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Memory and Social Protest  173

                                          Table 5.4
                          Interactions between Narrative Identities and Myths

                Folk heroes  Caste relation  Region of influence
                Lorik       Yadav           Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
                                            Rajasthan, certain parts of Gujarat
                Kunwar      Koiri, Yadav, Rajput  Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and
                Vijaymal                    Rajasthan
                Shobh Nayak  Vaishya, Vanjara  Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
                                            Pradesh, Gujarat, certain parts of
                                            Maharashtra


                be dormant. The constitution of this myth is very similar to the myth of
                Pururva. The qualities of bravery and the struggling for love displayed
                in Pururva’s myth are also evident in the myth of Chuharmal.
                  Among all those myths popular among Dusadhs, there is one theme
                in common: all heroes are mentioned in the narrations as mighty,
                although they are killed by elite power. Thus, these myths stigmatize a
                process constantly at work in society, which is, the killing of the able and
                destruction of the talented potential of the downtrodden by the elite.
                  This tradition of narrative in our society eventually exposes the myth
                of the great eternal tradition of the defeat of evil. In other words, such
                myths as Chuharmal expose the falseness of the discourse of classical
                morality. These myths place on record the social history of those
                inequalities that continually affect these castes. They further reveal the
                sad end of individual chivalry in a power-dominated society.


                Folk Technique of Transmission of Memory

                Let us focus on the technique by which this memory is communicated
                and disseminated. The analysis shows that to preserve their memory,
                strengthen its forms and make them influential, lower castes resort
                to oral traditions, ritualistic exhibitions linked to the worship of
                Chuharmal, repetitive performances, contextual communication and
                verbal and aural transmission, in a conducive atmosphere and with active
                involvement of those concerned. Consequently, thanks to the blending
                of various components of an oral form of communication such as vak
                (speech; aural communication), drish (sight; visual communication)
                and krit (action; communication through performance), the lower-caste
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