Description
Book SynopsisProvides an introduction to folklore from South Asia, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. This volume presents an overview of the cultural background of South Asia. It then examines different types of folklore and the difficulties of defining and classifying folklore genres.
Trade ReviewThis useful if not exhaustive guide to South Asian folklore is not a reference work in the sense that it should be consulted for specific information; rather, it is more practical for long-term study. A complementary resource would be Routledge's
South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia (2002). Considering the scarcity of material on the subject, libraries that cannot afford the Routledge book-as well as libraries already owning it-would do well buying this one. * Library Journal *
Korom addresses the topic from several theoretical perspectives…The volume has a central section of examples and texts from all regions and linguistic areas of India that is both instructive and highly enjoyable….This book can be a supplementary reader for courses in Asian religions from high school through college, and can be read profitably by advanced scholars as well. * September *
[A] useful initiation into South Asian folklore for students of South Asia as well as of folklore, and conveys the richness and diversity of the subject in the limited space available. In parts, it also addresses the broader aim expressed in the introduction: to interest advanced scholars from Euro-America and South Asia in a dialogue, bridging theoretical and comparative concerns of the former with the latter's concerns of collection and preservation. * Journal of Folklore Research *
Written for high school students and general readers….[a] comprehensive handbook divided into five chapters, including an introduction, definitions and classifications, examples and texts, scholarship and approaches, and contexts….Although
South Asian Folklore is written for people with no folklore background, specialists will appreciate the value of this comprehensive study. * Multicultural Review *
Table of ContentsPreface One Introduction
Two Definitions and Classifications
Three Examples and Texts
Four Scholarship and Approaches
Five Contexts
Glossary Bibliography Web Resources Index
