Literature without writing

In 'Tribal Verse', the scholar G.N. Devy reminds us that India's literary traditions have deep roots in the songs and chants of its tribes, passed down by word of mouth from one generation to the next.

Many of these songs are already lost. As cities, print and trade spread, they push tribal people, and their languages, to the margins of society.

Tribal communities such as the Munda, Kondh, Adi and Bondo all speak two languages: their own, and the language of the region around them. Some, like the Santhals and Mundas, have also led important social and political movements.

Devy describes what tribal groups everywhere tend to share:

• They live in close-knit communities.
• They care little about gathering wealth.
• They see nature, people and God as one, closely linked.
• They live more by intuition (feeling) than by reason.
• They feel space as sacred, and have a personal sense of time.

A great oral heritage is in danger of being lost.