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The construction of gender in the Indian subcontinent has never been static; it has been continually shaped, negotiated, and contested through a wide range of cultural practices, among which folklore occupies a central place. When examined through the lenses of canon formation, multimediality, interdisciplinarity, and social epistemology, folklore emerges not merely as a repository of tradition but as an active site where gender identities and norms are produced, circulated, and transformed from ancient times to the modern period. In ancient India, normative constructions of gender were deeply embedded in religious texts, epics, and ritual practices, which later informed the canonical framework of gender roles. However, alongside these formalized canons existed a vibrant corpus of oral traditions—myths, legends, songs, and folktales—that both reinforced and subtly questioned these ideals. Women in folklore often appeared in archetypal roles such as the devoted पत्नी, the self-sacrificing mother, or the dangerous seductress, reflecting the dominant patriarchal ethos. Yet, these same narratives frequently contained subversive elements. Folk retellings of epic characters, for instance, sometimes reimagined female figures with greater agency, emotional complexity, and resistance, indicating that folklore operated as a parallel canon that negotiated gender norms rather than simply reproducing them. The notion of canon in folklore is inherently fluid and decentralized. Unlike written scriptures that claim authority through fixity, folklore evolves through performance and repetition, allowing marginalized voices—especially those of _____ ______ _________ ___ _________ _________.
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