Mnemonics of oral traditions carried not just traditions, but a slower rhythm of living.

It was geographical proximity that allowed oral traditions to sustain. But, it was geographical sanctity that gave it life.

Through these traditions, the implicit communal ideologies offered a common identity to the people of the land.

& They shared that identity because they had the same problems, same terrain to navigate. The new generation didn’t know why they needed to hold that information & what to do with it.

With survival induced urbanisation & digitalisation both, the ideologies were at a risk of slow erasure.

The traditions covered in this research were:

Bhopas / Bhopis (Phad Narrators)

Charans (Poet Historians)

Manganiyars & Langas (Heritage Musicians)

Kaavadiya Bhats / Kaavad narrators (Geneaology

Keepers)

Teratali & Kamad performers (Dancers of Devotion)

Ancestry, survival in the desert, devotion, faith, courage, honour – were themes that seemed to be losing relevance for city dwellers.

For survival is the pace of the city & belonging the pulse of the countryside.

INDUSTRY Cultural Heritage

COMPANY FLAME School of Liberal Education

NEEDS / TAGS Identity, Cultural Osmosis, Relevance, Mnemonics

RESEARCH REPORT Oral Traditions of Western Rajasthan : An attempt to map their role in shaping communal ideologies over generations

PC: Garland Mag, Modified with Ai