Entering the field of tribal literature, one discovers a wealth of tribal folk tales and vibrant folk songs. Although they are economically under-developed, they can be, from the cultural point of view, treated as leaders even among the more developed communities of the human race. The rich oral tradition of tribal songs expresses the mysteries of life and nature.
It is to be noted that if we try to investigate oldest literature, it would be found in some cave. We do not know who the writers of these oral narratives were. But the first writer and artist used to live in a forest in his old world. He used to find pleasure in making sketches on the rocks, making faces and singing and he was not only singing he was the first archer who was fighting with the wild animals.
The oral narratives cover a long list of genres of oral traditions of folklore such as tales, fables, legends, social and historical ballads, epics, myths, personal narratives, anecdotes and autobiographical accounts and the study of this folk narrative now considered as the concern of various disciplines of Culture Studies, Social Sciences and Humanities.
The tribal communities are having other forms of folklore with the oral narratives and that include tribal paintings, tattooing, various performing arts, tribal worships and rituals. Thus the oral narratives are inseparable from the social and cultural life of the tribal and non-tribal communities.
The incorporation of memory into history is a powerful device employed by the writers to ensure the preservation of tribal stories. Memory permits the invocation and retention of past experiences, imagined and real. Reviving memories is necessary, however, for tribal people because; the only history for them is memory. Memory is how the past is recalled; memory is also how we heal from the past. Re-memory is a combination of historical memory and the imagination.
Tribal music has myriad functions. It is a feast not only for the eyes, ears and mind of the people but it is also a heritage of knowledge and wisdom of the tribal people. The theme of the music is derived from the eco-environment of the tribe, their society, economy, history and politics including their philosophy and world views.
The tribals have been pushed to the forest far from the civilization but even then they are continuing their dialogue using their flute, nagara, mandar and their dance forms. They have a long history of 5000 years. They have a long history of oral narratives, in which there is history of the earth. The tribals are trying to find out their own history, their own language and their own literature.
The tribals of India who live in far flung areas are our oldest inhabitants. Their contribution to Indian society and culture is immense. These tribals are called in Sanskrit literature as Asur, Nisad, Dasyu, Vanar and Rakshash. When Aryans landed in India the non-Aryan communities were already living in India. The Aryan God Indra used to fight against tribals for a very long time. It will be interesting to go deep in the excavations of Indus valley civilization. There we find the statue of Shiva surrounded with animals. His costume was like tribals. He was considered ancestor of Rakshash, Vanars and Asurs. In Aryan society he was always considered God of lower category. This is to be highlighted that the Oraon tribes consider themselves as dissidents of Ravana. Another group of Oraon tribe supported Rama when he had gone to Lanka to fight with Ravana. Hanuman is considered to be of Oraon tribe and in Jharkhand people worship the place Anjan gram where he was supposed to be born in Jharkhand.
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.