Indian folklore

The folklore of India compasses the folklore of the nation of India and the Indian subcontinent. India is an ethnically and religiously diverse country. Given this diversity, it is difficult to generalize widely about the folklore of India as a unit.

Although India is a Hindu-majority country, with more than three-fourths of the population identifying themselves as Hindus, there is no single, unified and all-pervading concept of identity present in it. It is because of the flexible nature of Hinduism which allows various heterogeneous traditions, numerous regional cultures and even different religions to grow and flourish. Folk religion in Hinduism may explain the rationale behind local religious practices, and contain local myths that explain the existence of local religious customs or the rituals. These sorts of local variation have a higher status in Hinduism than comparable customs would have in religions such as Christianity or Islam. However, folklore as currently understood goes beyond religious or supernatural beliefs and practices, and compasses the entire body of social tradition whose chief vehicle of transmission is oral or outside institutional channels.

The folk and tribal arts of India speak volumes about the country's rich heritage. Art forms in India have been exquisite and explicit. Folk art forms include various schools of art like the Mughal School, Rajasthani School, Nakashi art School etc. Each school has its distinct style of colour combinations or figures and its features. Other popular folk art forms include Madhubani paintings from Bihar, Kangra painting from Himachal Pradesh and Warli paintings from Maharashtra. Tanjore paintings from South India incorporate real gold into their paintings. Local fairs, festivals, deities and heroes (warriors) play a vital role in this art form.

Some famous folk and tribal arts of India include:

India possesses a large body of heroic ballads and epic poetry preserved in oral tradition, both in Sanskrit and the various vernacular languages of India. One such oral epic, telling the story of Pabuji, has been collected by Dr. John Smith from Rajasthan; it is a long poem in the Rajasthani language, traditionally told by professional story tellers, known as Bhopas, who deliver it in front of a tapestry that depicts the characters of the story, and functions as a portable temple, accompanied by a ravanhattho fiddle. The title character was a historical figure, a Rajput prince, who has been deified in Rajasthan. [1]

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