Folklore of Gujarat

Gujarat is an important province of India. Kutch and Saurashtra are distinct cultural units within this province. Its folklore is connected with those of Rajasthan, Sindh and Punjab. Since it has extensive coastline, many foreign tribes came to this region by sea route and settled here prior to the pre-historic period. Moreover, there are about twenty-eight aboriginal tribes in Gujarat. No wonder this region has benefited profusely from a variegated folk culture. The book provides a comprehensive introduction to the region and the people, myths and mythology, religion and popular beliefs, customs and traditions, fairs and festivals, Gujarati language, dialects and literature, oral literature, folk music and dance, etc. Besides, present state of research in folklore studies has also been examined in detail.

Dr Hasu Yagnik is a novelist, storywriter, musician and a scholar of medieval narrative literature and folk-traditions.

Dr N M Kansara is a visiting professor at L D Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad. He is a scholar of Vedic Sciences.

**Contents and Sample Pages**