The folklore of India compasses the folklore of the nation of India and the Indian subcontinent.
The subcontinent of India contains a wide diversity of ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. Given this diversity, it is difficult to generalize widely about the folklore of India as a unit.
Hinduism, the religion of the majority of the citizens of India, is a heterogeneous faith whose local manifestations are diverse. Folk religion in Hinduism may explain the rationale behind local religious practices, and contain local myths that explain the existence of local religious customs or the location of temples. These sorts of local variation have a higher status in Hinduism than comparable customs would have in religions such as Christianity or Islam. Some have claimed that the very concept of a "folklore of India" represents a colonial imposition that disparages the Hindu religion. However, folklore as currently understood goes beyond religious or supernatural beliefs and practices, and compasses the entire body of social tradition whose chief vehicle of transmission is oral or outside institutional channels.
Read more about Folklore Of India: Folk Art of India, Indian Folk Heroes, Villains, and Tricksters, Cultural Archetypes and Icons, Traditional Games of India, Indian Folklorists
Famous quotes containing the words folklore of, folklore and/or india:
“So, too, if, to our surprise, we should meet one of these morons whose remarks are so conspicuous a part of the folklore of the world of the radio—remarks made without using either the tongue or the brain, spouted much like the spoutings of small whales—we should recognize him as below the level of nature but not as below the level of the imagination.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“Someday soon, we hope that all middle and high school will have required courses in child rearing for girls and boys to help prepare them for one of the most important and rewarding tasks of their adulthood: being a parent. Most of us become parents in our lifetime and it is not acceptable for young people to be steeped in ignorance or questionable folklore when they begin their critical journey as mothers and fathers.”
—James P. Comer (20th century)
“India is an abstraction.... India is no more a political personality than Europe. India is a geographical term. It is no more a united nation than the Equator.”
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965)