The Darlong Folk Literature: A Study on Deification of Characters in the Oral Narratives of the Darlong People during the Pre-Christianisation Period

Abstract

The objective of the paper is to study the paradigm of canonization in the oral narratives of the Darlong community aiming not at identifying the pattern. The materials of the article are primarily based on the oral tradition and orature collected among the community men and women in addition to the few documentations made in vernacular by different literary interested personage. The article trace diverge characterization as delineated in the folk narratives of the Darlong. The momentum of the canonization culminates in when deeds of the hero that are elements of crime in today's perspective are hailed by the people thereby capturing many of their old practices. In the mean time, certain characters are exalted to the state of deity eventually perpetuating them.