"Popular Adivasi Stories" Anthology (Fiction Anthology, 2018): Overview
Popular Adivasi Stories
Edited by Vandana Tete
Published by: Prabhat Prakashan, Delhi, 2018
This is an anthology of short fiction by Adivasi writers edited by Vandana Tete. It contains stories by Adivasi writers from different regions of India, including Jharkhand, but also Kerala and the Northeast.
In her preface, Tete suggests that this is the first anthology of fiction by Adivasi writers:
No anthology of tribal storytellers has ever been published—neither in the past nor in the present. The books and special issues of magazines that have been released under the name of tribal literature so far have not been predominantly by tribal authors or writings. In fact, in the name of tribal literature, the largest gathering has so far been of non-tribals. From the perspective of tribal literary discourse, such books and magazines also hold importance, but it must be kept in mind that in all these publications, the non-tribal perspective has remained dominant. Even if we do not draw a strict line of division between perspectives, non-tribal writing will still remain secondary, never primary. I
Popular Adivasi Stories also contains writing by three generations of Adivasi writers, including earlier writers like Alice Ekka, who published her fiction in a Hindi-language magazine called Adivasi published in Jharkhand in the 1960s. Tete describes the second and third generations of Adivasi writers as follows:
Tete also describes the language backgrounds of the various stories in the collection as follows:Based on their writings, Temsula Ao, Roz Kerketta, Ramdayal Munda, Walter Bhengra Tarun, Peter Paul Ekka, Krishna Chandra Tudu, Narayan, Yeshe Dorje Thongchi, Laxman Gaikwad, Shishir Tudu, and Mangal Singh Munda are considered prominent second-generation storytellers. In the third generation are Francisca Kujur and Sikra Das Tirkey, along with a new crop of writers such as Ruplal Bedia, Jyoti Lakra, Krishna Mohan Singh Munda, Ganga Sahay Meena, Rajendra Munda, Sundar Manoj Hembrom, and Janardan Gond.
The order of the stories presented in the collection is based on their year of Hindi publication. However, many of these stories were originally published in their respective languages long before they appeared in Hindi. For example, Pyara Kerketta’s story Bertha Biha is the first modern short story in the Kharia language, published in 1956, while Temsula Ao’s story Soaba was published in English in 2006. But in Hindi, Bertha Biha appeared in 2001, and Soaba is being published for the first time in this anthology. The stories by Temsula Ao, Francisca Kujur, Pyara Kerketta, Ramdayal Munda, Krishna Chandra Tudu, Narayan, Yeshe Dorje Thongchi, Laxman Gaikwad, Sikra Das Tirkey, Sundar Manoj Hembrom, and Rajendra Munda have been translated from their original languages. Meanwhile, the stories by Alice Ekka, Roz Kerketta, Walter Bhengra ‘Tarun,’ Peter Paul Ekka, Mangal Singh Munda, Shishir Tudu, Ruplal Bedia, Jyoti Lakra, Ganga Sahay Meena, Krishna Mohan Singh Munda, and Janardan Gond were originally written in Hindi.
Contents
Preface:
The Tribal Narrative: A Tradition of Creation and Preservation, Not of Violent Resistance -- Vandana Tete
Durgee’s Children and Elma’s Imaginations – Alice Ekka
The Suffering of Rabbits – Ramdayal Munda
Sangi – Walter Bhengra ‘Tarun’
Deception – Mangal Singh Munda
Bertha’s Wedding – Pyara Kerketta
A Span of Land – Dr. Krishna Chandra Tudu
The Birth of the Prophet – Narayan
Mirror – Yeshe Dorje Thongchi
What is Bandu? – Laxman Gaikwad
Fixed Deposit – Rose Kerketta
Those Four Years – Peter Paul Ekka
Pestle – Francisca Kujur
Korain Sinks – Jyoti Lakra
Hanging Birds – Sikra Das Tirkey
Bhaghjogni on a New Moon Night – Rooplal Bedia
Leelmani’s Duty – Krishna Mohan Singh Munda
Mohri – Rajendra Munda
Bonded Laborer – Janardan Gond
The Last Bus of Nighttime Bengal – Sundar Manoj Hembram
Soaba – Temsula Ao
The Night of Poush – Ganga Sahay Meena
Stain – Shishir Tudu