Folklore and the Civilizing Gaze of Modernity: An Indian Folklorist in Colonial Karnataka

Studies on the history of folkloristics in colonial India during the second part of the nineteenth century have been hampered by excessive focus on European folklorists who published extensive collections of Indian folklore. The role of the indigenous folklorists and their agendas, as well as their...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFolklore (London) Vol. 130; no. 3; pp. 300 - 310
Main Author Boratti, Vijayakumar M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 03.07.2019
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
19th century
Civilization
Colonialism
Colonies & territories
Folklore
Folklorists
Government employees
Indian culture
Modernity
Narasimmiyengar, V N
Native peoples
Rural communities
Traditions
India
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Summary:Studies on the history of folkloristics in colonial India during the second part of the nineteenth century have been hampered by excessive focus on European folklorists who published extensive collections of Indian folklore. The role of the indigenous folklorists and their agendas, as well as their ways of knowing and constructing folklore, has been ignored. The present article examines the contributions of the indigenous scholar V. N. Narasimmiyengar, an Indian civil servant in Mysore. It seeks to trace, examine, and analyse his active contribution to the making of folklore studies. The case of Narasimmiyengar may be regarded as representative of an engagement with modernity that led to a view of folklore as traditional, rural, and in need of the touch of civilization.
ISSN:0015-587X
1469-8315
DOI:10.1080/0015587X.2019.1605735