Retelling of Assamese Folktales from a Feminist Perspective: A Reading of Tejimola and the Tale of Kite Mother's Daughter

Abstract

Assam is a diverse land and so does it has a diverse expanse of folktale stories that widely shows the Assamese culture, the lifestyle and also its typical society.  After reading the narratives of which has been taken in this research paper, the issue of women in Assamese folktales can be seen a matter of study and research, taking into consideration the aspects such as-  position of women in Assamese society, identity of women, woman-woman relationship and women in the realm of class structure, and along with this a question definitely arises that do women have any hold of power in a society dominated by men and do they have any influence over the decision making aspects of men in a patriarchal society. The re-telling of Tejimola and The Tale of the Kite’s Daughter  narratives is done with a feminist point of view where the role of the female characters emerge in a contemporary manner and not as what had been thought and said in earlier times. The main motive is to highlight how the women emerge as a strong persona in the patriarchal domain, although their age-old interpretations project them as weak, inferior and male-dependant.