, the role of folk media in rural and tribal
settings, their effectiveness and use in training.

13.2 THE CONCEPT OF FOLKLORE

You would be surprised to know that the word “folklore” is quite new as
compared to the subject matter it encompasses. It was in 1846 that William
98 John Thomas, an English scholar, introduced the word into the English
language. That was the period when scholars became interested in tracing old Folk Media
customs, usages, notions, which came from the dim past and were still current
among the “folk” meaning common people.
In India, we find that the study of folklore had begun in the 19th century.
Many Indian scholars became interested in it and it was treated as a special
subject in many journals. The journals gave special attention to myths, popular
traditions and folk tales. The folklore of Konkan, Gujarat and Bengal were
brought out.
It is interesting to know that till today, no exact agreement has been reached as
to the meaning of folklore. We can discuss the meaning in the following ways:
• The common idea present in all folklore is that by tradition; something
handed down from one person to another and presence by practice rather
than a written record.
• In the words of Vladimir Propp, the Russian folklorist “the entire creative
output of people is folklore”. Thus it involves dances, songs, legends,
myths, tales, beliefs, superstitions, riddles, proverbs, art and craft.
• Folklore can be likened to language and not literature. This is because it
has been invented by no one person. It has neither an author nor authors.
• Folklore changes constantly. The “folk” bring about changes in the folklore
in the context of the changing times. For example, “anyone listening to
folklore is a potential future performer who consciously or unconsciously
will introduce changes”.
It would be useful for us to remember this process of change, the process of
recreation in the folklore. It is precisely this aspect that makes the continuity
in folk media possible. It’s not continuity alone, but it makes the folk media
effective too.

Check Your Progress Exercise 1

1) What is folklore?
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2) List four features or characteristics of folklore.
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13.3 WHAT ARE FOLK MEDIA?

