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.