The Oral Discourse in Khasi Folk Narrative

Contents: Introduction. 1. Navigating the written: the challenge to the oral the origin myth and the lost script of the Khasis. 2. Orality alive: recapturing the tale. 3. Understanding khasi culture: the dynamics of the oral in a changing world. 4. Ki jingsneng tymmen and the clan elder. 5. The signifying dimensions of the fold: a study of ka Tiew Larun. 6. Social identity and the liminal character of the folk: the tale of ka Nam: a study in the Khasi context. 7. U. Manik raitong, icon of love and creativity: an appraisal. Index.

The book takes up some of the oral narratives that have informed Khasi society and attempts to locate the discourse that they have generated over the years. Whilst familiarising the reader with unfamiliar themes and concepts, the author has also succeeded in drawing the reader within the ambit of the matrilineal to enlighten ones perception of khasi society and its cultural mores. The essays provide relevant and incisive insights into a society that is still struggling to maintain the balance between the intrusions of the written: the  modern and contemporary, and the challenges of the spoken the pre-modern and pre-colonial. (jacket)