I gives me pleasure to write the foreword to this book of I folktales written by Shiva Dhaka. For systematic reading, I have divided the foreword into three parts: (A) Folklores and folk tales, (B) Sherpa people, and (C) Analysis of Shiva Dhakal's folktales. In order to make the study of folktales more scientific, I have used Henry Murray's (1938) techniques of need, press, outcome and cathexis analysis. They follow sequentially:
(1) Folklores and Folktales
'Folklore' is a translation of the German word "Volkskunde. The English antiquarian William John Thoms coined the term 'folklore' in 1846. Folklore is a branch of cultural ethnology, and folktale contains oral literary tradition, which is one of the major components of folklore. Folklore symbolizes literary and artistic traditions on one hand and popular tradition on the other. It includes folk art, craft, tools, costume, folk medicine, recipes, folk-dance, games, gestures, speech, folk beliefs, legends, myths, rituals, proverbs, riddles, customs, magic, mime, deity, verse, and calendar lore.
There are folklores regarding animals, dwarfs, birds, insects, plants, fairies, diviners, witches, demons, spirits, vampires, zombies, minerals, stones, gems, stars, puns, dances, ballads, omens, festivals, ogres, and numskulls.
Apart from these, folklore is the lore of heroes, e.g. Frederick Barbarossa in Germany, the Cid in Spain, Cuchulain in Ireland, Robin Hood in England, Paul Banyan in the United States, Yu in Chain, and Prithivi Narayan Shah in Nepal.
Folklore also includes myths. Indeed, some world. famous myths are: Myths of the Greeks and Romans, e.g. Prometheus and his gift to man, Midas and the golden touch, Orpheus and Eurydice, Hercules and the golden apples. Then there are myths relating to the North American Indian; e.g. the four wishes, Blue Jay. Myths of Africa; e.g. the poor man, the sun and the children. Myths of Japan; e.g. the moon maiden, the crystal Buddha. Myth of China; e.g. the divine archer. Myths of Australia; e.g the gifts of Byamee, How the sun was made, and Myths of the Hindus; e.g. the story of Rama and Seeta, Shiva and Uma and so on. The myths of Mexico and Peru; e.g. the twin brothers.
Jonas Balys, a Lithuanian folklorist and ethnologist, asserts that folklore is the traditional creation of people, both primitive and civilized, including traditional folk-science and folk poetry. B.A.Botkin emphasizes that folklore constitutes a basic part of our oral culture. He further points to "folklore as a neglected source of social history." It throws light on man's past, and helps to reconstruct the spiritual history of man. According to Aurelio M.Espinosa, folklore reflects the mind of common, illiterate and primitive people. Jacobs and Herskovits recognize that folktales provide reference to the givers of culture, social arrangements, economic habits, linguistic structures and value systems.
Be it folk literature or culture, it contains life's unwritten history. Folk tale is a creative medium of comprehending a nation's age long value system and traditions. Of course, one might find a rich display of entertainment, and even light subjects in a folk tale. But that wouldn't mean that a folk tale is nothing but a cheap time passing tool of recreation. Man possesses a turbulent heart. He possesses oceans of feeling. He possesses a special sensibility which enables him to face innumerable attacks and counter-attacks for the sake of survival. Folk tales depict a vibrant spectrum of such evocation, moves, and counter-moves which later make history." In this context, Nepalese folktales depict uncountable pangs of agony that long settled traditional value-system cursed Nepalese masses to endure.
Folk Tales of Sherpa and Yeti does not contain tales of luxuriant drawing rooms of the Kathmandu valley. They try to capture the fire of the struggling human being. The journey of the human beings here is the journey of the history of Himal which can't be described in this brief thanks giving note.
The Beding village of Rolwaling snow-ranges is the paraxial landscape that I can never forget in my life. To the south of Gauri Shankar Himal at the height of about thirteen thousand feet lay Base camp where I spent one and a half month of my brief trek. Descending down Dholka.
In Germany, Jacob Grimm employed folklore to illuminate Germanic religion of the 'Dark Ages'. Edward Tylor, Andrew Lang and others reconstructed the beliefs and rituals of prehistoric man through their study of folklore. Marxist scholars have analyzed and asserted that folklore entirely belongs to the working-class people.
and passing along the banks of river Tamakosi, I encountered several villages like Pekhuti, Bhorle, Suridobhan, Jagat, Seemigoon and Kialche. Along with these villages, Gauri Shanker Base camp and the Beding village became the basic backdrop of these tales. My second journey to Himal was the result of Khumbu valley. My movement from Namche Bazar to Dingboche village of Amadablam Himal marks the second area of my journey.
Sardar Passang Noubu Sherpa (Namche), Ngwang Sherpa and his old father "Pala" (Beding) Gopal Tamang and Padam Gurung emerged like angelic figures as I sat to recreate the tales. Same can also be said of Angjambu Sherpa and his father (Pangbuche) Rinchen Karma (Fakding), an about 20 year old Sange Nawa (The Protector of the Forest) who too helped me a great deal in knowing the inner drama of Sherpa mind.
I am highly grateful to Dr. Murari P. Regmi for writing a systematic analysis of the tales.
Without the help of Mrs.Mana Dhakal I cound't have reached the heights of Beding and Khumbu. I am indebted to her for her inspiration.
Finally, I thank Nirala Publications for bringing my work to light.
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