Folk-Tales of Kashmir

The book is a collection of 40 fables and about 100 odd folktales collected by him during his stay in the Valley as a missionary.'KASHMIR as a field of Folk-lore literature is, perhaps, not surpassed in fertility by any other country in the world...The vocation of a missionary brings one into close and constant 'touch' with the people, from whom, as I glide along in the boat, or walk by the way, or squat in the hut, or teach in the school, I have learnt many things. My primary object in collecting these tales was to obtain some knowledge of Kashmiri, which is a purely colloquial language; my secondary object was to ascertain something of the thoughts and ways of the people. ..Many of these tales are, probably, purely Kashmiri in origin, while others are undoubtedly variants of popular tales current in India and other parts, which have been adapted and modified to suit the language, style of thought, and social usages of the country. To European Folk-tales, also, several of these stories will be found to have a great resemblance-notably the story of 'The Two Brother,' to its counterpart, 'St. George and the Dragon;' while many of the little stories mixed up in the tales, and quoted generally to explain the situation of the hero or heroine, will be recognised at once as variants of tales extant in France, Germany, Greece, Russia, England, and other countries.'Rev. James Hinton Knowles was a British Missionary to Kashmir in 19th century. He had visited Kashmir in the 1880s and authored two important books about Kashmiri language and culture. He is the author of books such as -- A Dictionary of Kashmiri Proverbs and Sayings is a detailed collection of Kashmiri proverbs and sayings.