Intergenerational Values and Cultural Continuity in Mizo Folktales

Abstract

This research aims to showcase the significant role of Mizo folktales in the passing down of cultural values and norms across generations. By examining a few Mizo folktales, this paper deliberately explains how themes of morality, justice, authority, and social obligation are embedded within the stories of these oral traditions. This research paper also examines the role of traditional institutions, in particular, the zawlbuk (bachelor's dormitory) as organised spaces for cultural learning. The findings indicate that Mizo folktales work as a refined educational tool that has prolonged its cultural identity, ethnicity, and continuation to provide ethical guidance from one generation to another among the Mizo community. The paper concludes by addressing how these traditions have been adapted to the contemporary digital world while retaining their significance in the preservation of Mizo cultural identity, despite the pressures of modernisation and globalisation in all spheres in today’s time.