One day Workshop on FOLK KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY.
One day Workshop on
FOLK KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURAL
PSYCHOLOGY
AIM
of the Workshop
Folklore is an echo of the past, but at the same time it is
also the vigorous voice of the present. It can be divided into four categories:
Oral Folklore, Social Folk Custom, Material Culture and Folk Arts.
Folklore had and continues to have a major say on how a
group of people co ordinate their actions and construct meaning around them. Proverbs
are used as decisive punch lines and myths are used to validate conduct even
today.
Given this strong influence of folklore in cultural
narratives, its worth while to look in detail at the psychology through the
lens of folklore which is the aim of this workshop.
Description
Crowd began to flow in as the
clock struck 9:30 in the morning, The Mini Auditorium held classes 2PSYH,
2ENGH, 4PSYH and 4ENGH. The workshop
began with an Inaugural Speech by Dr. Jyothi Kumar.
“As soon I entered the hall, I
felt right back at home in Kerala. It is the right time to rejuvenate our
minds. You might forget what you did In classes but you will always remember
this for your life.”.
She remained as she thanked
all the guest for gracing us on this day with this valuable time.
Welcome address was delivered
by Satheesh Sir , as he began with a quote by JUNG. He went on to describe Nelumbo
Nucifera, which is the scientific name for Lotus. He said” The deeper meaning
of lotus, or what it means to us Indians is lost in the scientific name. We
cannot understand the importance of lotus as the seat of brahma, the seat of
saraswati and symbol of peace just by hearing the scientific name”. He
explained the objective of the workshop through this analogy and introduced the
speakers of the day.
Dr. E. K GOVINDA VARMA RAJA,
was the Chief speaker of the day. He is
the president of Indian folklore Association. He is also the former HOD of the
folklore department at the University of Calicut.
Dr. P C Thampatty, former
principle of Zamorins Guruvayurappan College.
She was here to speak on cultural women psychology.
Miss. Vijisha P, executive
member of the Indian Folklore association, was a scholar in magical rituals in
India.
Introduction of the guests, was
followed by lighting of the lamp by the faculty and speakers.
Workshop
Dr Govinda Varma Raja, was
the first speaker of the day and he began by explaining the different meaning
of the names of our faculty members .
“Jyothi, means light and Satheesh
means Satya(truth) everywhere”.
Different symbols and
paintings were shown on the screen like
various animals, earrings, aero planes etc. and their relation to Indian
folklore was explained.
He further explained, the
presence of scientific principles like Archimedes principle in the famous crow
and stone story.
Also explaining the Indian
Oedipus complex, giving us an example of a father who is jealous of his son and
killed him later. He went further to explain inferiority complex and Pushkara
complex and concluded.
Miss
Vijisha , took to the podium to introduce folklore and its different
categories.
Study of folklore is called ‘folkloristic’. It
was introduced in Guwahati University in Assam. The classifications are in 4
categories, material culture, oral tradition, social folk customs and
performing art. She went on to explain the importance of folklore: it is
transmitted from culture to culture, context is very important, searching for
group identity. “Folklore is the mother of all subjects”, she concluded.
Dr.
Thempatty gave an brief introduction on cultural women psychology. She sounded
enthusiastic as she said, “I came here not to teach, but to study from you.”.
Her encouraging words like, “You all are like seeds of Banyan trees, you will
become huge and give out seeds of knowledge”. She talked about how different
conditions and epics impact the social living behavior of women. All the epics
have a male perspective, which shows women in a negative light and her this
impacts how women are behaving in today's world. Making an effort to include in
the students in an interaction, she asked a general question, “What are the
different type of ladies you have encountered?’. She also discussed the
objective of her research; Do culture or folklore have direct impact on the
living behavior of women? If yes, then how do the same ladies behave
differently in different situations and how does the society value it.
Students, faculty and speakers break
for lunch
The
next session had a long discussion on different types of symbols by Dr. Govinda
Varma Raja. There are different types of symbols including Conventional,
Universal and Accidental symbols. He demonstrated around 52 objects, which he
had got with himself for display. The objects included stones as a weapon and
coconut shell as a protection against heat. He explained the Freudian aspect in
the shape of some objects and how it is related to different stages of Freudian
cycle.
Dr.
Thempatty concluded her discussion on agendas like women social behavior .
The
final event was, Dr. Govinda Varma Raja, performing a demonstration to bring
out the unconscious mind. ANNIE, a second year English honors student
volunteered for the act. A holy setup was created, and the act was performed.
Workshop
was concluded, by Dr. Govinda Varma Raja saying last few words.
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