Page 198 - Communication Processes Volume 3 Communication Culture and Confrontation
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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