The Project Gutenberg eBook ofSantal folk talesThis ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.Title: Santal folk talesAuthor: A. CampbellRelease date: January 24, 2011 [eBook #35060]Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for ProjectGutenberg (This book was produced from scanned images ofpublic domain material from the Google Print project.)*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SANTAL FOLK TALES ***
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
Title: Santal folk talesAuthor: A. CampbellRelease date: January 24, 2011 [eBook #35060]Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for ProjectGutenberg (This book was produced from scanned images ofpublic domain material from the Google Print project.)
Title: Santal folk tales
Author: A. Campbell
Author: A. Campbell
Release date: January 24, 2011 [eBook #35060]
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for ProjectGutenberg (This book was produced from scanned images ofpublic domain material from the Google Print project.)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SANTAL FOLK TALES ***
Santal Folk Tales.Translated from the SantaliByA. Campbell,Free Church of Scotland Santal Mission,Santal Mission Press,Pokhuria.Printed at the Santal Mission Press,Pokhuria.1891.Preface.Of late years the Folk tales of India have been the subject of much study and research, and several interesting collections of them have been published. But I am not aware that as yet the folk lore of the Santals, has received the attention which it deserves. The Santals as a people, have, to a remarkable degree, succeeded in resisting the subtle Hinduising influences to which they have long been exposed, and to which such a large number of aboriginal tribes have succumbed. They have retained their language, institutions, tribal organization, and religion almost intact. Their traditions show the jealousy with which these have been guarded, and the suspicion and distrust with which contact with their Aryan neighbours was regarded. The point at which they have been most accessible to outward influence and example, is in their relations with the aboriginal tribes, who in a more or less degree have merged themselves in Hinduism. Hindu ideas, customs and beliefs, filtering through these tribes, became considerably modified before they reached the Santals, and were therefore less potent in their effects than if they had been drawn from the fountain head of Hinduism itself. Still, in respect to their aboriginal neighbours they are always on their guard, ready to repel any innovation on their customs or religion with which they may be threatened. In the folk tales of such a people we may well expect to find something, if not altogether new, still interesting and instructive from an ethnological point of view, and this expectation, I believe, would be abundantly gratified if they were only made accessible to those who, by training and study, are competent to deal with them.Santal folk-tales may be divided into two classes—those apparently purely Santal in their origin, and those obtained from other sources. Those of the first class are by far the more numerous, and besides showing the superstitious awewith which the Santals regard the creations of their own fancy, they throw a flood of light upon the social customs and usages of this most interesting people. The second class embraces a large number of the more popular tales current among the Hindus and semi-Hinduised aborigines. These, although adapted and modified by the Santals to suit their language, modes of thought, and social usages, may generally be detected by the presence of proper names, or untranslatable phrases which unmistakably indicate the sourcefromwhich they have been derived.These tales were taken down in Santali at first hand, and are therefore genuine and redolent of the soil. In translating them I have allowed myself considerable latitude without in any way diverging so far from the original as to in any degree impair their value to the student of Indian Folk-lore.It was to be expected that in the popular tales of a simple, unpolished people like the Santals, expressions and allusions unfitted for ears polite would be found. In all such cases the changes which have been made are in accord with Santal thought and usage, so that the tales are, notwithstanding these alterations,thoroughly Santali.I have aimed at making these Santal Folk-tales, in their English dress, true to the forests and hills of their nativity. I am not without hope, that in this I have succeeded in some small degree.A number of the tales included in this volume have already appeared in the Indian Evangelical Review, but in this collected form they are more likely to prove of service to those who take an interest in the subject.This volume of Santal Folk-Tales is offered as a humble contribution to the Folk-lore of India.Contents.Page.The Magic Lamp1The Two Brothers, Jhorea and Jhore6The Boy and his Stepmother15The Story of Kara and Guja18The King and his inquisitive Queen22The Story of Bitaram25The Story of Sit and Bosont33The Story of a Tiger40Story of a Lizard, a Tiger, and a lame Man42The Story of a Simpleton45A Thief and a Tiger49The Magic Fiddle52Gumda the Hero57Lipi and Lapra62The Story of Lelha65The Story of Sindura Gand Garur89The Tiger and Ulta’s Mother93The Greatest Cheat of Seven98The Story of Two Princesses102Seven Brothers and their Sister106The Story of Jhore111The Girl who always found helpers119A Simple Thief125
Santal Folk Tales.Translated from the SantaliByA. Campbell,Free Church of Scotland Santal Mission,Santal Mission Press,Pokhuria.
Santal Folk Tales.
Santal Folk Tales.
Translated from the SantaliByA. Campbell,
Free Church of Scotland Santal Mission,Santal Mission Press,Pokhuria.
Printed at the Santal Mission Press,Pokhuria.1891.
