Folklore of the Santal Parganas

Description

“Folklore of the Santal Parganas” contains a collection of folk tales from the Indian district Santal Parganas, translated by Cecil Henry Bompas and published in May 15, 2008.

The Santals (who have also been known, during their history, as Ashurs, Naushad, Mahabharat and Hore) are one of the largest tribes in the area and can be found in central-eastern India and beyond, in Nepal, Bangladesh or Bhutan. They speak Santali, a complex agglutinative language, but they did not have their own script until the 18th century, so their history and folklore, including traditions and customs, have been transmitted orally, from one generation to another.

It is also the case of “Folklore of the Santal Parganas”; the stories refer to many different aspects of life: religion and spirits (the Santals are animists), family, human characters, animals and legends. These stories have been collected by the Rev. O. Bodding, but it was Bompas who translated them, with a particular attention to surpass the culture-language barrier and deliver uncorrupted translations. This is particularly important today, when these stories tend to be obliterated, due to the intercourse between communities, involving a certain degree of assimilation.

The stories are classified in six parts. In the first one, the content is mostly focused on characters, some of them stereotypical: the jealous stepmother, the queen whose husband is killed on their wedding night etc. In part two, the stories related to animals, credited with human-like intelligence and feelings. Part four contains anecdotes related to the life of the Santals. In part five, you can read about traditions, legends and tribal customs, while part six is dedicated to witchcraft.

Western readers may find the morality of some stories strange to their culture, but “Folklore of the Santal Parganas” is a fun, intriguing and interesting reading experience nevertheless.
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