Merging with the Masses, Declassing the Self: Some Glimpses of North Indian Folk Literature

Abstract

Folk refers to a group of people who share at least one common factor.
Johann Gottfried Von Herder, a German in his book used the term 'Volk' as
folk and called folk songs as Volkslied, soul of folk as Volksseele and folk
belief as volksglaube, 1778-79. Grimms brothers, Jacob Grimm and
Wilhelm Grimm used the term Volkskunde for Folklore in 1812.William
Thoms, a British, used the term 'folklore' in 1846. Russian folklorist
Y.M.Sokolov says,“ Folklore is an echo of the past but at the same time it is
also the vigorous voice of the present.” The New Book of Knowledge defines
folklore as, “ Folklore is the lore of folk, the knowledge of the people.It
includes things as unlike as birthday cakes, lullabies, the shapes of houses,
magic charms, snow shoes and jokes.” (302)