Printed at the Santal Mission Press,Pokhuria.1891.
Printed at the Santal Mission Press,Pokhuria.
1891.
Preface.Of late years the Folk tales of India have been the subject of much study and research, and several interesting collections of them have been published. But I am not aware that as yet the folk lore of the Santals, has received the attention which it deserves. The Santals as a people, have, to a remarkable degree, succeeded in resisting the subtle Hinduising influences to which they have long been exposed, and to which such a large number of aboriginal tribes have succumbed. They have retained their language, institutions, tribal organization, and religion almost intact. Their traditions show the jealousy with which these have been guarded, and the suspicion and distrust with which contact with their Aryan neighbours was regarded. The point at which they have been most accessible to outward influence and example, is in their relations with the aboriginal tribes, who in a more or less degree have merged themselves in Hinduism. Hindu ideas, customs and beliefs, filtering through these tribes, became considerably modified before they reached the Santals, and were therefore less potent in their effects than if they had been drawn from the fountain head of Hinduism itself. Still, in respect to their aboriginal neighbours they are always on their guard, ready to repel any innovation on their customs or religion with which they may be threatened. In the folk tales of such a people we may well expect to find something, if not altogether new, still interesting and instructive from an ethnological point of view, and this expectation, I believe, would be abundantly gratified if they were only made accessible to those who, by training and study, are competent to deal with them.Santal folk-tales may be divided into two classes—those apparently purely Santal in their origin, and those obtained from other sources. Those of the first class are by far the more numerous, and besides showing the superstitious awewith which the Santals regard the creations of their own fancy, they throw a flood of light upon the social customs and usages of this most interesting people. The second class embraces a large number of the more popular tales current among the Hindus and semi-Hinduised aborigines. These, although adapted and modified by the Santals to suit their language, modes of thought, and social usages, may generally be detected by the presence of proper names, or untranslatable phrases which unmistakably indicate the sourcefromwhich they have been derived.These tales were taken down in Santali at first hand, and are therefore genuine and redolent of the soil. In translating them I have allowed myself considerable latitude without in any way diverging so far from the original as to in any degree impair their value to the student of Indian Folk-lore.It was to be expected that in the popular tales of a simple, unpolished people like the Santals, expressions and allusions unfitted for ears polite would be found. In all such cases the changes which have been made are in accord with Santal thought and usage, so that the tales are, notwithstanding these alterations,thoroughly Santali.I have aimed at making these Santal Folk-tales, in their English dress, true to the forests and hills of their nativity. I am not without hope, that in this I have succeeded in some small degree.A number of the tales included in this volume have already appeared in the Indian Evangelical Review, but in this collected form they are more likely to prove of service to those who take an interest in the subject.This volume of Santal Folk-Tales is offered as a humble contribution to the Folk-lore of India.
Preface.
Of late years the Folk tales of India have been the subject of much study and research, and several interesting collections of them have been published. But I am not aware that as yet the folk lore of the Santals, has received the attention which it deserves. The Santals as a people, have, to a remarkable degree, succeeded in resisting the subtle Hinduising influences to which they have long been exposed, and to which such a large number of aboriginal tribes have succumbed. They have retained their language, institutions, tribal organization, and religion almost intact. Their traditions show the jealousy with which these have been guarded, and the suspicion and distrust with which contact with their Aryan neighbours was regarded. The point at which they have been most accessible to outward influence and example, is in their relations with the aboriginal tribes, who in a more or less degree have merged themselves in Hinduism. Hindu ideas, customs and beliefs, filtering through these tribes, became considerably modified before they reached the Santals, and were therefore less potent in their effects than if they had been drawn from the fountain head of Hinduism itself. Still, in respect to their aboriginal neighbours they are always on their guard, ready to repel any innovation on their customs or religion with which they may be threatened. In the folk tales of such a people we may well expect to find something, if not altogether new, still interesting and instructive from an ethnological point of view, and this expectation, I believe, would be abundantly gratified if they were only made accessible to those who, by training and study, are competent to deal with them.Santal folk-tales may be divided into two classes—those apparently purely Santal in their origin, and those obtained from other sources. Those of the first class are by far the more numerous, and besides showing the superstitious awewith which the Santals regard the creations of their own fancy, they throw a flood of light upon the social customs and usages of this most interesting people. The second class embraces a large number of the more popular tales current among the Hindus and semi-Hinduised aborigines. These, although adapted and modified by the Santals to suit their language, modes of thought, and social usages, may generally be detected by the presence of proper names, or untranslatable phrases which unmistakably indicate the sourcefromwhich they have been derived.These tales were taken down in Santali at first hand, and are therefore genuine and redolent of the soil. In translating them I have allowed myself considerable latitude without in any way diverging so far from the original as to in any degree impair their value to the student of Indian Folk-lore.It was to be expected that in the popular tales of a simple, unpolished people like the Santals, expressions and allusions unfitted for ears polite would be found. In all such cases the changes which have been made are in accord with Santal thought and usage, so that the tales are, notwithstanding these alterations,thoroughly Santali.I have aimed at making these Santal Folk-tales, in their English dress, true to the forests and hills of their nativity. I am not without hope, that in this I have succeeded in some small degree.A number of the tales included in this volume have already appeared in the Indian Evangelical Review, but in this collected form they are more likely to prove of service to those who take an interest in the subject.This volume of Santal Folk-Tales is offered as a humble contribution to the Folk-lore of India.
