FOLK TALES

 

Before  the invention of printing and electronic media people had to remember everything as there was not any way of recording things in their day today life.They had used to transfer stories and other important details orally from generation to generation .Folk tales are one such oral tradition lasted among people for many centuries .

Folk tales is one branch of folk literature. Folk Literature ,folk music ,folk dancing are some other branches of Literature.Folk tales are very significant in many respects.Generally ,some folk tales refiect our culture and its reality in a great deal.The story of sinhabahu and sinhaseevalie is a good example to prove this.Some other folk stories relate how something came into being.Specially ,some folk stories show the origin of names of places and things.There are many folk stories which are woven around cities like Kankasanthurai,Galle and etc,Stories of Andare and Mahadenemuttha are also very popular folk stories among children and adults alike .

Folk tales are different from country to country .in almost all the countries they are common features in literature.Some folk tales serve the task of parables.Very often they bring messages of improving Morality and personality .Such folk tales help to develop moral qualities of persons.in other words they have didactic purposes .As folk tele is a cross section of our traditional form of Literature ,it is our duty and responsibility to conserve them for our younger generation too.