ABSTRACT

Dalit folktales are an important part of Indian folkloristic categories. They have existed since long, often in a complex relationship with the dominant culture. The development of Dalit cultural, political and public spheres in the recent past has galvanized a dynamic Dalit system of organization of folktales in performances, festivals and protests, leading to a diffusion of its contents and forms, and intimate connections with everyday life of the community. The folktale has also increasingly become an expression of Dalits’ environmental risks, conflicts and rights. Its mythical characters have been transformed into symbols of ecological ancestors with immense physical, natural and spiritual skills, who have the courage to liberate the community from oppressive ecological and social systems. Drawing on the folktale of two Musahar brothers, Dina and Bhadri, widely circulated in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India and Nepal, the article sheds light on how folk traditions work within Dalit and other marginalized groups in South Asia. It particularly focuses on how folklore has become a way for Dalits to assert their environmental rights through their own motifs, everyday memories, and ecological ancestors. Based on extensive fieldwork in the North Indian River Plains, the article highlights this new phenomenon of ecological symbolism of Dalit folklore.

摘要

达利特民间故事是印度民俗范畴的重要组成部分。它们已经存在了很长时间，通常与主流文化有着复杂的关系。达利特人在文化，政治和公共领域的发展近来激发了动态的达利特人在表演，节日和抗议活动中组织民间故事的系统，从而导致其内容和形式的扩散，并与社区的日常生活紧密联系。民间故事也越来越成为达利特人的环境风险，冲突和权利的体现。它的神话人物已转变为具有巨大的身体，自然和精神技能的生态祖先的象征，他们有勇气将社区从压迫性的生态和社会系统中解放出来。借鉴两个穆萨哈尔兄弟的民间故事，狄娜和巴德里（Dina and Bhadri）在印度和尼泊尔的印度恒河平原广泛流传，阐明了民间传统如何在达利特和南亚其他边缘群体中发挥作用。它特别关注民间文学艺术如何成为达利特人通过自己的图案，日常记忆和生态祖先维护环境权的一种方式。基于北印度河平原的广泛实地考察，本文重点介绍了达利特民俗学的生态象征新现象。和生态祖先。基于北印度河平原的广泛实地考察，本文重点介绍了达利特民俗学的生态象征新现象。和生态祖先。基于北印度河平原的广泛野外考察，本文重点介绍了达利特民俗学的生态象征新现象。