Nature, Culture and Gender

Re-reading the folktale

P. Mary Vidya Porselvi

• Publisher: Routledge India
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317196655
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literary Collections
• Index: Literature

Folktales in India have been told, heard, read and celebrated for many centuries. In breaking new ground, Indian folktales have been reread and examined in the light of the Mother Earth discourse as it manifests in the lifeworlds of women, nature and language. The book introduces ecofeminist criticism and situates it within an innovative folktale typology to connect women and environment through folklore. The book proposes an innovative paradigm inspired by the beehive to analyze motifs, relationships, concerns, worldviews and consciousness of indigenous women and men who live close to nature as well as other socially marginalized groups.

In the current global context fraught with challenges for ecology and hopes for sustainable development, this book with its interdisciplinary approach will interest scholars and researchers of literature, environmental studies, gender studies and cultural anthropology.

Acknowledgements

At this moment, I wish to acknowledge my heartfelt thanks to people who have helped me to complete this book. I profoundly thank Dr Vandana Shiva for her inspiring and erudite Foreword. I sincerely thank my PhD guide, Dr Thilagavathi G. Joseph, who has always inspired me with her meticulous work, clear-cut observations, proactive thinking and indefatigable strength. I thank her for her valuable suggestions during the regular meetings we had at different stages of my research. I specially thank her for instilling in me an interest to always aim higher and work better. I am deeply grateful to Dr Sr Jasintha Quadras, Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, the principal of Stella Maris College, for admitting me as a research student and encouraging me with her goodwill. With gratitude, I acknowledge the scholarly interventions and suggestions of experts Dr Susan Oommen, former head of the Department of English, Stella Maris College, and Dr Padma, Mangai, Stella Maris College. I profoundly thank the management of Loyola College for their consent, encouragement and blessings. I wish to thank all my colleagues and friends in the Department of English, Loyola College who encouraged me to carry out this research. Special thanks to Dr David Jeyabalan for his precise observations and critical comments on this book.

I specially thank the staff in Folklore Resources and Research Centre, Palayamkottai, National Folklore Support Centre, Chennai, and The Study Centre for Indian Literature in English and Translation (SCILET) library, American College, Madurai, who helped me to collect data in the first phase of my research. I sincerely thank Prof. Dr S. Vincent, Dean of Research, Loyola College, Chennai, for his guidance and support. I specially thank Ms Shoma Choudhury and Ms Antara Ray Chaudhury, Routledge India, for their meticulous effort, guidance and cooperation in the preparation of the book. I would like to thank the editorial team at Taylor and Francis for their professional help and support in the preparation of this book. During this study, besides the analysis of folktales from India, I had an opportunity to meet rural women and listen to them about their knowledge of farming and agriculture. Thanks to Mrs Saalai Selvam who initiated this process. I am grateful to Azhagu Pillai from Karupaaioorani, Madurai, Innasiamma from A. Vellodu, Dindigul, and Jayanthi from Peria Obulapuram, Gummidipoondi, for sharing their wisdom and knowledge with me, which were moments of enlightenment on indigenous ecofeminist experiences. I specially thank my father, Prof. Dr S.J.A. Packiaraj, former head of the Department of English, Loyola College, Chennai, for nurturing me with affection and wisdom and encouraging me to become a conscious thinker and listener. I fondly thank my mother, Nirmala Rani, for her enormous support to my family and care for my children, which has made this book possible. I warmly thank my sister, Priya Prem, and my brother, Jaikumar, for their words of encouragement and support. I am ever grateful to my husband, Roy Arun, for his motivation and constant support during difficult times, when I tried to balance my roles at home and the workplace, besides carrying out my research. I thank my sons, Amal and Iniyan, for their prayers, smiles and enthusiasm, which gave me the confidence and strength to pursue and complete this book.

Introduction

DOI: 10.4324/9781315559902-1

P. Mary Vidya Porselvi

Seeds of silence: words of consciousness

Mother Earth is at the core of ecofeminist thought. The book explores representations of woman–nature proximity in select folktales from India characterised by care for Mother Earth, respect for inherent worth and realisation of interconnectedness and interdependence of all living beings. Mother Earth Discourse is the woman–nature lingua franca that results from an ecofeminist-linguistic analysis of folktales from India. The promulgation and understanding of Mother Earth Discourse is considered as a process of conscientisation or conscientizacao. From time to time, many branches of ecofeminist thought have emerged from the spreading trees rooted in indigenous philosophies across the world. The scope of the book is to identify women’s tales as ‘seeds of silence’, which have the potent ‘words of consciousness’ inherently embedded in them.

