Oral narrative of a tribal community transmits knowledge orally from one generation to the next generation. This unique knowledge system is rooted in their social environment. These narratives portray their ethnic belief system and identity. These narratives are the history of the community which has been passed down since time immemorial. Folk narratives are stories which are passed from generation to generation through verbal telling.
It is really very sad to know that most of the tribal languages in Jharkhand are dying other than the language mentioned like Kudukh, Mundari, Ho, Santhali and Kharia. We always talk about government apathy. We always look to government for preservation of tribal art and music but to my mind the preservation of tribal ethos can be achieved only by collective cultural consciousness.
The literature of Jharkhand is not only musical but philosophic. When we read tribal literature in all its earnestness we find that the tribal literature has tremendous romanticism. There are references of several words, flowers, trees, waterfalls and pure love. That is what makes the tribal literature of Jharkhand praise worthy. It may not be as revolutionary as Dalit literature but sill we find that there is a cry of helplessness and injustice meted to them. I am sure in future academicians and researchers will find time to look and pierce in to the psyche of tribal literature of Jharkhand.
Tribals are responding to the challenges of modern times by writing literature of emerging sensibility. They are singing songs of their own age old tragedy. It is really a matter of great concern that as per the survey of UNESCO 196 languages are endangered and majority of the languages are tribal language. The tribals have preserved the history of Indian civilization which is set to be 5000 years old.
In Jharkhand there is alienation of the region’s tribal population in favour of a few powerful elements, resulting consequent starvation of the tribal. These rich exploiters not only rob the tribals of their wealth but also treat them with contempt. They create division and tension among these simple peace-loving people through their machinations. They create communal hatred between tribals and non-tribals of the area.
The adivasis, who are by and large illiterate, live in isolation and have very little outside contact. Their only contact with the outside world is at the market place where the mahajans snatch away their meagre produce at throw away prices and make exorbitant profits out of their work; or with the petty block officials who harass them for a chicken or a cup of rice beer; or with the forest contractors and businessmen who make them slog for existence. In such a situation of utter neglect and perpetual starvation, disease, superstitions and bondage of old and new kinds of problem plague their lives.
In spite of all this, for the last 5000 years along with keeping their race in recognition, they also continue to keep their language, culture, and lifestyle recognised. Today, they are searching for their own history. In his journey, a tribal either could not establish his script or it was lost. Even then, the folk literature is still alive because of tribal vocal traditions. Now, the tribals have held the pen and they are creating poems of nature’s protection and human sensitivity. The tribal in their literature are describing the fertility of the soil, about the shelter providing trees, the life providing nature and about the pain of their displacement and of exploitation. The thought of saving the forests, saving water, keeping the land from being barren are the key themes in tribal literature. Tribal literature is seeking an answer for the destruction of forests. A tribal pen is waiting to become an arrow.
The tribal discourse is the discourse of their identity. On different level of folk art, music, dance, culture, language, narrative and scripts the tribal consciousness is gradually unfolding. The tribal literature is becoming subject of very wider discourse. When we go deep into the undercurrent of tribal literature we find that the tribal literature does not discuss only their frustrations and exploitations but on the other hand we find their deep concern for the maintaining of ecology and universal love. The tribal literature is deeply rooted in life; it is a literature of commitment. It is the literature of confrontation. It is the literature of making people aware about tribal psyche.
Dr BP Sinha aka Vinod Kumar, is the former Head, Centre for English Studies and Dean, School of Languages, Central University of Jharkhand, He is an academician, poet, short story writer, novelist, renowned playwright and perceptive critic of life and literature. The views expressed in the article are his own.
