Category Archives: Storytelling

“Having grown up within the largely oral Khasi community in Meghalaya, whose creative expressions mainly comprised song and “iathoh khana” (storytelling), it puzzled me that, in none of the canonical creative writing textbooks, had I come across a discussion on the influences of oral storytelling on craft.” – Janice Pariat in “Decolonising creative writing: It’s about not conforming to techniques of the western canon” (Scroll.in, 4 July 2021)
https://scroll.in/article/999215/decolonising-creative-writing-its-about-not-conforming-to-techniques-of-the-western-canon
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=3382

“[A]ll the stories we hear (from Adivasis) are from Oxford graduates and ‘upper’ caste people. Those are not our stories. But nothing is too late; we have to write our own stories, about our issues, from our own perspectives. It is better late than never.” – Scholar-Activist Abhay Xaxa quoted by Mahtab Alam (The Wire, 10 April 2020)
https://thewire.in/rights/remembering-abhay-xaxa-a-fiercely-unapologetic-adivasi-scholar-activist
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=32717

“Folktales are orally narrated and performed with the speaker’s gestures, voice modulations, imitation of characters, and improvisations. They are also participated by the audience. When oral tales take the form of written narratives, they undergo several changes at the level of language, culture, genre and audience; from tribal language to standardized Oriya language, which in turn involves appropriation of cultures. In terms of genre, they change from oral performances of songs and stories to written narratives.” – Anand Mahanand in “Report for the ICSSR-sponsored Two-Day National Conference Tribes In Transition-II: Reaffirming Indigenous Identity Through Narrative”
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=23050

“The adivasi has always been described as a figure of pity by mainstream writers. But there is a group of tribal writers, who, through their literature, are giving an answer to the questions raised on their identity. This is a phase of revolt for tribal writers, who are trying to showcase the tribes in the same light. It is only after this that the tribal writers can write about the beauty of their world.” – Jitendra Vasava, a lecturer at Adivasi Academy, Tejgadh (Indian Express, 28 February 2010)
http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/symposium-held-on-gujarat-tribal-literature/585310
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=6304

“An intimate, long-term relationship with traditional territories also gives rise to Indigenous systems of governance, social organization, and science. […] Examples of ‘Native science’ at work in food systems are among the best documented, having commanded the attention of natural and social scientists for at least the past century and a half. The process is both simple and complex.” – Sam Grey & Raj Patel in “Food sovereignty as decolonization: some contributions from Indigenous movements to food system and development politics” (Springer, 2014)
http://rajpatel.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Grey-Patel-2015-Food-Sovereignty-as-Decolonization.pdf
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=27254

“[S]torytelling at its best through true stories of a tribal people’s daily life, and the interferences and abuses of power that come from government officials, politicians, lawyers — exploiters and manipulators of every hue. The full joy of tribal life [in Bastar] opens up in these pages without the slightest romanticisation. […] This is a book highly recommended for anyone who wants to journey into a deeper understanding of tribal cultures, which currently face genocide in Central India.” –  Felix Padel reviewing Woodsmoke and Leafcups by Madhu Ramnath (The Hindu, 12 March 2016)
https://www.thehindu.com/books/literary-review/felix-padel-reviews-woodsmoke-and-leafcups/article8341808.ece
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=20305

“There is a need to reclaim descriptions of the tribes; the onus must reside with the tribes themselves, since they have endured these portrayals for far too long.” – Richard Kamei (doctoral candidate at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai) in “Uncivilising the Mind: How anthropology shaped the discourse on tribes in India” (Caravan Magazine, 1 March 2021)
https://caravanmagazine.in/books/anthropologists-tribes-india
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=4012

“If Adivasis were to start writing their own Discovery Of India, it would be something like this: There are those who talk of India’s ‘5000 year-old culture,’ there are those who talk of its ‘timeless traditions.’ If India has a timeless tradition, it is ours.” – Gail Omvedt in “Call us adivasis, please” (ADIVASI Special issue, The Hindu, 16 July 2000)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=26645

“Consistent across time and cultures is the use of the body to communicate and express—to tell stories, participate in the cycles of nature, mourn, pray, and celebrate” – Exhibition text, “Circle of Dance” (National Museum of the American Indian in New York)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=9325

“We are the experts that connect to our people, and we know how to talk to our people in our communities. We know how to fairly represent them […] giving voice to people who have never had much of a voice in the last few hundred years. [T]he key for Native media to succeed is for it to connect to its cultural roots.” – Francine Compton (Canadian tv-producer) in “More than News: Indigenous media empowers native voices and communities” (American Indian Magazine, Smithsonian, Summer 2020)
www.AmericanIndianMagazine.org