
The Criterion: An International Journal in English
Cultural Studies
Tharu Folktales: Preserving Beliefs and Cultural Values Across Generations
Abstract
Values and beliefs are the crucial elements of the culture of any community. These components of culture allow the community members to rejuvenate themselves in the process of learning. In this process storytelling is an important tool which is utilized by the community to culturally transmit their values and beliefs. The folktales of a community have the power to shape the understanding of the community members and how they interact with others. For sharing these folktales among others, the community often utilizes the cultural transmission process as theorized by L. L. Cavalli-Sforza and M. W. Feldman. The folktales of a community also work based on mechanism transmission processes of a culture where the storyteller works as a cultural preserver who transmits the cultural knowledge and the listener works as reciever of that knowledge. This paper explores the practice of folktales in cultural transmission of values and beliefs of the Tharu Tribe in West-Champaran of Bihar. It also examines the process of cultural transmission of the Tharu Tribe through folktales along with the role of the story teller as a cultural preserver of the community and how these folktales spread their values and beliefs. For this, ethnographic data has been collected through participation and in- depth interviews of the community members of Tharu Tribe. The results showed that the Tharu community of West- Champaran has been propagating their cultural values and beliefs through folktales.
Keywords
Tharu Tribe, Culture-preservers, Folktales, Cultural Transmission, Storytelling
How to Cite
Hemant Kumar, Dr. Abhay Leonard Ekka. “Tharu Folktales: Preserving Beliefs and Cultural Values Across Generations.” The Criterion: An International Journal in English, vol. 17, no. 1, Feb. 2026, pp. 866-877. ISSN: 0976-8165.
