The Theme of abduction in the Himalayan Folk Tales: From Narrative Topos to Primary Symbol in the Semiotics of the ādivāsī Language

This article analyzes the theme of "kidnapping‟ in myth, folklore and traditional storytelling among some ādivāsī communities in the Himalayas. Although it may refer to a remembrance of remote historical events, the theme of abduction in the narrative acts as a religious element closely connected symbolically with that of shamanic initiation. Furthermore, the legends about mysterious kidnappings in the tribes unfold a complex semiotic relationship with the creatures of fantastic imagination, while in an epistemological key they stand as a rebalancing element of the relationships between man and surrounding nature. The study proposes a comparative investigation between ādivāsī and janjāti groups of the central (Nepal) and eastern Himalayan (Arunachal Pradesh) ridge, supported by ethnographic field data.