Folktales as Repositories of Indigenous Epistemology: A Study Of the Khasi Folktales of Meghalaya

Abstract

Indigenous epistemology is a distinct lens of indigenous peoples’ perception and interaction with the world. It is a diverse, cumulative, and holistic knowledge system that represents the interconnection between humans, nature, and spirituality. Khasi folktales establish a fundamental agency through which Indigenous epistemology is preserved, dispatched, and recreated intergenerationally. The study aims to explore Khasi folktales as repositories of indigenous epistemology and cultural artefacts of Khasi identity. The result underscores the significance of Khasi folktales as instrumental in promoting symbiosis, veneration, and collective morality. They also serve as an active means of indigenous defiance against epistemic marginalisation. The study highlights their decolonial potential as epistemic texts and substantiates the view of verbal tradition as a legitimate and advanced form of knowledge generation. The paper reinforces the enduring significance of folktales as an outlook on the world of Khasi culture and history, and their indigenous knowledge system (IKS).