Folk media are media of the folk— the common people. The various media
that provide communication channels to the folk are: dances, theatre, song, art 99
Media–Preparation and Use and craft, puppetry, the art of story-telling. It can be correctly said that these
media are “of the folk”, “by the folk” and “for the folk”.
When we say they are “of the folk”, we mean that the media belong to the folk.
The media have originated with them in the context of their needs and
aspirations. One example is Bhavai, the folk theatre of Gujarat. It had originated
with the Trigala community in Gujarat and that community has been the
preserver of the form. Another example is the Putkuli (Shawl) of the Todas.
The complex combination of weaving and embroidery belongs to the Todas.
These are the media through which the “folk” have expressed their creative
need as well as the need for an inner cohesion. The various media revolve
around their life-cycle and one who is born in that environment grasps it since
childhood.
When we say that folk media are “by the people”, we mean that the media
have not been imposed on them by an external force. The wall paintings of the
Warlis, a tribe in Maharashtra are made by the Warlis themselves. Through
different media of dance, song, painting, puppetry, they communicate what
they feel and what they think and how they respond to their environment and
experiences. It is the folklore which provides them with the environment that
leads to the particular mind-set. The proverbs, the riddles form an important
aspect of society. The same proverb may imply different meanings in different
contexts. For instance, the proverb “It’s dark under the lamp.” means one thing
in Kannada and another in Kashmiri. In Kannada, it means that the virtuous
man may have vices that are hidden. In Kashmiri it means that a good king
may have evil men around him. Proverbs and riddles play an important role in
shaping the way people think. They are educative. All these provide seeds that
help in the germination of ideas that lead to formation of the various channels
of communication.
Folk media are “for the folk”. In order to understand folk dance and folk
theatre, a deep understanding of the people is needed. Someone born in the
environment of community dances of Punjab — Bhangra and Jhumar would
be able to recognize the form the moment he/she watches it. But others may
not. Others may need a guide to understand the differences. It is not merely the
question of understanding it that matters. Rather it is the sense of joy one
derives by experiencing it.
“For the folk” has a larger scope, a broad horizon to incorporate all those who
are born outside the “folk”. When Patthe Bappurao, a brahmin high caste artiste,
worked in the Tamasha theatre in Bombay (that was dominated by Mahars
and Mangs), he was still somebody who came from outside the “folk”. But as
a spectator, one can become a part of the experience.
Check Your Progress Exercise 2
1) If you want to use folk media in gender training, list ways in which you
can find out which folk media to use.
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 Folk Media
13.4 ROLE OF FOLK MEDIA IN RURAL AND
TRIBAL SETTINGS
Folk media, being a part of life in rural and tribal settings, have a significant
role to play. We all know that the farmers in the rural areas constitute 80% of
India’s population. Farmers constitute innumerable groups, sub-groups based
on caste, creed, religion and language. And they all differ in their behavioural
pattern, the way they speak, the dress they wear, the food they eat, the houses
they live in. When we get to know their world view, the things they believe in,
we are struck by the uniformity which prevails in the diverse situation, i.e. the
art of story- telling. For instance, when we have a look at the “origin tale” of
the various communities we find the same pattern. The “folk” from all over
the country, from north to south, from east and west, had visualized the earth
in its beginning stages, to be filled with water. They all start narrating the tale
by saying – “In the beginning, there was nothing but water …………………”
And then, there are diverse views that prevail in the uniform patterns. In rural
society, various folk media are interwoven into the agricultural functions. The
folk song and dance, drama and oral narrative tradition emerged out of their
experiences with the environment.
When we look at the tribal belt, we find it running through all parts of India,
from the Himalayas of the North-West to the eastern hills of Assam, Manipur,
Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh; the plains of Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal; the plateau of Maharashtra, Chota Nagpur,
the areas of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh; the South-Western regions of Orissa and
the coasts of the Eastern and Western ghats. The tribal belt comprises nearly
50 million people.
The major tribes of India in terms of numbers are Bhils (Rajasthan, Gujarat,
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh), Gonds (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra
Pradesh, part of Uttar Pradesh), Mundas, Santals and Hos (Eastern Madhya
Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal), Khasis, Garos (Meghalaya), Bodos, Kacharis
(Assam) and Nagas (Nagaland, Manipur), Mizos (Mizoram). There are other
tribes like Rathwas of Gujarat, Warli in Maharashtra, Korku, Kawar in Madhya
Pradesh, Todas in Tamil Nadu who are known for their distinctive economic
and cultural traits.
In the pre-agricultural times, hunting-gathering tribes were spread all over the
country. Even now in some pockets, we find the hunting tribes. Some examples
include the Van Vagris in Western Rajasthan, the Birhors in Chhota Nagpur,
the Kanjars, Baheliyas in the Gangetic plains, the Kuchbandhias and Pandhis
in Central India, the Chenchus and the enadis in the Eastern ghats in Andhra
Pradesh, the Kadars, Paniyans in the Western Ghats in Kerala.
Economically there is also a great diversity. The Todas of Tamil Nadu, the
Dhangars in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rabaris in Rajasthan, the Gujjars in
the Western Himalayas and many others in different parts of the country live
by grazing animals in pastures wherever they can find them (pastoralism).
Folk media is found not only in the rural and tribal societies but also in some
pockets in the urban areas. Folk media play a very important role in providing
linkages with the past. The different communities have different types of
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songs, dances, drama, tales, legends, and myths. These give to the “folk” a
Media–Preparation and Use feeling of continuity, a dialogue with the past, a sense of security. In the
mental – make up, this sense of security has a very significant role to play.
You would understand it when you would discuss this with the older generation
in the family. You would realize that you share common stories with one
another, you know the common songs.
Most of the folk media have a collective format. Folk dances and folk songs,
for example, illustrate this collective format. When the whole community
dances together or sings together, it certainly grants them a sense of fellow
feeling. It is this sense of fellow feeling that has made non-governmental
organizations successful in organizing community activity in Gujarat. In
Gujarat, the people participate in “Garwa” and it gives them a sense of
togetherness. And this sense of togetherness has made them work harder for a
cause, which they perceive as the common cause.
Each medium gives them a channel of expression. It boosts up the imaginative
faculty and creativity of the “Folk”. When one grows up in an environment of
creativity, it is natural that one would evolve into a creative being. Through
folk media, positive values are being articulated till they became a part of the
collective thought process. When we consider all these points, we certainly
can say with conviction that folk media have a very significant role to play.

13.5 TYPES OF FOLK MEDIA

When we categorize the folk media into different types, we have to bear in
mind that in reality a clear cut categorization is not possible. Dance, song, art
and craft and drama are all integral to their life and they themselves do not
separate one medium from the others.
We could have a look at them separately and we would not forget that they are
but a part of the whole. For instance, Pandav Lila in the Garhwal region
involves dance, dramatization and recitation of Mahabharata. All the media
are used simultaneously.
The types of folk media include:
• Folk Dance;
• Folk Theatre;
• Folk Song;
• Folk Art and Craft;
• Puppetry; and
• Oral Tradition

