“Moral Fictions. Tamil Folktales from Oral Tradition”

1S FANTASY the defining element in fairy tales? This question is
the starting point for Stuart Blackbum’s study of Tamil oral tales.
Having collected over 300 tales, 100 of which are translated in this
book, he concludes that although fantasy, and humour, are present,
at the core of the tales lies a moral vision in which wrongdoing,
especially physical cruelty, is punished. Only the second full-length
study of Indian tales from oral tradition, this book places the Tamil
tradition in an international context, describes the telling sessions
and includes tellers’ interpretations of some tales.
STUART BLACKBURN teaches at the School of Oriental and African
Studies in London and is the author of several books, including
Singing of birth and death: texts of performance, 1988, and Inside
the drama-house: Rama stories and shadow puppets in South
India, 1996. He is currently coordinating a research project on culture
change in Arunachal Pradesh, India.

FF Communications 278