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Punjabi folklore, more particularly its folksongs, are a core part of the Punjabi culture. [1] [2] Other important components of Punjabi folklore are farces, anecdotes, idioms, folktales, and sayings. [3]
Richard Carnac Temple argued in his 1884 work, The Legends of the Punjab, that the plot structure of Punjabi folktales and bardic poetry was indistinguishable from one another, albeit with the bardic poems being more textually conservative (as they had been governed by metre and rhyme due to being in verse form). This led him to believe that the folktales originated from the bardic literature, existing as degraded derivatives. [4]
I hope to show here abundantly that the bardic poem and the folktale are constructed on precisely the same lines as far as the pure story goes, even where the former is fastened on to really historical characters and mixed up with the narrative of bona fide historical facts [which Temple evidently values]. The folktale is very often in fact a mere scene, or jumble of scenes, to be found in the poem, where only the marvellous story has been remembered, while the names and surroundings of the actors to whom it is attributed has [sic] been forgotten. (Temple, v-vi)
— Donald Haase quoting R. C. Temple, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales, page 895
Punjabi folktales commonly incorporate stories involving animals which teach a moral lesson. [5] This is a theme which originated in ancient India, with a surviving example being the Panchatantra of the third century BCE. [5] Other prevalent themes found within Punjabi folklore is a suspcision of those in positions of power, and folly & pretense used for derision. [5]
Academic folkloristic research into and the collecting of the large corpus of Punjabi folktales began during the colonial-era by Britishers, such as Flora Annie Steel's three papers on her studies of local Punjabi folktales (1880), with a translation of three fables into English, [2] Richard Carnac Temple's The Legends of the Punjab (1884), Flora Annie Steel's Tales of the Punjab (1894), and Charles Frederick Usborne's Panjabi Lyrics and Proverbs (1905). [6] [3] Native Punjabis have also contributed to this field, with some names being Devendra Satyarthi, Mohinder Singh Randhawa, Amrita Pritam, Sohinder Singh Wanjara Bedi, Giani Gurdit Singh, and Sukhdev Madpuri, whom have contributed published collections, encyclopedias, anthologies, and renditions in this field of study. [6]
The Brothers Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of folktales, popularizing stories such as "Cinderella", "The Frog Prince", "Hansel and Gretel", "Town Musicians of Bremen", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Rapunzel", "Rumpelstiltskin", "Sleeping Beauty", and "Snow White". Their first collection of folktales, Children's and Household Tales, began publication in 1812.
A fairy tale is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cultures, there is no clear line separating myth from folk or fairy tale; all these together form the literature of preliterate societies. Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends and explicit moral tales, including beast fables. Prevalent elements include dragons, dwarfs, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, griffins, merfolk, monsters, talking animals, trolls, unicorns, witches, wizards, magic, and enchantments.
Japanese folktales are an important cultural aspect of Japan. In commonplace usage, they signify a certain set of well-known classic tales, with a vague distinction of whether they fit the rigorous definition of "folktale" or not among various types of folklore. The admixed impostors are literate written pieces, dating back to the Muromachi period or even earlier times in the Middle Ages. These would not normally qualify for the English description "folktales".
English folklore consists of the myths and legends of England, including the English region's mythical creatures, traditional recipes, urban legends, proverbs, superstitions, and folktales. Its cultural history is rooted in Celtic, Christian, Nordic and Germanic folklore.
Irish folklore refers to the folktales, balladry, music, dance and mythology of Ireland. It is the study and appreciation of how people lived.
Heer Ranjha is one of the four popular tragic romances of the Punjab. The other three are Mirza Sahiban, Sohni Mahiwal and Sassi Punnun. There are several poetic narrations of the story; the most famous being Heer by Waris Shah written in 1766. It tells the story of the love between Heer Sial and Dheedo Ranjha.
The Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index is a catalogue of folktale types used in folklore studies. The ATU Index is the product of a series of revisions and expansions by an international group of scholars: originally composed in German by Finnish folklorist Antti Aarne (1910), the index was translated into English, revised, and expanded by American folklorist Stith Thompson, and later further revised and expanded by German folklorist Hans-Jörg Uther (2004). The ATU Index, along with Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature (1932)—with which it is used in tandem—is an essential tool for folklorists.
Gogaji is a folk deity, worshipped in the northern states of India especially in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Punjab region, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Gujarat. He is a warrior-hero of the region, venerated as a saint and a 'snake-god'.
Pakistani folklore encompasses the mythology, poetry, songs, dances and puppetry from Pakistan's various ethnic groups.
Katharine Mary Briggs was a British folklorist and writer, who wrote The Anatomy of Puck, the four-volume A Dictionary of British Folk-Tales in the English Language, and various other books on fairies and folklore. From 1969 to 1972, she was president of the Folklore Society, which established an award in her name to commemorate her life and work.
Raja Sálbán is a mythical monarch, believed to have founded the city and the fort of Sialkot. According to Punjabi folklore, he was father of Puran Bhagat and Raja Rasalu, the protagonist of the Adventures of Raja Rasalu.
Sassi Punnu or Sassui Punnhun is a folktale in the Sindhi, Balochi and Punjabi folklore. It is one of the seven popular tragic romances of Sindh. The other six are Umar Marvi, Momal Rano, Sohni Mehar, Lilan Chanesar, Sorath Rai Diyach, and Noori Jam Tamachi. In Punjab, it is four of the most popular romances. The other three are Heer Ranjha, Sohni Mahiwal and Mirza Sahiban. It also remains one of the most popular folktales in Balochistan. The story is about a faithful lover who will endure any difficulty while seeking her beloved husband who was separated from her by rivals.
Keigo Seki was a Japanese folklorist. He joined a group under Yanagita Kunio, but often came to different conclusions regarding the same folktales. Along with collecting and compiling folktales, Seki also arranged them into a series of categories.
"The Peasant's Wise Daughter", "The Peasant's Clever Daughter" or "The Clever Lass" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales as tale number 94. It has also spread into Bohemia and Božena Němcová included it into her collection of Czech national folk tales in 1846.
Puran Bhagat is a mythical prince of Sialkot from Punjabi folklore. According to the story, he was son of King Salban of Sialkot and an elder brother of prince Rasalu.
The Var or Vaar, in Punjabi poetry, is a heroic ode or ballad which generally narrates legend such as stories of Punjabi folk heroes or a historical event. Examples include the feats of Dulla Bhatti and Raja Rasalu, Amir Khusrau's Vaar for Ghazi Malik who took the throne of Delhi in 1320, the Vaar of Shaikh Khokhar, and Najabat's Nadar Shah Di Var which describes the invasion of India by Nadir Shah in 1739. The Var has also been used to evoke the mood of devotion or sacrifice, as in Guru Gobind Singh's Chandi di Var, or to narrate the mystical experience of a Pir, Bhagat or Guru.
Dhadi, also spelled as Dhadhi, is one who sings ballads using Dhadd and Sarangi, the folk instruments of Punjab. According to Kahn Singh Nabha's Mahan Kosh the definition of dhadhi is "One who sings ballads of warriors playing Dhadd". Dhadis are a distinct group performers emerged in the time of Sikh gurus.
Sohinder Singh Wanjara Bedi (1924-2001) was a Punjabi folklorist and a British Indian born in Sialkot, a city now part of Pakistan.
Folk practices prevalent in Punjab incorporate local mysticism and refers to the beliefs and practices strictly indigenous to the Punjabi people, of the Punjab region including ancestral worship, veneration of saints, and local festivals. There are many shrines in Punjab which represent the folk religion of the Punjab region which is a discourse between different organised religions. These shrines represent inter-communal dialogue and a distinct form of cultural practice of saint veneration.
Raja Rasalu is a fictional character and protagonist of the Adventures of Raja Rasalu, a Punjabi folktale. According to the story, he is son of Raja Sálbán, the king of Sialkot, and a younger brother of Puran Bhagat.
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