13.5.1 Folk Dance

It is believed that among the arts, it is dance that was the first to evolve. It was
even before human beings began to speak that they became aware of dance as
a creative medium. It was before they found painting and song that they began
to express their innermost feelings through the movement of the body.
The movement in the realm of the “folk” is highly spontaneous. If we observe
the various forms of folk dance all around, we would be reminded of the various
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stages of evolution. Hunt dances or dances of the food gatherers are reflective Folk Media
of the corresponding hunting stage in the journey of civilization. There are
dances which are related to the agricultural functions, to seasons and festivals,
to rites and rituals, to birth, marriage and death.
A series of festivals are held from January to December. They are held in
mountain peaks, on the plains by the riverside, on the ocean beaches. In every
festival, dances are being performed relating to sowing of seeds, and
germination and to harvesting.
In Assam, among the agriculture communities, particularly the Ahoms, Bihu is
the most important festival. It is an occasion of dancing and rejoicing. It is
very interesting to know that at different stages of the cultivation of paddy, the
Bihu festival is held. When the peasants are preparing the field, at the time of
the transplantation of the paddy seedlings; and at the last stage when the harvest
has been gathered.
In Punjab, we find two community dances – Bhangra and Jhumar. Bhangra is
linked with the sowing of wheat. When the wheat crop is sown, young men
gather and respond to the rhythm of the drum beats. Jhumar is another folk
dance of the harvest seasons. When you watch Bhangra, you will notice that
the performers do not show the movement of sowing and reaping the harvest.
You will find this in the Jhumar dance. All the functions of daily life are
shown and then there are dancers who come into the centre in pairs, and imitate
the movement of the animals they rear. Two of them become bullocks in the
field. The third and the fourth dancers become a plough and a farmer.
The Kinnauris of Himachal Pradesh perform Losar Shona Chuksam, a Kinnauri
dance. It is fascinating to watch the Kinnaur dancers recreating all the
agricultural operations of sowing and reaping barley and phaphar (a local grain.)
Another type of folk dance is the martial dance. The hill tribes of Himachal
Pradesh and U.P. dance with swords. The Nagas, on the other hand, use weapons
such as the javelin, spear, bow and arrow.
The sword dance of Jaunsar Bavar in U.P. recreates all the movement of
warfare. Among the Santals, there are martial dances which are called Golwari
and Paikala. The dance is extremely vigorous and it stirs one when one watches
the men leap in mid air, wield bows and arrows, in perfect coordination and
rhythm.
The martial dances are done by men alone. The acrobatic dance is also
performed by men only. In Tehri Garhwal, there is the Langvir Nritya of the
Pandis. The dancer climbs a high bamboo pole and balances himself on his
stomach on top of the pole. He rotates on the pole, doing other feats with his
hands and feet to the rhythm of the drum called dhol.
There are some dances performed by women only. The Santhal dances like
Dhang and Laghi are by women alone. Then there is Sua, an interesting dance
from Chhattisgarh. Sua is the parrot. Sua is the messenger of the newly wed
girl whose sorrow and joy are reflected in the dance. In the Kashmir valley, we
find “Rouf’, the folk dance restricted to women alone. It is full of mystical
meanings. It is interesting to know that the dances of Kashmir though belonging
to an agricultural society move around nature and are reminiscent of romantic
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poetry.
Media–Preparation and Use Religion is an important source of dance. The folk dance of Jammu called Kud
is one of such dances. In this dance, the farmers express their gratitude to the
local deity gramdevta. In Kumaon and Garhwal, there are communities that
perform a variety of dances, which culminate in a trance. The ghost and spirit
worship dances are extremely intense dances. Pandav Jagor is a dance form in
which the epic of Mahabharata is being dramatized. The characters of Arjuna
and Bhima go into a trance at the end of the dance.
There are dances that are related to the wedding ceremony and death ceremony.
Ladaladi is a folk dance of the Bhils in which the bride and bridegroom are
lifted upon the shoulders and others dance around the couple. Dhurang or
Dhuring is a dance of the Doms and Bhotiyas in Uttar Pradesh which is connected
with death ceremonies. Within a year of the death of the person, it is performed.
They believe that the dance would liberate the soul of the dead person from evil
spirits.
Thus we can say that folk dances are the traditional dances that developed
together with the daily activities and experiences of the “folk”. These dances
are highly spontaneous and participative. There is hardly any occasion that is
not celebrated through dance. It is interesting to note that among most of the
tribal communities, the women and men dance together. But in the rural societies,
it is often the male who is the dancer.
Along with beliefs, customs, songs, these dances get transmitted to the generation
ahead and provide a link with the past.
Check Your Progress Exercise 3
1) Mention folk dances which illustrate gender differences in performances.
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2) “Folk media play a very important role in providing linkages with the
past.” Explain.
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13.5.2 Folk Theatre

