CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSPREFACE

NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION

Introduction 1Stuart H. Blackburn and Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger

PART O N E . ESSAYS

CONTEXT AND CHANGE

1. Patterns of Development for Indian Oral Epics 15 -Stuart H. Blackburn

2. Caste and Regional Variants in an Oral Epic Tradition 33Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger

3. Behind the Text: Performance and Ideology in a TuluOral Tradition 55

Peter J. Claus

EPICS PERFORMED

4. Choosing a Path: Performance Strategies in a North Indian Epic 75Susan S. Wadley

J. Performers, Gods, and Heroes in the Oral Epics of Rajasthan 102Komal Kothari

6. Clowns in Control: Performances in a Shadow Puppet Traditionin South India 118

Jonathan GoldbergBelle

TEXTUAL PATTERNS

7. Paradigms for the Kali Yuga: The Heroes of the Alha Epic andTheir Fate 140Karine Schomer

8. Core Triangles in the Folk Epics of India 155Brenda E. F. Beck

9. Scapegoats of the Gods: The Ideology of the Indian Epics 176John D. Smith

CONTENTS

PART TWO-EPIC STORIES

10. Alha 197

11. Annanmar 203

12. Bow Song 208

13. Candaini (Lorik-Canda) 212

14. Devnarayan 216

15. Dhola 219

16. Guga 224

17. Kanyaka 228

18. Kordabbu 231

ig. Mahabhdrata 236

20. Pabuji 240

21. Palnadu 244

22. Ramdyana 248

23. Tolubommalata 251 /

APPENDIX: PERFORMANCE FEATURES OF INDIAN ORAL EPICS 254LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS 263

GLOSSARY 265BIBLIOGRAPHY 269

INDEX 279