Folk Tales Of Manipur

This collection documents Meitei beliefs and some of the many oral versions of Manipuri folktales which the author heard as a child. Many folktales and beliefs have sacred and unutterable secrets in their wombs. The occult practices mentioned herein are based on personal conversations with native exorcists (known as maiba and maibe, male and female shamans). No culture can be an island in itself. The author does not believe in a time-bound and immune culture that exists on its own. Cultures can interbreed and evolve with time. If science can benefit from collaboration, why not culture? As long as any single individual who considers himself or herself a Manipuri lives, what he or she does will continue to define what Manipuri culture is. By that right, the author picks up various threads gathered over his short life and weaves them into new clothes that will define his identity and hopefully the identity of his kindred spirits.

A Major Activity Of The Sahitya Akademi Is The Preparation Of An Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature. The Venture, Covering Twenty-Two Languages Of India, Is The First Of Its Kind. Written In English, The Encyclopaedia Gives A Comprehensive Idea Of The Growth And Development Of Indian Literature. The Entries On Authors, Books And General Topics Have Been Tabulated By The Concerned Advisory Boards And Finalised By A Steering Committee. Hundreds Of Writers All Over The Country Contributed Articles On Various Topics. The Encyclopaedia, Planned As A Six-Volume Project, Has Been Brought Out. The Sahitya Akademi Embarked Upon This Project In Right Earnest In 1984. The Efforts Of The Highly Skilled And Professional Editorial Staff Started Showing Results And The First Volume Was Brought Out In 1987. The Second Volume Was Brought Out In 1988, The Third In 1989, The Fourth In 1991, The Fifth In 1992, And The Sixth Volume In 1994. All The Six Volumes Together Include Approximately 7500 Entries On Various Topics, Literary Trends And Movements, Eminent Authors And Significant Works. The First Three Volume Were Edited By Prof. Amaresh Datta, Fourth And Fifth Volume By Mohan Lal And Sixth Volume By Shri K.C.Dutt.

Retold from the ethnic people of Manipur.

Ita Laiphadabi (My Dear Doll) is one of the Manipur Folk Tale. The Book is being translated by Bonny Elangbam. ONCE UPON A TIME, THERE WAS A LITTLE GIRL WHO TREASURED AND CARED FOR HER ONE AND ONLY DOLL. SHE CONSIDERED THE DOLL AS HER MOST AFFECTIONATE FRIEND AND COMPANIONED ALL THE TIME. SHE USED TO PLAY WITH HER DOLL AND ALWAYS CARRIED IT WHEREVER SHE WENT. IN THIS WAY, THE GIRL PASSED HER CHILDHOOD DAYS AND LATER GROWN INTO A LOVELY BIG GIRL. A DAY CAME WHEN HER PARENTS DECIDED FOR HER MARRIAGE. WHEN SHE CAME TO KNOW ABOUT HER PARENTS’ DECISION SHE WAS UPSET BECAUSE OF THE FEAR THAT SHE WOULD BE PARTED FROM HER LOVELY DOLL FOREVER.

Bringing together nearly one hundred tales translated from fourteen languages, Folktales of India opens the vast narrative world of Indian folklore to readers of English. Beck includes oral tales collected from tribal areas, peasant groups, urban areas, and remote villages in north and south India, and the distinctive boundary regions of Kashmir, Assam, and Manipur. The tales in this collection emphasize universal human characteristics—truthfulness, modesty, loyalty, courage, generosity, and honesty. Each story is meant to be savored individually with special attention given to the great range of motifs presented and the many distinct narrative styles used. Folktales of India offers a superb anthology of India's bountiful narrative tradition. "This collection does an excellent job of representing India. . . . It is the type of book that can be enjoyed by all readers who love a well-told tale as well as by scholars of traditional narrative and scholars of India in general."—Hugh M. Flick, Jr., Asian Folklore Studies "The stories collected here are representative, rich in structural subtlety, and endowed with fresh earthy humor."—Kunal Chakraborti, Contributions to Indian Sociology