The Practice of Oral Literary Criticism: Women's Songs in Kangra, India

Abstract

As early as 1966, Alan Dundes argued for the need to consider "oral literary criticism," the meanings attributed to folklore texts by the people who use them. This essay evaluates Dundes's original formulation in light of subsequent scholarly contributions, applying these to research on women's songs in Kangra, North India. I argue that honoring people's own interpretations of their folklore carries important implications for the practice of researching, writing about, and formulating folklore theory.