Pub. Date | : June, 2023 |
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Product Name | : The IUP Journal of English Studies |
Product Type | : Article |
Product Code | : IJES080623 |
Author Name | : Moumita Bala and Smriti Singh |
Availability | : YES |
Subject/Domain | : Arts & Humanities |
Download Format | : PDF Format |
No. of Pages | : 15 |
This paper revisits the folktales of jackals in the less-explored Santal folklore. It foregrounds the unique interdependence of humans and animals in these folktales, inconsistent with the contemporary subjectobject dichotomy between the human and animal worlds. Rather than being passive objects of literary discourse, animals in Santal folktales are depicted as potential individuals with "agency" who participate in various sorts of interaction. By questioning anthropocentricity, this study examines how the man-animal dichotomy is challenged by the jackals' active engagement in Santals' everyday lives and how the jackals are represented as closest neighbors of humans. In the process, it deploys a critical discourse analysis method to analyze stories from Bodding's three-volume collection of Santal folktales. Drawing on concepts like anthropomorphism, animal agency, and animal cognition, this paper examines the symbiotic relationship between Santals and jackals.