pure, and the purity of language may be accepted as an index that
the ideas have not been affected, as is often the case, by contact
with Europeans.

My translation though somewhat condensed is very literal, and the
stories have perhaps thereby an added interest as shewing the way in
which a very primitive people look at things. The Santals are great
story tellers; the old folk of the village gather the young people
round them in the evening and tell them stories, and the men when
watching the crops on the threshing floor will often sit up all night
telling stories.

There is however, no doubt that at the present time the knowledge of
these stories tends to die out. Under the peace which British rule
brings there is more intercourse between the different communities
and castes, a considerable, degree of assimilation takes place,
and old customs and traditions tend to be obliterated.

Several collections of Indian stories have been made, _e.g._ Stokes,
Indian Fairy Tales; Frere, Old Deccan Days; Day, Folk Tales of
Bengal; and Knowles' Folk Tales of Kashmir, and it will be seen
that all the stories in the present collection are by no means of
pure Santal origin. Incidents which form part of the common stock of
Indian folklore abound, and many of the stories professedly relate
to characters of various Hindu castes, others again deal with such
essentially Santal beliefs as the dealings of men and _bongas_.

The Rev. Dr. Campbell of Gobindpore published in 1891 a collection
of Santal Folk Tales. He gathered his material in the District of
Manbhum, and many of the stories are identical with those included in