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Paper short abstract

By comparing and contrasting different folk songs the paper explores how metaphors contain ecological knowledge and through new ways of transmission how their meanings shift or are reinterpreted in contemporary times.

Paper long abstract

Haryanvi society is an agrarian society that expresses its relationship with the land, weather and agriculture through its large collection of folk songs. Given its geographical location, Haryana experiences all four seasons marked by festivals and rituals celebrating them all. Its vibrant musical tradition includes seasonal, rites of passage, wedding songs, all deeply rooted in the natural world and encapsulating the ecological knowledge of the region. Nature metaphors used in these songs are not merely ornamental, but they embody lived experiences of the community and its relationship with the non-human factors.

In this digitally mediated world, when younger generation drifts away from its agrarian roots, folk songs serve as mnemonic anchors of past struggles and resilience. And when nature is compromised for development, these folk songs mediate between traditional agrarian world views and modern developmental aspirations by keeping the younger generation grounded through folk songs. This paper explores and investigates how deeply nature metaphors are engrained in the collective memory of Haryanvi communities and how they are used in folk songs to convey and communicate the lived experiences of the people. By comparing and contrasting different folk songs the paper explores how metaphors contain ecological knowledge and through new ways of transmission how their meanings shift or are reinterpreted in contemporary times.

This study situates the Haryanvi folk songs in the broad discussion of human-nonhuman interdependence. It argues that nature metaphors functions as repositories of ecological knowledge and as sites where memory and relationship with the natural world are negotiated.