Plea to preserve ethnic folklore - Experts from russia impressed with mayong’s ‘magic’

International experts on folklore today urged people of different ethnic groups to make an attempt to preserve their traditional knowledge system and linguistic and cultural heritage that form an integral part of their folklore.

This, they said, would help them keep their rich ethnicity intact.

Over 20 international experts on folklore are here to participate in a two-day international seminar — Genres of Belief from a Folkloristic Perspective — organised by the School of Media Sciences and Cultural Studies, University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya, (USTM) in association with the department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore, University of Tartu, Estonia, on Monday and Tuesday on the USTM premises on the city outskirts.

The seminar has been organised to highlight research that is being done on belief narratives and vernacular religion, which forms a vital part of the rising trends in international folklore.

Interacting with reporters today, Ulo Valk, professor and expert on folklore from the University of Tartu, said, “Beliefs are a very strong part of our social system and are intricately related to our daily practices and not just supernatural powers. For instance, folklore is closely associated with language that is the source of creativity to continue our traditions. The Northeast region is inhabited by hundreds of different ethnic communities with their own languages. For every person his mother tongue is crucial to express his thoughts and hence, has to be safeguarded. The Puranas, The Ramayan and The Mahabharat speak extensively of the rich folklore and traditional practices of India.”

“I am very impressed by the rich culture and folklore of the different communities here and they are very different from the culture of Russia, where I come from. In fact, many ideas, beliefs and stories from India have taken root in Russia. It is encouraging to see that indigenous knowledge, that is very valuable, is still being given importance here,” Anastasiya Astapova, a researcher from the University of Tartu, said.

These researchers in particular seemed to be highly impressed by the folklore and traditional practices of Mayong — a place which has been known to be a land of magic.

“Mayong is a place, which is known even outside India as a land of magic and mantra. It is a place where local medicinal practices have been kept alive and many people claim to have been relieved of their ailments through the medicines prepared from herbs. By visiting it, one can get a glimpse into the very core of Indian culture and get an idea of how different communities residing here deal with the powers of nature. The researchers at the USTM are in a better position to understand the traditional practices of this wonderful place,” Valk said.

According to the experts, evil practices like witch-hunting, which are indulged in by some communities here, reflect the dangerous impact that certain wrong traditional beliefs have on society. Such evil practices are also a part of folklore that has frightening impacts on the lives and well-being of people.

“It is the task of the local politicians to eradicate witch-hunting through education and ensuring that people have a source of income. They have to make certain that all sections of people find a place to co-exist peacefully in society,” Valk said.