Popular literature and pre-modern societies in South Asia

Cover
Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
	Notes
	References
Part I: State Formation
	Chapter 1: The Place of Myth, Legend and Folklore in Western Himalayan History
		Making Histories
		Overlapping Realms: The Great and Little Traditions
		Polity, Legitimacy and Primordial Myths
			The Kingdom of Kulu
				Myth A8
				Myth B9
				The Legend of Raghunath10
			The Kingdom of Bashahr
				Myth A11
				Myth B12
		Territory, Social Order and Intermediate Legends
			The Legend of Mahasu14
				Hanol Version
				Bashahr Version
				Version III
			The Legend of Srigul
				Sirmur Version15
				Jubbal Version16
		Small Communities and Village Folklore
		Postscript
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 2: A Vanished Supremacy: The Qiyamkhanis of Fatehpur-Jhunjhunu
		Origin of the Qiyamkhani Nawabs
		Formation of Qiyamkhani Polity
		The Fatehpur Principality
		The Jhunjhunu Principality
		The Downfall of the Qiyamkhanis
		Note
		References
	Chapter 3: State Formation and Consolidation under the Ujjainiya Rajputs in Medieval Bihar: Testimony of Oral Traditions as Recorded in the Tawarikh-i-Ujjainiya
		Preserving an Oral Tradition
		The Emergence of Ujjainiya Chiefs
		Ujjainiyas, Afghans and Mughals
		Historiography: Regional and Imperial
		Notes
		References
Part II: Resistance and Protest
	Chapter 4: Mughal Centralization and Local Resistance in North-Western India: An Exploration in the Ballad of Dulla Bhatti
		The Historical Context
		Essentials of the Narrative
		Texture of Rural Societya
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 5: Peasant Leaders of the Jammu Region in Oral Tradition
		Diversity of Sources
		Oral Traditions of the Jammu Region
		The Legend of Baba Jitto
		The Saga of Mian Dido
		Conclusion
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 6: Alternative Voices from Sindh: A Critical Study of Shah Abdul Latif’s Poetry
		Sindh Under the Mughals and Kalhoros
		Call for Protest and Struggle
		The Influence of Shah Inayat
		Universalism and Equality
		Women as Symbol of Non-conformism
		References
Part III: Little Tradition
	Chapter 7: Words of Melodious Voice: Representations of Rin-chen bzang-po (AD 958–1055) in the Folklore of Indo-Tibetan Interface
		The Cultural Landscape: Rin-Chen Bzang-Po and Contemporary Archaeological Remnants
		Popular Oral Tradition About Rin-Chen Bzang-Po: An Evaluation
		Conclusion: Uniqueness of the Oral Evidence
		Appendix
			Translation of the Ribba Folksong on Rin-chen bzang-po
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 8: Oral Tradition and Little Culture: Jasnathis in Historical Perspective
		Oral Tradition: Invention and Transmission
		Code of Socio-Religious Principles
		Process of Identity Formation
		Notes
		Reference
	Chapter 9: The Role of Legends, Memories and Folk Culture in the Making of People's History of Gujarat
		Focus on the Margins
		Compiling the Folklore of Gujarat
		Compiling the Folklore of Kutch
		The Legend of Ajaipal PIR
		Attitudes of Posterity
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 10: Creating a Secret Universe: Love and Syncretism in the World of an Eighteenth-Century Fakir
		Yoga, Tantra and Sufism
		The Fakiri Doctrine
		Body-centric Materialism
		Esoteric Social Radicalism
		Notes
		References
Part IV: Gender Relations
	Chapter 11: Women-Oriented Myths and Legends of the Tamil Country
		Tamil Women and a Mahabharata Myth
		Split Images of Neeli: Demoness or Goddess?
		The Legend of Kundalakesi
		Nallatangal, a Patriarchal Myth
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 12: Lover-Martyrs: Concept and Praxis of Martyrdom in the Punjabi Literature
		Hazardous Game of Love
		Non-conformist Ethos
		Sites of Lover-martyrs
		Fusion of Martyrdom and Love
		Sacrifices, Suffering and Martyrdom
		The Daughter of the Siyal Clan
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 13: Position of Prostitutes in Bengali Culture as Gleaned from Popular Literature
		Prostitutes: Their Songs, Sayings and Expressions
			Letters of the Prostitutes
			Autobiographies and Other Writings of Prostitutes
		Elite Opposition to Prostitutes’ Role in Popular Culture
		Conclusion
		Notes
		References
Part V: Cultural Fusion
	Chapter 14: Folklore, Ordinary People and Making of the Indian Nation
		Geographical Awareness, Territorial Identity and Integration
		Folk Language, Ordinary People and Identities
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 15: Sufi Traditions and Popular Literature: Chishti Ideology, the Awadhi Dialect and Local Practices
		Sufi Traditions and Rituals
		Use of Local Dialects by the Sufi
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 16: Legends, Hagiographies and Sufism in North-Eastern India During the Pre-Colonial Period
		Arrival of the Earliest Sufi
		Accounts of a Warrior Saint
		Relics of Shah Ismail
		Phenomenon of Pir Badr
		Sufi Poetry in Assamese
		Notes
		References
Part VI: Social Conventions
	Chapter 17: Social Transactions in Medieval Bengal: Sufic Images, Memories and Legends as Reflected in the Seka Subhodaya
		Historical and Stylistic Precedents
		Thematic Organization and Structure of the Text
		Corpus of the Text: Borrowings, Layers and Characters
		The Shaikh’s Interface with Temporal Authorities
		The Figure of the Yogi
		Otherness of the Shaikh
		Nostalgia as a Mode of Narration
		Caste and Gender ‘Role-sets’ and ‘Biases’
		Historiographical Debates
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 18: Popular Culture as Represented in the Sufi Premakhyanas: Fourteenth to Sixteenth Centuries
		Blending of Indian and Persian Literary Conventions
		Influence of Nath-Yogis on Language and Thought
		Traits of Compositeness at the Popular Level
		Mystical Love
		Evocation of Beauty
		Perception of Love
		Aspects of Life and Art
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 19: Social Structure, Values and Norms of Pushtoon Society in the Light of Pushto Tappa
		Traditions of Pushtoonwali
			Path
			Khegara
			Toora
			Wafa
			Nang
		Cultural Norms and Szocial Customs
			Jarga
			Hujra
			Nanawati
			Badraga
		Wedding Customs
		Conclusion
		Notes
		References
About the Contributors
Index