The Educational Value of Proverbs and Folktales in the Mizo Society

Foreign missionaries bought the gift of literacy and education to the Mizo people in the 17th century. But even in the pre-literate stage, the Mizo people had their own indigenous mode of educating the younger generation through the oral tradition. The oral tradition which include folktales and proverbs serves the function of books and texts that the younger generation study in the literate age. Folk wisdom and knowledge hidden in seemingly simple and humble stories of man, animals and nature serves a didactic function. These tales and proverbs serve as a form of exercising control over individuals in the community and encouraging them to be part of the communal life. The proverbs and folktales also bring the community together and perform the function of entertainment in the traditional society. The traditional Mizo society was a community based society and it is still so in many respect. Oral tradition thrives in such communal life where story telling was a much coveted skill and a good orator serves as a teacher to the community. This paper looks into selected Mizo proverbs and folktales and analyse how they serve as a tool for educating the younger generation about good behavior and their society‟s norms and culture. It also makes a case for making proverbs and folktales relevant to the present generation so that they are not only taught important life skills but also stay connected to their culture and community.