Kolkata, West Bengal
In the course of evolution, humans eventually learned to speak, but there was no system of reading or writing then. Because the script had not yet been invented, and if nothing was written, the idea of reading could not exist either. From our current perspective, everyone of that age was illiterate.
But to say that there were differences in intelligence among them would not be wrong. Variation in intelligence and ability among the same human race is, in itself, a kind of evolution. As a result, some people developed an extraordinary ability to speak. They began to tell stories of a very different kind, stories not directly related to their daily lives, yet not entirely disconnected from them either. More importantly, these stories evoked joy in the minds of listeners. Thus, even amid the uncertainties of everyday struggle, people wanted to hear more and more of these new “stories.” Those are what we now call folk tales. Over time, the themes, purposes, and styles of these tales evolved to create what we now know as literature. Yet the original charm of folk tales remains undimmed even today.
Within folk tales, we can find three main purposes: to entertain, to instruct, and to explain natural phenomena. Today, we are accustomed to viewing and understanding natural phenomena through the lens of science. But in those early times, scientific knowledge was very limited. Still, some people through direct observation and reasoning understood nature’s laws quite well. They tried to convey these laws to the larger community in the form of stories. As a result, many tales were created that may not have had any scientific basis, but they were deeply connected to human joy. Such stories are what we call myths.
When society was formed, certain social rules were created for the common good, rules like not committing violence, not lying, not cheating, and so on. To illustrate that those who broke these rules would ultimately face trouble, various characters emerged. The simple and virtuous were represented by figures like the young prince, the poor Brahmin, or a humble farmer. The deceitful and dishonest found their representatives in characters like the barber or the police chief. Alongside these human figures came familiar animals and birds. They began to speak like humans and took on both virtues and vices of human nature. In each story, an animal or bird represented a particular trait: the sparrow was simple and innocent, the fox clever and cunning. There were exceptions too: the crow, for instance, could be foolish in one tale and clever in another. These kinds of tales are known as animal fables. Some of them feature human characters, but the protagonist is always an animal or a bird. The main purpose of these stories was to impart moral lessons and ethical guidance.
The human desire to overcome obstacles and achieve success is deeply ingrained. That is why people listened eagerly to stories about the daring adventures of princes or merchant’s sons, tales where they faced wild beasts, demons, or giants, but in the end triumphed over all odds. These stories reflected humanity’s inner longing to emerge victorious. We know such stories as fairy tales, though the scope of fairy tales is actually much broader.
Even those who lacked the prince’s horse, sword, or courage to stand tall before danger wished for success in life. Then the stories introduced supernatural elements like magic, ghostly help, or the blessings of fairies. Through such wonders, a foolish weaver could become wealthy, or a poor shepherd could heal a princess and win a kingdom. Sometimes, the power of magic proved stronger than a prince’s sword. Watching these miracles unfold in stories, people naturally began to seek such powers in real life too. To fulfill their desires and dreams, they often bound themselves to various rituals in hopes of invoking the supernatural.
In some folk tales, the importance of following moral or social rules has been demonstrated through examples. Thus arose a special branch of folk tales known as Brata-katha (vow tales). Many countries have their own customs of observing vows or rituals according to their cultures, but only in India do we find stories attached to those vows. The main purpose of these tales was to express the yearning for basic domestic comfort and a secure livelihood.
We infer the lifestyle of people of historical times, or even earlier, from the objects they used. But the only way to understand the flow of their thoughts and emotions is through these folk tales. The influence of social and economic systems is clearly visible in them. So, when similar stories are found in multiple regions, we can understand that the evolution of thought in those regions occurred in much the same way. Moreover, through travelers or traders, stories from one place could easily reach another.
In different societies and at different times, certain people made a living by telling stories.The audience, however, had varied purposes in listening. For example, during the Mahabharata era, storytellers narrated tales during rituals or sacrifices. After long days of ceremonial activities, people would find leisure in the evenings. There was no other form of entertainment then, so the arrival of the storyteller was a source of great joy.
When Arabian merchants travelled long distances, some would sleep at night while others stayed awake; hence, they kept storytellers with them. We know well that there is no better companion for wakeful nights than stories. In our country, too, garden watchmen used to keep storytellers to help them stay alert. And of course, storytelling sessions were held purely for entertainment as well. Not all these tales were folk tales, but many folk tales spread among the people through them. Listeners, in turn, would recount these stories in their own circles for pleasure. As they passed from mouth to mouth, the language of the tales changed, with additions and omissions along the way. Depending on place and time, even the characters could change, something that was not uncommon at all.
Across different countries and ages, some people recognized the importance of preserving these folk tales. The first names that come to mind are those of the two brothers from Germany, remembered worldwide as the Brothers Grimm. Their German-language collection of fairy tales was published in two volumes, in 1812 and 1815. These works inspired the study of folklore around the world.
Around the same period, an English missionary named William Carey drew attention by collecting Bengali folk tales. Later, Bengali Reverend Lal Behari Dey also took an interest in collecting them. He translated the stories into English and published a book titled Folktales of Bengal in 1883 in London. This book carried the folk tales of Bengal to distant corners of the world.In later years, many others contributed their labor and intellect to this endeavor, among them Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar, Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, and Ashutosh Bhattacharya. They collected and rewrote the tales in their own styles, though it cannot be said that their works were entirely without original elements. Some even created new stories inspired by the form of folk tales. In these too, traces of traditional story structures are not uncommon. Examples include the Aesop’s Fables of ancient Greece, Panchatantra by India’s Vishnusharma, and the stories of Russia’s Leo Tolstoy. Of these, only Tolstoy did not append a moral at the end of his tales. He believed that readers would naturally grasp the moral essence through the story itself and apply it in their lives.
All over the world, many researchers are trying to understand the cultural, political, economic, and moral evolution of civilizations through folk tales. Therefore, we too should try our best to look beyond the entertainment value of folk tales and explore their deeper meanings.
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