The object and purpose of this book are as follows: it enables a scientific study of woman’s language of the environment, where one becomes conscious of the environment of the ‘silent’ and the ‘silenced’ people – more specifically, indigenous voices in relation to ‘nature-culture’. It recognises woman’s discourse ‘of’ the environment and her vocalisations ‘for’ the environment to bring about social change through a dynamic process of conscientizacao. It unravels the knowledge systems represented in folktales from India and proposes ways to ‘promote and participate in learning, analysis, interpretation and communication about how to live in harmony with Mother Earth’ (2009) as envisaged in the Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth in the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth Cochabamba, Bolivia (http://therightsofnature.org/universal-declaration/). Apart from the broad scope of inquiry, the specific objectives envisaged by the author are: identification of motifs that represent woman–nature proximity; understanding of woman–nature concerns in the select folktales; comprehension of alternative worldviews that determine woman–nature relationships; realisation of the consciousness of nature and women who live close to nature; and appreciation of the language of women who live in oneness with nature. It initiates the ecofeminist quest to celebrate Mother Earth as a life-affirming principle and the linguistic quest to acknowledge women’s voices in ‘nature-culture’, a culture integrated with nature.

Mother Earth: the nucleus

What is ecofeminism? What is the relevance of ecofeminism to the contemporary world? Ecofeminism can be defined as a holistic belief system that emphasises care and concern for Mother Earth, reverence for the intrinsic value of all life forms and recognition of the interdependence of living and nonliving beings on this earth. Some of the characteristics of ecofeminist ideology are as follows: (a) It deems the worth of woman–nature relationships on one hand and ‘nature-culture’ connection on the other. (b) It recognises interconnectedness between women, nature and other marginalised groups. (c) It asserts the rights of Mother Earth and all her oppressed children and guides human beings to understand the benefits of establishing gender equity and sustainable development. (d) It inspires human minds to realise the ‘spiritual’ element in all living creatures. (e) It interrogates the problems that women and nature face in an age of exploitation, destruction and indifference and motivates human beings to integrate their collective strength.

Ecofeminism is understood as the philosophy of Mother Earth. Hence, Mother Earth and the feminine principles that govern living beings are identified in folktales from India. Vandana Shiva elucidates, ‘Nature, both animate and inanimate is thus an expression of Shakthi, the feminine and creative principle of the cosmos; in conjunction with the masculine principle (Purusha), Prakriti creates the world’ (Shiva 2010: 38). Prakriti is the holistic, all-pervading and life-affirming principle that unites all living creatures together to form a unified web of life. The concept of Prakriti vibrates positive energy and motivates people into constructive action for the well-being of nature, women, children and men. These words are life-affirming seeds which have the power to change society. Hence, recognition of the Mother Earth Discourse promotes constructive thinking, leading onto beneficial action for the welfare of Mother Earth and all her children.

Women who live close to nature celebrate the human dependence on Mother Earth. Care for Mother Earth is central to ecofeminist praxis, according to Vandana Shiva. Mother Earth is considered as a living being, an epitome of power or Shakthi. Folktales abound with multifarious expressions that celebrate Mother Earth and communicate indigenous beliefs that promote sustainable living. Mother Earth is an important symbol in the oral tradition in many cultures across the world. A Chhattisgarhi song reads, ‘Mother Earth was born first/Then men were born/They drive nails in every boundary’ (Devy 2002: 158). The song is addressed to a girl as a source of comfort by an elder. The song reiterates the fact that Mother Earth, the feminine planet, ‘was born first’ (Devy 2002: 158) and men, who represent the dominant exploitative patriarchal culture, only harm ‘Her’ through their violent ways.

According to the ecofeminist school of thought, Earth no longer represents a meagre resource for utilisation. Instead, Earth Mother is seen as a living being, an origin of all life, sustenance and learning. Each and every being is related to another and forms an integral part of Mother Earth. The Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth, presented by the Bolivian Republic, advocates that human education must cater to the following principles, that ‘Every human being has the right to be educated about Mother Earth’ and ‘human education must develop the full potential of human beings in a way that promotes a love of Mother Earth, compassion, understanding, tolerance and affection among all humans and between humans and other beings, and the observance of the fundamental freedoms, rights and duties in this Declaration’ (2009). For this reason, it is essential to integrate alternative worldviews into the mainstream education. Re-reading the folktales from an ecofeminist standpoint offers new avenues towards a better society and environment. Mother Earth is an essential metaphor of life in this school of thought, which informs ecofeminist pedagogy.