Folk theatre involves the folklore in its totality. It has dance and song, proverbs,
riddles, customs, humour, language, wit and wisdom, behaviour and dress of
the particular folk. By folk theatre we mean the drama, dance-drama, ballads
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— every form of it. When we watch folk theatre, we acquire a familiarity with Folk Media
the particular people, their culture. For instance when we watch Tamasha, the
folk theatre of Maharashtra, we come to know more about the Maratha heroism,
the Peshwas, their optimistic approach to life.
Folk theatre, like all other folk media, is highly spontaneous and participative.
It is the traditional theatre — the dance-drama, the operatic ballads and folk
plays which continue to entertain audiences of seven hundred thousand villages
of India. It is just fascinating to know about the different folk theatres, prevailing
in different parts of our country .
In North India, we find secular Nautanki and Naqual on one hand and religious
Ramlila and Raslila on the other hand. Nautanki, an operatic drama is performed
in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan. Initially this form was known as Sangeets
meaning musicals. In the 19th century, a musician called Shehzad Nautanki
became so popular that the form itself began to be called by the name.
It was out of ballads and recitals of bards that the Nautanki evolved. Nautanki
is a blend of the Hindu-Muslim folk culture. They were mostly written in
personalized urdu with a mixture of Hindi, Rajasthani and Braj. Tipu Sultan,
Prithviraj Chauhan, Panna Devi, Raja Harishchandra are some of the famous
Nautankis. Ramlila and Raslila are steeped in religion. They are operatic plays.
Raslila is the popular love story of Krishna and Radha. The audience mostly
constitutes the devotees.
In Gujarat, we find Bhavai which is performed during navaratri (nine nights
coinciding with the Dussehra festival) in front of Amba Mata, the goddess
they worship. Bhav means “life” or “sentiment”and Vahi means carrier. So
Bhavai means “carrier of life”. There are mythological plays. And there are
historical plays like Jai Singh, Shuro Rathaur. Bhavai generally emphasizes
character acting like Chatki and Matki (two saucy wives), Teja Sethani. It is
full of wit and humour and reflective of the society.
In Maharashtra, the folk theatre is known as Tamasha. Tamasha originated
from satirical verses, story-telling and parody. Lavni, a kind of erotic song, is
sung in Tamasha. Tamasha uses a mythological plot in order to say something
satirical about the contemporary times. At present, there are about eight hundred
full-fledged Tamasha troupes in Maharashtra. In 1910, Patthe Bapurao
composed “ Mumbaichi Lavni — the ballad of Mumbai. It was a satire on
Mumbai being grabbed by the machine age.
Another form of folk theatre is Jatra which had originated in Bengal and became
equally popular in Orissa and the western part of Bihar. It was in the 15th
century that the Bhakti movement swept Bengal and there were devotees singing
and dancing in procession.
This singing with dramatic elements gradually came to be known as “Jatra”
which means to go in a procession. In Jatra there is a character called “Vivek”
meaning “conscience”. When any character does something wrong, Vivek turns
up to warn him or her in song. Vivek has absolute freedom to appear in any
scene. In Bengal, Jatra has shaped many artistic minds.
In Tamil Nadu we find Therukoothu, which has existed for centuries. Theru
means street while Koothu means play. Therukoothu is essentially an operatic
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play. Only one-tenth of it is in prose. There are different themes built on epics
Media–Preparation and Use like Mahabharata, Puranas and the folk tales. The actors use head gear, crowns,
jewellery and sparkling costumes and make up.
In Karnataka, the operatic dance drama is called Yakshagana. It is three hundred
years old. It is full of valour, anger, terror. The themes used are from Ramayana,
Mahabharata, Puranas. The Yakshagana form has demonstrated almost all the
important battles in the Mahaharata and Ramayana.
In Kashmir, there is Bhand Jasna that has evolved from folk tradition. Bhand is
the clown who makes people laugh and at the same time makes them conscious
of the social realities. This form makes use of dance, music, satire, clowning. It
shows social evils like the cunning money lender, corrupt police, the dowry
system. Some plays are about legendary heroes and lovers.
In Bihar we have the Chhau mask dance drama of Seraikella. Chhau means
mask. It is a unique form of masked dance drama. The dancers wear a mask
and utter no word. No song is sung. Only musical instruments accompany the
dance drama. The dancers enact a variety of characters — animal, bird, human
being, night, flower, rainbow, God. The whole body of the dancers, especially
the feet have a special language.

