A Handbook of Folklore Material of North-East India

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The importance of folklore studies is being increasingly recognised in academic circles of India and the number of universities in the country introducing folklore studies as an academic discipline is growing from year to year. It is a matter of pride and satisfaction for North-East India that Gauhati University happens to be a pioneer in this regard and its Department of Folklore Research has the distinction of being one of the oldest independent university departments exclusively devoted to folklore studies. Folklore courses have also been instituted in the Manipur University and the North-Eastern Hill University.

As is well known, North-East India is extremely rich in the matter of its folklore heritage. Although a fairly large crop of books and articles having a bearing on various aspects of the folklore of the region ranging from the highly academic works to the patently laymenlike efforts - have been published both in English and Assamese and also in some other languages, the need for a handy compendium that could give a comprehensive picture of the folklore scene of the whole region was being felt by all concerned, particularly by those involved with its study as an

academic pursuit. It was against the above background that the present work was taken up as a departmental project of the Folklore Research Department of Gauhati University under the University-level Book-writing Scheme of the University Grants Commission. We are beholden to the UGC for the support it gave to the project.

After the draft was ready, we had been on the look-out for a publisher when, fortunately, the Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language.