Coralynn Davis’s book is a wonderfully personal journey into the lives of Maithil women, living in villages along the Nepal and Indian border. From the very introduction, Davis uses story to describe the origin of her ethnographic research, giving reference and honor to the women who crossed her path and added to the richness of her work. It is clear that Davis is not simply interested in documenting her discoveries about an expressive art form from small villages in Nepal, but also in bringing attention to the marvelous artists who live their lives through these folktales and who sometimes tell stories for their very survival.
On behalf of a sub-population that remains, for the most part, voiceless, Davis provides the amplification that allows the voices of these Maithil women to be heard. This analytical storybook creates a bridge from the world of these women into that of her audience so that one can not only sit and listen to these storytellers, but also hear Davis’s commentary from over twenty-five years of experience, traveling in the Himalayan region and studying gender roles within societies.
Through each chapter, Davis endeavors to explore the theory proposed by her original informant and friend of “the relationship between stories, space, and movement on the one hand and thinking, feeling subjects on the other” (1). In true manner of scientific documentary, Davis takes the audience with her on an exploration between the world of the story (often residing in the heart) and the world of the storyteller (the harsh reality that suppresses her) to further understand “how Maithil women construct and negotiate cosmological principles, social values, behavioral norms, and relational selves through the everyday practice of ‘folk’ storytelling” (1).
Each chapter begins with an insightful explanation from Davis about Maithil cultural realities and beliefs from either her personal experience within the culture or confirmation from her traveling companions. In doing so, Davis begins to “sketch the theoretical, methodological, and cultural landscapes of [her] study” (2). Then, by interspersing whole stories with analysis of the chapter’s theme, Davis creates a momentous conversation between herself, her storytellers, and her audience. The part of the brain that enjoys a good story looks forward to getting lost in the next episode, while the social scientist can still pause between stories to wrestle with Davis over the deeper meanings of the plot and characterization. Since some of the storytellers’ original phrases and vocabulary are included, those familiar with Hindi or Nepali can have a deeper understanding of the meaning within a story. Extensive endnotes give added insight to cultural practices and religious norms not familiar to those living outside South Asia, and therefore contribute to the understanding of each story.
During her many travels in this mountainous South Asian region, Davis recorded hundreds of stories, and here she carefully organizes them based on cultural themes that spring from the Maithil female worldview. Davis has chosen seven major themes that she uses to depict the internal world and daily lives of Maithil women. Some of these themes include the irrepressibility of stories, cosmological beliefs about social stratification, cultural interpretations of morality, and the juxtaposition of valuing the female divine but silencing the human female. Through each of these story themes, Davis brings attention to the parallel realities of women’s lives which are quietly suppressed through current cultural patriarchal norms.
This book is an incredibly creative combination of intriguing story and extensive ethnographic research that serves both as personal entertainment and as an addition to the social science of folkloric studies. In a world where primary orality and secondary orality are ever colliding, stories—and stories about stories—have become the common language.
One key theme that Davis explores first in chapter 2 and then references often with regard to other themes, is the idea of suffering being an essential asset to the life of a storyteller. Without these sufferings and trying life experiences, one could not teach the principles and life lessons of a Maithil tale nearly as powerfully. Therefore, in order to understand the quality of a storyteller, Davis reminds us that we must first know the storyteller’s own story. Through her book, one not only becomes familiar with Maithil women’s tales but also with the women who tell them.
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[Review length: 706 words • Review posted on January 28, 2015]