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Oral Tradition and the Study of Peasant Society

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2024

Indra Deva
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Extract

This article attempts to bring out the value of oral tradition as a source of data regarding peasant society and culture. Many subtle aspects of social interaction and attitudes that may be left out or distorted by the more formal and expensive techniques of data collection can be made accessible through a careful analysis of oral tradition. This useful source has scarcely been tapped so far. Its proper utilization for scientific purposes would, however, require the development of adequate techniques of analysis and interpretation. Methodological problems involved in the analysis of oral sources as found in peasant societies have also been raised, therefore, in this paper. Analysis of oral tradition is especially valuable for the study of peasant society. Its large volume and pervasive proximity to all aspects of peasant life makes it specially valuable as a source of data about peasant social structure and culture.

Type
Research Article
Information
Diogenes , Volume 22 , Issue 85 , March 1974 , pp. 112 - 127
Copyright
Copyright © 1974 Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie / International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP)

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References

1 Robert Redfield, The Little Community, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1955.

2 Robert Redfield, "The Folk Society," American Journal of Sociology, vol. 52, 1947, pp. 293-308.

3 George M. Foster, "What is Folk Culture," American Anthropologist, vol. 55, 1953, pp. 159-73.

4 Robert Redfield, Peasant Society and Culture, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1956, third impression 1960, p. 85.

5 For a more elaborate treatment of the significance of the rural-urban nexus in the study of social change, see Indra Deva, "The Changing Pattern of Rural Society and Culture: Significance of the Rural-Urban Nexus," in Trends of Socio-economic Change in India, Simla, Institute of Advanced Study, 1969, pp. 162-75.

6 For some examples see, Indra Deva, "Modern Social Forces in Indian Folk Songs," Diogenes, no. 15, 1956, pp. 48-64.

7 Cf. Indra Deva, "Folklore Studies: A Trend Report" in A Survey of Research in Social Sciences, Bombay, Popular Prakashan, 1972, pp. 197-239.

8 G. A. Lundberg, Social Research, Longman, 1942, p. 382.

9 A. M. Hocart, Caste: A Comparative Study, London, Methuen, 1950.

10 B. Malinowski, Crime and Custom in Savage Society, London, Kegan Paul, 1947, p. 120.

11 P. A. Sorokin, C. C. Zimmerman and C. J. Galpin, Systematic Sourcebook in Rural Sociology, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1930-32.

12 Indra Deva, Sociology of Bhojpuri Folk-Literature (Lucknow University, doctoral dissertation), pp. 366-75.

13 B. Bevelson, "Content Analysis" in Handbook of Social Psychology, ed. G. Lindzey, London, Addison-Wesley, 1954, pp. 488-522.