Folk Tales of Kashmir

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KASHMIR as a field of Folk-lore literature is, perhaps, not surpassed in fertility by any other country in the world; and yet, while every year witnesses the publication of books on the subject from Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Pan- jab, and other parts; and while each successive number of The Indian Antiquary, Indian Notes and Queries, and latterly The Christian College Magazine and The Indian Evangelical Review, presents to us articles more or less relevant, this field, ripe for the harvest, has remained almost ungleaned. No doubt its isolated position and the difficulty of its language have had something to do with this apparent neglect. I am the more glad, therefore, to have availed myself of the opportunities afforded me through a four years' residence in the valley.

The vocation of a missionary brings one into close and constant "touch" with the people, from whom, as I glide along in the boat, or walk by the way, or squat in the hut, or teach in the school, I have learnt many things. My primary object in collecting these tales was to obtain some knowledge of Kashmiri, which is a purely colloquial language; my secondary object was to ascertain something of the thoughts and ways of the people. Lately I have been contributing some of these tales to the pages of an Indian journal; and now, prompted by the advice of those whose advice I especially value, I venture to publish the whole collection in a book, and thus save them from the clutches of oblivion, to which they would otherwise have been consigned.

Many of these tales are, probably, purely Kashmiri in origin, while others are undoubtedly variants of popular tales current in India and other parts, which have been adapted and modified to suit the language, style of thought, and social usages of the country. To European Folk-tales, also, several of these stories will be found to have a great resemblance-notably the story of "The Two Brothers," to its counterpart, "St. George and the Dragon;" while many of the little stories mixed up in the tales, and quoted generally to explain the situation of the hero or heroine, will be recognised at once as variants of tales extant in France, Germany, Greece, Russia, England, and other countries.