13.5.3 Folk Songs

Folk songs accompany most of the folk dances mentioned. There are then folk
singers who create songs spontaneously and then those songs become a part of
the heritage and tradition of the folk of that particular region and ethnic
background. There are songs for every event in life. They cut the first sheaves
of harvest to a song. Birth, marriage, death – all have specific songs. India has
a rich heritage of folk songs.
In Bengal, it was Rabindranath Tagore who drew the attention of the educated
class to the treasure house of folk songs. It was in 1916 that he published many
songs of the great folk singer, Lalon Shah, of undivided Bengal. After Tagore,
Kshitmohan Sen and Muhammad Mansooruddin are the persons who did a lot
of research in the field. Tagore would say about the folk singers – “Their
words are very simple, and with the musical rhythm added to them, meaning
acquires an unearthly radiance”. There are Baul songs in which the singer
longs to know and merge with the ultimate being, the creator. There are songs
of the boatmen which are called Bhatiali, songs of the cartmen known as
Bhawaiya.
During the British rule many freedom fighters were declared outlaws. It was
the folk singers who gave homage to the fighters, by creating and singing songs
based on their lives. In Rajasthan, the Bhopas, who are the professional folk
singers, sing about Dungji, a King in Sikar district of Rajasthan. Dungji, the
King of a small kingdom had the courage to challenge the Britishers. There
are other folk songs on other heroes like Surajmal Chauhan, Katan Singh and
Raja Ranjit Singh of Bharatpur. In Bihar, there are songs on the heroic deeds
of Bapu Kunwar Singh. The songs spoke of their courage and heroism and
instilled hope in the minds of the folk.
Rajasthan has a rich variety of folk songs. There are songs which show the
emotional life of women in their family relationships. The women folk sing
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the songs and keep on adding new words to the songs, words which reflect
their inner sorrow and the sense of deprivation. These songs provide an outlet Folk Media
to them. They have songs for every occasion. When a son is born, a song is
being sung in honour of the new mother who is referred to as the Jachcha
Queen. The word ‘jachcha” means a woman at the time of giving birth.
There are women who have exposed other countries to our folk culture. We all
know about Teejan Bai, popularly called “Pandavani”, who sings out and enacts
different characters from Mahabharata in a perfect manner. It is amazing to
watch her. By observing her, many women have gained confidence. We will
read more about her in the Section 13.8 “Case Study”.
Check Your Progress Exercise 4
1) What role do folk songs play in the lives of the women of Rajasthan?
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2) Do you think folk theatre can be adapted for use in gender training?
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13.5.4 Puppetry
Puppetry is an ancient art form that is very close to theatrical performance. We
can say that it is the indigenous theatre form of India. It has been a popular
entertainment of rural Indians from time immemorial.
In India, we find four types of puppets: string puppets, shadow puppets, rod
puppets and glove puppets. The traditional puppets of the South, made from
leather, are some hundreds of years old and the shadow puppets of Indonesia
look like them. The puppets enact the Mahabharata and Ramayana, year in and
year out.
The other types of puppets found in the South are rod and string ones. There
is a Boomalattam group of puppet players whose puppets are made from
extremely heavy wood. These puppets are unique in the sense that the strings
are attached to the performer’s hand while he manipulates the rods with his
free hands.
In North India, puppets are made of papier mache and wood. The stories and
legends are common in Rajasthan, the themes of the puppet plays are heroic
deeds of warriors and princes or love romances like the story of Dhola and
Maru. In almost every district of Orissa, traditional puppets perform on festive
occasions.
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Media–Preparation and Use Puppet theatre is fully integrated in the social milieu of the rural people in
India. The puppet masters deal with the fundamental thoughts on the questions
of life, creation and death. The puppet masters have a remarkable knowledge
about the audience psychology and reach out to them with the help of their
own wit and wisdom.
The traditional puppeteers are always men. The women folk help them in
making the puppets, in creating the stories. They always remain in the
background. In Section 13.6 on effectiveness of folk media, you would know
about puppetry, how it is being used in the modern times, to make people
aware of several societal problems. And in modern times, many women are
being trained to be puppeteers to spread awareness among people.

13.5.5 Folk Art and Handicraft

Folk art and craft is another medium through which the “folk” especially the
women express their creative needs. These artistic expressions are very much a
part of their life and they brighten up the otherwise mundane activities of daily
life. The folk art and craft in the form of wall paintings, textiles, wooden images,
ornaments etc. reflect the highly developed sense of beauty and closeness with
nature. When we have a look at the wall paintings made by different cultural
groups, we would find that some of them are religious in nature while others
are decorative.
In Gujarat, the Rathwas, the Shilalas, the Naikas paint their tribal god — the
Pithura baba, on their hut walls. The Saora wall paintings in Orissa also have
a ritual base. Among the Warlis in Maharashtra, the painting of the goddess of
fertility was traditionally done by the Warli women. Among the Chanduri
tribes in Gujarat, the ancestral worship includes painting the walls at the houses.
They call it “Ghar Jamadyo” meaning offering a fast to the house. On the
other hand, the wall paintings of the Gadobas, the Kondhs, the Bhumiyas in
Orissa are more or less decorative in nature.
In northern Bihar, in the Mithila region, there is the interesting tradition of
painting the walls of the nuptial chamber, with the images of the bamboo grove,
the lotus plant, birds, fishes and snakes in union. It is in this chamber that the
bride and groom spend three nights and it is on the fourth day that the marriage
is consummated among these paintings. These paintings are always done by
women.
The Santal huts are decorated with mostly floral designs. Daily activities are
also depicted like bird trapping, hunting of animals, dancing, cock fighting.
The wall paintings of the Warlis also reflect their daily life.
Different things are used by different groups in wall paintings. While the Warlis
use rice flour paste, the Santhals use coloured earth. In their area, yellow,
white and red earth – all three are available. The Chanduri tribe in Gujarat
uses jowar flour .The Godabas of Orissa also use earth to paint different flowers
and geometrical patterns on their walls. The huts of these groups look joyous
and intimate.
The clothes worn by tribals reflect their creativity and imagination. They use
colourful textiles. In Orissa, the Dongaris, the Godabas, create a range of
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textiles on locally fabricated looms. These textiles show their developed sense
of aesthetics. They use a rich spectrum of colours. Santhal textiles also use a Folk Media
large range of coloured threads. In the South, among the Todas, we find men
and women wearing exquisite colourful textiles. The Toda Putkuli (shawl) is
striking in its bold colour schemes. Both men and women wear this kind of
shawl.
Among the tribes of the North Eastern region textile weaving is one of the
more developed art forms. The geometric patterns and the colour they use
carry specific meanings and symbols that could be understood only in their
socio-cultural contexts. The motif called Japa pore, found in the textiles of the
Adi tribe have 12 geometric patterns. It is amazing to see the textiles of the
Wancho tribe. They have a three dimensional effect. The effect is created by
the use of sharp contrasting colours. Many of the tribes have straight lines and
zigzag lines which represent rivers, mountains, trees and animals.
The ornaments the various communities use are not mere items of adornment
but have social, political and religious meanings. We find in Naga society that
a boy receives his first ornament at the age of seven or eight. He wears a thick
brass arm band called Khanshiri. He discards Khanshiri when he obtains the
right to wear the Shipu (boar tusk necklace) by making payment to the village
elders. Among the Adi, girls are given a brass disc waistband. This is replaced
by a more elaborate band called beyop after the puberty ritual. Beyop is made
of buffalo hide and round brass disc. Among the Santhals we find ornaments
made from items that are provided by nature. Some of them are dry seeds, dry
fruits.
Teracottas (made of earth) have always been great wealth from early times
from the Harappan cities of the third millennium B.C. In various pockets,
terracottas prevail. The Gonds of Sundergarh in Orissa make figures of pitchers,
bowls, tall multilayered lamps, animals and other articles.
When we consider the art of wood carvings, we find them in the north eastern
region. In Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, the art is common. Some of the
motifs are: a dancing couple, dancing girls, a man in a sitting posture, women
combing the hair of a man, tiger, bison etc. Certain art forms arose out of
utilitarian considerations and certain art forms provided a channel for creativity
and imagination.

