A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE TOTO FOLK TALES By Bimalendu Majumdar, The Asiatic Society, Rs 480
The steady effacement of the language and customs of the Toto people, one of Bengal's 'primitive tribal groups', has been a matter of concern, especially among researchers of folklore such as Bimalendu Majumdar. Language poses a problem for Majumdar too, but in a different way. His prose suffers from needless embellishment. An expression such as "The more the sediments of time gather on, the thicker grows the coats of haziness over their [Totos'] ethno-cultural elements", while pointing to the gradual waning of a culture and a way of life, can, unfortunately, also put off the discerning reader. The misery of the readers, much like that of the Toto people, seems to be unending on account of Majumdar's periodic lapses into flowery prose combined with dodgy grammar. Early on in the book, in the Introduction, the reader has to grapple with "Still they [Totos] are the creators of a certain type of folk culture...which are (reviewer's italics) like the unknown flowers glittering in the lap of wild nature..."
Majumdar's struggle with language is a pity because his work merits serious scrutiny. He not only presents over 20 folk tales, the fruits of painstaking research, but also analyses these stories to offer a comprehensive account of the rituals, institutions and beliefs of the Totos. This collection, Majumdar's ordinary literary abilities notwithstanding, is an important milestone in the attempts to conserve the various facets of Toto community life. Majumdar's focus is not limited to folk tales only. Text and images are combined to enrich a chapter that comprises details of the ethnic history, geographical spread, livelihood choices and demographic data of the Toto people.
Majumdar does not indulge in simple retellings of folk tales. He takes care to delineate cultural codes that may not be obvious. For instance, at the heart of the innocuous myth of the wild hen lies a dark secret. The myth, which, according to Majumdar, can also be found among some other tribal groups in India's Northeast as well as among American Indians, reveals a primitive social system that endorsed incestuous ties.
Animal figures, expectedly, play symbolic roles. Another tale, featuring the monkey and, again, the wild hen, represents the intricate nature of collective labour that forms the fulcrum of the farming system among the Totos.
The Toto folk tales, some of which are also integral to the cultures of other tribal people, hint at an intriguing possibility: that cultural contact among ancient people was feasible in spite of the absence of technology to bridge great physical distances. But the points of contact between modern society and an earlier way of life have not been as benign. One of the factors that have drawn researchers like Majumdar to the Totos is the threat that modernity poses to the latter. Majumdar's concern for a vanishing culture is evident, as evident as his modest literary capability.
