ORAL EPICS OF KALAHANDI

 This book is a compilation of  24  oral epics collected and interpreted from the tribal district of Kalahandi in Odisha state  India. The royal dynasties from Rajput lineage in Kalahandi were the Naga
and the Chauhans. Prior to the Naga and Chauhan rule in ancient
Kalahandi and Khariar kingdoms respectively, the Gonds, the Kondhs
and the Bhunjias were the tribal rulers exercising their administrative power as the ruler of this region. The glorious history of the origin of the Naga and Chauhans is found in written form whereas
the tribal rulers had their own ethnic clan-bards to keep up their
caste history and genealogies. For this, the caste-bard or clan-bard
was patronised by the clan-master of their main castes/tribes.

 The noted folklorist  Dr Mahendra Kumar MIshra has  conducted  stud in Kalahandi  over  20  years and has  written this book.