13.5.6 Oral Narrative Tradition

Indian oral narrative tradition is the oldest in the world. The Katha Vachana
(Story telling) and the Katha Vachak (Story-teller) have existed for thousands
of years. It is this oral tradition to which folklore belongs. The tales, epics,
songs, riddles, proverbs get transmitted to the next generation by orality. And
this happens in the 1,600 dialects of the mother tongues of India.
It is significant to know that Ramayana and Mahabharata were initially in the
oral tradition. They were passed on by word of mouth and it was much later
that they were put into the written form. But there are “folk” who still have the
epics in their oral tradition. It is simply amazing to note that some of the “folk”
have the whole epic stored in their memory. The Dungri Bhils of Gujarat, for
instance, have the whole epic of Mahabharata stored in memory. It would take
them eighteen months of continuous recital to complete the recitation of the
epic. 109
Media–Preparation and Use In different communities, there are story-tellers or Katha Vachaks. In
Maharashtra, the Mangs are great story-tellers. A Mang man is addressed as
surata or poet or story-tellers by other communities. So are the Mahars. In a
similar way, the Asadi (priest) of Madagi communities are adept story-tellers.
India has a rich heritage and a variety of tales. Panchatantra, Kathasaritsagara,
Jatakas, Hindu Jain Puranas are some of the sources. And moreover each region
has its own epic. In Manipur, Khamba- Thoibi is an oral epic which has gained
currency during the time of Kings. The transmission of this oral epic is found
within the family, from grandfather to father to son. In the Kumaon hills,
Malushahi or Rajuula Malushahi is the oral epic. This story is well known to
the people of the region.
The oral narrative tradition grants flexibility to the text. Several versions of the
epic could be heard simultaneously. In case of the Malushahi epic of the Kumaon,
there are several versions, and out of these three stand out for their individual
styles. It is the narrator’s experience of the world that determines the content
of the tale.
The Ahirs sing the oral epic Loriki or Chaniani. The Ahirs are the traditional
milkmen or cowherds. There are about eight versions of the epic. The different
versions have different lengths, ranging from 12 thousand lines to about 24
thousand lines to glorify, their hero Lorik, his love, his battles. Loriki is a caste
epic and the narrators identify themselves with the heroic deeds.
Most of the professional singers and story-tellers are men. In some communities,
women participate in the singing while the men are the lead singers. For example
in Rajasthan, men and women of the Nayak caste tell the story of Pabuji, a
medieval Rajput hero from Western Rajasthan. This takes place in front of Par
(or long painted cloth) on which Pabuji’s deeds are depicted. The male is the
lead singer and he dances too while narrating the story .The women sing along
and hold a lamp to illuminate the painting.
In India every cultural performance owes its existence to the oral traditions and
folk forms. Mass media cannot live in a cultural vaccum. It is the folklore, the
oral tradition, the various folk media that have provided the environment.

13.6 EFFECTIVENESS OF FOLK MEDIA

Folk media have been found extremely effective in contemporary times. The
style of each medium has existed for centuries together but many new themes
have been incorporated. The objective has been to reach out to people with
new ideas and cause them to adopt the ideas as their own. For instance, to tell
them about the evils of the dowry system through puppetry or song or drama
and make them ponder over society and nature. The folk media, the indigenous
channels of communication, have always provided ground for expressing socio-
ritual moral and emotional needs of the group they belong to.
And therefore they have been proved to be effective in the context of the
churning out of new ideas. The people are eager to accept them when the ideas
come to them through their medium, the medium they are familiar with, the
medium that belongs to them.