Of late years the Folk tales of India have been the subject of much study and research, and several interesting collections of them have been published. But I am not aware that as yet the folk lore of the Santals, has received the attention which it deserves. The Santals as a people, have, to a remarkable degree, succeeded in resisting the subtle Hinduising influences to which they have long been exposed, and to which such a large number of aboriginal tribes have succumbed. They have retained their language, institutions, tribal organization, and religion almost intact. Their traditions show the jealousy with which these have been guarded, and the suspicion and distrust with which contact with their Aryan neighbours was regarded. The point at which they have been most accessible to outward influence and example, is in their relations with the aboriginal tribes, who in a more or less degree have merged themselves in Hinduism. Hindu ideas, customs and beliefs, filtering through these tribes, became considerably modified before they reached the Santals, and were therefore less potent in their effects than if they had been drawn from the fountain head of Hinduism itself. Still, in respect to their aboriginal neighbours they are always on their guard, ready to repel any innovation on their customs or religion with which they may be threatened. In the folk tales of such a people we may well expect to find something, if not altogether new, still interesting and instructive from an ethnological point of view, and this expectation, I believe, would be abundantly gratified if they were only made accessible to those who, by training and study, are competent to deal with them.
Santal folk-tales may be divided into two classes—those apparently purely Santal in their origin, and those obtained from other sources. Those of the first class are by far the more numerous, and besides showing the superstitious awewith which the Santals regard the creations of their own fancy, they throw a flood of light upon the social customs and usages of this most interesting people. The second class embraces a large number of the more popular tales current among the Hindus and semi-Hinduised aborigines. These, although adapted and modified by the Santals to suit their language, modes of thought, and social usages, may generally be detected by the presence of proper names, or untranslatable phrases which unmistakably indicate the sourcefromwhich they have been derived.
These tales were taken down in Santali at first hand, and are therefore genuine and redolent of the soil. In translating them I have allowed myself considerable latitude without in any way diverging so far from the original as to in any degree impair their value to the student of Indian Folk-lore.
It was to be expected that in the popular tales of a simple, unpolished people like the Santals, expressions and allusions unfitted for ears polite would be found. In all such cases the changes which have been made are in accord with Santal thought and usage, so that the tales are, notwithstanding these alterations,thoroughly Santali.
I have aimed at making these Santal Folk-tales, in their English dress, true to the forests and hills of their nativity. I am not without hope, that in this I have succeeded in some small degree.
A number of the tales included in this volume have already appeared in the Indian Evangelical Review, but in this collected form they are more likely to prove of service to those who take an interest in the subject.
This volume of Santal Folk-Tales is offered as a humble contribution to the Folk-lore of India.
Contents.Page.The Magic Lamp1The Two Brothers, Jhorea and Jhore6The Boy and his Stepmother15The Story of Kara and Guja18The King and his inquisitive Queen22The Story of Bitaram25The Story of Sit and Bosont33The Story of a Tiger40Story of a Lizard, a Tiger, and a lame Man42The Story of a Simpleton45A Thief and a Tiger49The Magic Fiddle52Gumda the Hero57Lipi and Lapra62The Story of Lelha65The Story of Sindura Gand Garur89The Tiger and Ulta’s Mother93The Greatest Cheat of Seven98The Story of Two Princesses102Seven Brothers and their Sister106The Story of Jhore111The Girl who always found helpers119A Simple Thief125
Contents.Page.The Magic Lamp1The Two Brothers, Jhorea and Jhore6The Boy and his Stepmother15The Story of Kara and Guja18The King and his inquisitive Queen22The Story of Bitaram25The Story of Sit and Bosont33The Story of a Tiger40Story of a Lizard, a Tiger, and a lame Man42The Story of a Simpleton45A Thief and a Tiger49The Magic Fiddle52Gumda the Hero57Lipi and Lapra62The Story of Lelha65The Story of Sindura Gand Garur89The Tiger and Ulta’s Mother93The Greatest Cheat of Seven98The Story of Two Princesses102Seven Brothers and their Sister106The Story of Jhore111The Girl who always found helpers119A Simple Thief125