The Uniqueness of the Type and Motif Index in the Analysis of Folktales/ লোককথা বিশ্লেষণে টাইপ ও মোটিফ সূচির অনন্যতা

Abstract

Almost all nations and tribes have their own traditional folktales which have been passed down orally from generation to generation in the world. The renaissance in the 19th century led to a worldwide increase of interest in folk culture, and the collection of folktales was started. The Grimm Brothers, pioneers of this genre, began this effort with their collection of Kinder-und-Hausmarchen. However, simply collecting and compiling folktales is not enough, a scientific method is needed to analyze the folktales. In addition to various methods such as comparative, historical-geographical, psychoanalytic, historical materialist, nationalist, anthropological, etc., the type index and motif indexing methods introduced by Anti Arne and Stith Thomson opened up a new horizon in the second decade of the 20th century. Through this method, a folktale is possible to be read not only as a story but also as a cultural document. This method is helpful for the analysis of literature, anthropology, sociology, and psychology. Following this method, scientific classification of folk tales has been possible in many countries. But, in multilingual and multicultural countries like India, such a type and motif index has not yet been applied. If an Indian researcher works deeply on this issue, it will create a new avenue of research on folktales not only in India but also in the research done worldwide on the folktale. Although the type and motif index are a groundbreaking discovery in the research on folktales, it is necessary to modernise and reform it according to the current diverse reality.