110 The Song and Drama Division of the Union Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting has been using the various media to reach out to people with Folk Media
new concepts and new ideas. Prohibition, eradication of untouchability, family
planning, rural health systems and adult education are all common issues.
We also find other public sector enterprises using the folk media to propagate
their policies like Life Insurance Corporation, Nationalized Banks. The Union
Bank of India had taken the help of puppetry to convince the people how their
money would be safe with the nationalized bank. It was amazing to note that
within two months of the puppet shows, the rural deposit sources came into
the banking fold. Apart from the public sector, there are NGOs and individuals
who have taken the help of puppetry. For instance Disha, a non-profit
organization based in Delhi is trying to make people aware of AIDS through
puppetry. Mrs. Shreya Mangaldas of Ahmednagar has introduced puppetry in
schools for its educative value.
When we look at the folk theatre forms, we find they have been of great value
in churning out new ideas. Jatra in West Bengal, which originated in a religious
need gradually changed to secular themes, historical political plays. In the
early 20th century, Swadeshi Jatra had come into existence. Non-cooperation
movement, removal of untouchability were some of the themes. At present an
average Jatra troupe holds three hundred programmes in a year in front of an
audience of seven to ten thousand in rural and urban areas.
Tamasha in Maharashtra produced plays in the 1920’s for mobilizing public
opinion. Nautanki in north India has been depicting plays through which the
new values are being taken to the people. Some of the contemporary playwrights
like V.D. Madgulkar, Vijay Tendulkar, Habib Tanvir, Utpal Dutt, Girish Karnad
had been using elements of folk theatre. In the 1940’s IPTA (Indian People’s
Theatre Association) had successfully used Jatra of Bengal, Bhavai of Gujarat,
Tamasha of Maharashtra to increase social awareness and political education.
This is due to the inherent flexible nature of the folk media that they have been
able to survive in the contemporary times. The flexibility is due to its orality.
The various media have not only survived but they have been providing the
basis of communication.

Check Your Progress Exercise 5

1) Why do you think folk media continue to be effective?
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13.7 USE OF FOLK MEDIA IN TRAINING

In the case study section, we would have a look at DISHA, a Delhi-based
voluntary organization which uses puppetry for developmental purposes, for
giving training to people. DISHA organizes workshops and provides training
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mostly to women.
Media–Preparation and Use The different themes taken up by DISHA are:1) Environmental ethics, 2) AIDS
awareness, 3) Sanitation, Cleanliness, 4) Prohibition, 5) Reproductive and child
health, 6) Immunization, 7) Popularizing science through puppetry, 8) Child
survival, Safe motherhood, 9) Literacy, 10) Fire safety, 11) Eye care,
12) Gandhi’s messages, 13) Stories from Panchatantras, moral training and
character building.
Target Group
DISHA provides training to: 1) Non-governmental organizations, 2 )
Community workers, 3) Youth volunteers, 4) Teachers, 5) Health Workers, 6)
Auxiliary Nurse mid-wives, 7) Gram sevikas, 8) Anganwadi workers, 9)
Women living in slums, villages, 10) students.
Puppets used by Disha
DISHA uses rod puppets and glove puppets because it is easy to make them
and moreover it is quite easy to handle the puppets. The rod puppets are human
sized.
Training
DISHA has a core group formed by the slum youth who are trained in puppet
making and manipulation. This core team has been developed to train others
as well as to present puppet shows. With the help of this core team, many
areas of Delhi and places like Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Rohtak, Bihar and Nepal
have been covered.
DISHA organizes workshops where participants from different target groups
receive training in handling and manipulating puppets as a means of
communication. In the workshop, the theme is first introduced. Before giving
training to the participants, their awareness is assessed. And then, the areas are
identified where specific information is needed. In areas, where alchoholism
is a major problem, the prime messages are modified accordingly. The
participants are introduced to puppetry: history, types of puppets, role of
puppets in communication and role of folk media. And then, they are
encouraged to participate, so that they can take the show to their specific areas
and spread awareness.

