PREFACE

During the past two decades, folklore studies in India is moving in the direction of analysis. Folklore has gained respectability as a discipline on the university campus. Many institutions are busy with collection and analysis of folklore materials. Interdisciplinary approach to folklore studies is becoming a reality. Seminars, summer schools and workshops are becoming more frequent. The national and regional associations of folklore scholars seem to be more active now. All these are indicators of healthy growth of folklore studies as a discipline and the importance it has received in the country. Despite this healthy and promising trend, my experiences, during the past few years, with young schlars whom I met, taught and had discussions with, in workships and various teaching programmes has been that they need a little more reinforcements as regards theoretical tools, concepts and methods used in global folklore scholarship. The present volume is an attempt towards that objective. I have tried to follow a chronological as well as a logical order of the growth of major folklore theories and methods which scholars have been using for the purposes of analysis and interpretations. Wherever time and space permitted, these methods and the theories which hold them together, have been tested on Indian data. If this small book fulfills the need of young scholars and helps them in interpreting folklore items convincingly, I will consider myself as having been amply rewarded.

I am grateful to the Director, CIIL and Dr. M.S. Thirumalai for their encouragement. I am thankful to Mr. Gopal for typing the manuscript, to Shri H.L.N. Bharati and Mr. Biswas for seeing the book through the press.

Jawaharlal Handoo
Folklore Unit