The ecofeminist tree of thought

‘Ecofeminism asserts the special strength and integrity of every living thing’, states Ynestra King (Mies and Shiva 2010: 4). Ecofeminism attempts to raise the level of human consciousness for understanding the benefits of gender equity and sustainable growth. As Rosemary Ruether explains in New Woman/New Earth, women must ‘unite the demands of the women’s movement with those of the ecological movement to envision a radical reshaping of the basic socioeconomic relations and the underlying values of this [modern industrial] society’ (Ruether 1975: 204). The ecofeminist tree of thought branches out into: environmental movements with feminist concerns that contribute to ecofeminist praxis; seminal ecofeminist literary theories, eco-critical theories, folklore theories and sociolinguistic/feminist linguistic/discourse theories relevant to this study; indigenous ecofeminist experiences of rural women in India; and ecofeminist pedagogies that are akin to Paulo Freire’s idea of conscientizacao.

In an era of insensitivity to life, the recognition of nature’s voices and women’s voices are pertinent. According to ecofeminist thinkers such as Karen J. Warren and Jim Cheney, ‘As a methodological and epistemological stance, all ecofeminists centralize, in one way or another, the “voices” and experiences of women (and others) with regard to an understanding of the nonhuman world’ (Gaard and Murphy 1998: 53). The analysis of folktales results in the finding of Mother Earth Discourse, the lingua franca of women and nature. Through the ‘voices’ of nature and women, motifs, relationships, concerns, worldviews, consciousness and expressions are comprehended. Ecofeminism revisits the practices, rites and rituals of nature-culture that empower women to live with dignity, honour and strength, which contribute to cultural ecofeminism. The identification of folktales as representations of nature promotes cultural ecofeminist praxis. The nonhuman living beings, such as trees, birds, animals and so on, are believed to be integral subjects in an environment which promotes alternative worldviews in harmony with ecofeminist thought.

Achieving an in-depth understanding of the world is an indispensable attribute of ecofeminist thought. Ecofeminism believes in research as a form of conscientisation, according to Maria Mies. Conscientisation or conscienticazao is a term proposed by the Brazilian educational theorist and activist Paulo Freire in his work Pedagogy of the Oppressed, published in 1970, which accentuates an in-depth understanding of the world. As Freire elaborates on the need to maintain a critical consciousness of the human mind, he also invites human beings to fulfil the responsibility of recording their experiences and their understanding of the world. According to Freire, a human being’s creativity is shaped by conscious thinking, linguistic ability and perception of reality. Hence, the voices of indigenous people and nature promise a way out of woman–nature issues in our society. As Paulo Freire confirms, ‘The more we experience the dynamics of such movement, the more we become critical subjects concerning the process of knowing, teaching, learning, reading, writing and studying’ (Freire 2006: 2). Through the folktales from India, this research evolves an understanding of the epistemology of indigenous women and men who contribute to environmental sustainability and gender balance in their day-to-day lives.

This ecofeminist study intends to promote sustainable living that gets fortified by life-affirming values of women and men who live close to nature. It is enriched by worldviews that offer solutions to the problems existing in our society and environment. By challenging the systems that reduce nature and women as mere commodities, ecofeminist considerations offer an alternative trend to value the worth of all living creatures on this planet. The identification of the folk discourse as an alternative form of expression reverses the idea of women’s speech and storytelling as meaningless and ineffective. The simple folktales, narrated by indigenous women, are deep narratives that require a conscious rethinking. They reveal women’s deep understanding of their environment, culture, society and the world at large – the relationship among the parts of the whole. The women’s creativity, linguistic ability and the critical consciousness are represented in their discourse.

The green crusaders

Simple and strong women and men fight for the rights of nature when Mother Earth is in distress. They are the green crusaders who strive to protect nature as their own children. Ecological movements such as the Chipko Movement, Appiko Movement, Silent Valley Movement, Narmada Bachao Andolan and Green Belt Movement are some of the movements that assert the welfare of Mother Earth. Nature and women are at the centre of these movements. Apart from spokespersons such as Vandana Shiva, Sugathakumari, Medha Patkar and Wangari Maathai, a great number of active women and men – ‘nameless’ and ‘voiceless’ – have contributed to the dynamics of such earth-centred movements.

The Chipko Movement is discussed by ecofeminist thinkers and activists such as Vandana Shiva and Sturgeon in their books Ecofeminism and Ecofeminist Natures, respectively. Subhash Sharma, in his book Why People Protest: An Analysis of Ecological Movements (2009), gives an account of the Save Silent Valley Protest and Narmada Valley Movement. Wangari Maathai’s memoir, Unbowed (2006), provides ample information on the origin and growth of the Green Belt Movement. The inherent worth of trees and their role in maintaining the ecological balance of the planet are reinforced by the Chipko Movement. Chipko (literally meaning ‘cling to’) is a movement, born in the 1970s, mainly comprising women, children and some men against deforestation in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. The Chipko women, who are considered as ‘ultimate ecofeminists’ and ‘natural environmentalists’ (Sturgeon 1997: 127), sing the song, ‘Embrace our trees/ Save them from being felled/ The property of our hills/Save i...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Nature, Culture and Gender
• Table Of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Glossary
• Bibliography