Between Myth and Memory: Reclaiming the Epistemic Power of Folk Culture
Bilal Ahmad Mir
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu.
Folk cultureâcomprising oral traditions, rituals, myths, songs, crafts, and localized customsâhas long been relegated to the margins of scholarly discourse, often dismissed as an archaic residue of the past. This paper seeks to critically re-evaluate such positioning by reclaiming folk culture as a potent epistemic force, one that embodies alternative systems of knowledge, memory preservation, and social truth. Drawing upon interdisciplinary frameworks from philosophy, anthropology, and cultural studies, the article argues that folk culture should not merely be seen as a folkloric remnant, but as a dynamic and living archive of human cognition, ethics, and resistance By positioning folk narratives as forms of embodied philosophy, the paper explores how myths and memories embedded in folk traditions serve not only to transmit communal values, but also to contest dominant historical paradigms and epistemic hierarchies. It reflects on the philosophical underpinnings of orality and collective memory, drawing parallels with the works of thinkers such as Paul Ricoeur, Walter Benjamin, and Edward Said. The analysis also delves into the epistemological distinction between written and oral traditions, suggesting that folk knowledgeâthough often deemed non-scientific or pre-modernâis rooted in contextual wisdom, ecological atonement, and socio-cultural resilience.
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