13.8 CASE STUDY

In the present time, we have Teejan Bai who is a perfect story-teller who narrates
the whole Mahabharata enacting different roles simultaneously.
Teejan Bai
Teejan Bai, the Pandavani artiste from Chhattisgarh, is an inspiring force to a
great number of women. Pandavani means the story of the Pandavas. Pandavani
is the ballet form of singing in which the performer enacts the scenes and
events from Mahabharata. Teejan Bai was the only woman performer when
she began her Pandavani. Today there are about fifty women who, inspired by
her craft of story- telling, began to tell tales from Mahabharata. But, as Teejan
Bai says, only a few of them could master the art. Pandavani is very long.
Mahabharata, the world’s longest epic has about 100,000 stanzas. Teejan Bai,
112 who cannot read or write, has the whole of the epic stored in her memory. She
says that if she held a four-hour long programme, each day for three months, Folk Media
then only she could complete it.
As a child, she had to go to the jungle along with other family members to cut
wood and she used to make baskets. She was extremely interested in folk
tales. Her maternal grandfather, Brij Lal Pardhi, who was a well-known folk
singer in the Chhattisgarh region, provided a role model. She used to listen to
him and used to copy him. It was he who provided the initial training. She was
fifteen when she made her first stage appearance in a village. She performed
for 18 days continuously. And then it all began, travelling from one village to
the other, telling the tales of Mahabharata.
When she was invited by Mrs. lndira Gandhi to Delhi to perform, she drew the
attention of the whole country. She held the audience spell-bound and the
vibrant narrations in her typical folklore style won the hearts of not only her
country people but also people in other countries. She has performed in festivals
of India in Moscow, Switzerland, Paris. She uses the Kapalik Shaili which
involves gestures to illustrate the tale. By movements and gestures, she
mesmerized the audience even though they did not understand a single word.
She was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1988. She also received the Sangeet
Natak Akademi award for her contribution to Pandavani.
She had a very disturbed family life but the folk medium gave her immense
strength to face life. Her story now inspires many women and as she says
“When I was thirteen and interested in folk tales, my mother used to beat me.
Today in Chattisgarh, when girls are not interested in housework, people smile
and say Teejan Bai was also like this.”

13.9 LET US SUM UP

Folk media are of and by the “folk” – the common people. Analyzing the Unit
will introduce you to folk media used/performed/created by only men or only
women or by both. This is an interesting study you can pursue further in your
own area.
Folk media can be relevant for gender training. Using the traditional form we
can adapt them to the modern themes especially in rural areas. This can be
very effective in reaching out to rural women.

13.10 GLOSSARY
Folklore : Traditional customs, usages, motions
Folk media : Theatre, song, dance, emerging from
folklore, art puppetry, story telling etc.

13.11 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
Check Your Progress Exercise 1
1) Folklore relates to indigenous channels of communication. Folk media
are based on folklore – the customs, festivals, usages, notions of the
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common people.
Media–Preparation and Use 2) i) The common idea present in all folklore is that by tradition; something
handed down from one person to another and presence by practice
rather than a written record.
ii) In the words of Vladimir Propp, the Russian folklorist “the entire
creative output of people is folklore”. Thus it involves dances, songs,
legends, myths, tales, beliefs, superstitions, riddles, proverbs, art and
craft.
iii) Folklore can be likened to language and not literature. This is because
it has been invented by no one person. It has neither an author nor
authors.
iv) Folklore changes constantly. The “folk” bring about changes in the
folklore in the context of the changing times. For example, “anyone
listening to folklore is a potential future performer who consciously
or unconsciously will introduce changes”.
Check Your Progress Exercise 2
1) i) Discuss with rural women about the folk media they are familiar
with.
ii) Have focussed group discussions with local trainers or resource
persons on relevant folk media and how they have been used.
iii) Find out how to go about preparing appropriate drama. You can use
local weaving to prepare designs or scenes relevant to the lives of the
women. For example Adithi, an NGO in Bihar has trained women to
prepare wall hangings depicting female foeticide.
Check Your Progress Exercise 3
1) The martial dances are done by men alone. The acrobatic dance is also
performed by men only. In Tehri Garhwal, there is the Langvir Nritya of
the Pandis. The dancer climbs a high bamboo pole and balances himself
on his stomach on top of the pole. He rotates on the pole, doing other
feats with his hands and feet to the rhythm of the drum called dhol.
There are some dances performed by women only. The Santhal dances
like Dhang and Laghi are by women alone. Then there is Sua, an interesting
dance from Chattisgarh. Sua is the parrot. Sua is the messenger of the
newly wed girl whose sorrow and joy are reflected in the dance. In the
Kashmir valley, we find “Rouf’, the folk dance restricted to women alone.
It is full of mystical meanings. It is interesting to know that the dances of
Kashmir though belonging to an agricultural society revolve around nature
and are reminiscent of romantic poetry.
2) Folk media actually record the history of a community, their shared past,
their feelings, attitudes, religious beliefs. They are, therefore, vital in
giving a sense of belonging, commonality, continuity.
Check Your Progress Exercise 4
1) Rajasthan has a rich variety of folk songs. There are songs which show
the emotional life of women in their family relationships. The women
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folk sing the songs and keep on adding new words to the songs, words
 which reflect their inner sorrow and the sense of deprivation. These songs Folk Media
provide an outlet to them. They have songs for every occasion. When a
son is born, a song is sung in honour of the new mother who is referred to
as the Jachcha Queen. The word ‘jachcha” means a woman at the time of
giving birth.
2) Yes, if we use the traditional form innovatively. Using the typical
costumes, dialogue and rationale we may be able to manage an effective
theatre presentation. But care has to be taken that there is no lack of
relevance or that there is nothing offensive.
Check Your Progress Exercise 5
1) Answer based on your experience and/or readings. Your answer should
reflect the current use of folk media in training situations particularly use
of folk media such as theatre, songs.

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