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"What's Written on the Forehead Will Never Fail" Karma, Fate, and Headwriting in Indian Folktales |
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| Author |
Kent, Eliza F.
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| Source |
Asian Ethnology
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| Volume | v.68 n.1 |
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| Date | 2009 |
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| Pages | 1 - 26 |
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| Publisher | Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture=南山宗教文化研究所 |
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| Publisher Url |
http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/en/
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| Location | 名古屋, 日本 [Nagoya, Japan] |
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| Content type | 期刊論文=Journal Article |
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| Language | 英文=English |
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| Keyword | fate; karma; headwriting; folktales; traders |
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| Abstract | A widespread belief in India is that at birth a deity comes to write the destiny of the newborn child on its forehead. Like the well-known concept of karma, the motif of headwriting expresses that one must bear one’s fate since no amount of effort can alter it. And yet folktales that use this motif often show that one’s destiny may be fulfilled in surprising ways. This article examines five instances of the outwitting fate tale type that use the motif of headwriting to argue that these tales contest the deterministic world view supported by karma ideology by rejecting ascribed identities and advocating the use of wit, courage, and, significantly, trade to transform a miserable fate into a good one. I further argue that these values can be identified with upwardly mobile low-caste trading communities who may have been the “authors” or primary bearers of these folktales. |
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| ISSN | 18826865 (P) |
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| Hits | 406 |
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| Created date | 2011.01.18 |
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| Modified date | 2019.06.20 |
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