List of folktale collections from and in Dravidian Languages

As promised, I gathered as many folktale collections and compilations I could find. I've avoided putting too many titles from the late 19th century, since, despite a possible origin from legitimate folk sources, the tales have been retouched to appeal to a Western audience, but the list is open to their inclusion.

Karnataka:

• Ke. Ār Sandhyā Reḍḍi (1982). Kannaḍa janapada kathegaḷu (in Kannada). Kannaḍa Sāhitya Pariṣattu - Classification of Kannada tales according to the international Aarne-Thompson index (back then, AaTh or AT). Includes tales/types not present in the international index, nor in the Indic index

• A Flowering Tree and other Folktales from India, by A. K. Ramanujan. 1997 - posthumous book by Ramanujan with tales from Karnataka https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft067n99wt;brand=eschol

• Shanthi Nayaka, ed. (2014). Uttara Kannada Karavaliya Japanada Kategalu [A Collection Stories of Karavali Uttara Kannada] Uttara Kannada (Dist): Centre for Extension and Consultancy Karantaka, Janapada University Gotagodi.

• Handoo, Jawaharlal (1977). "Morphological Analysis of Oral Narrative". International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics. 6 (2). Department of Linguistics, University of Kerala: 285–289. - contains tale The Arecanut Princess; via googlebooks

• Nage Gowda, N. L. (2008). D. Lingaiah (ed.). ಕನ್ನಡ ಜನಪದ ಕಥೆಗಳು [Kannada Janapada Kathegalu - A collection of folk tales in Kannada] (in Kannada). Bangalore: Karnataka Janapada Parishat. - https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.554610/page/n2/mode/1up

• Badikana, Vishwanatha (1994). GOWDA KANNADADA JANAPADA KATEGALU. Kannada University, Madipu Prakashana, Mangalagangotri

• Linganna, Simpi (2011). Manu Baligar (ed.). ಉತ್ತರ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಜಾನಪದ ಕಥೆಗಳು [UTTARA KARNATAKADA JANAPADA KATHEGALU: Compiled Folk Tales of North Karnataka]. Bengaluru: Department of Kannada and Culture, Kannada Bhavana - via https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.554068/page/n2/mode/1up

Tulu:

• B. Surendra Rao; K. Chinnappa Gowda, eds. (2018). The Rainboy: Tulu Folk Tales. Translated by B. Surendra Rao; K. Chinnappa Gowda. New Delhi: Kannada Language Chair: Jawaharlal Nehru University; Manohar. - available via Brill/Googlebooks

• Viveka Rai, B. A. (1985). Tulu Janapada Saahitya [Tulu Folk Literature] (Ph. D.). Chamarajpet, Bangalore: Kannada Sahitya Parishath.

• Dr. Palthady Ramakrishna Achar, ed. (2013). Tulunadina Janapada Kategalu [Folktales of Tulunadu]. Centre for Extension and Consultancy, Karantaka Janapada University. -

Tamil Nadu:

• Seethalakshmi, K. A. (1969). Folk tales of Tamil Nadu. Delhi: Sterling. - via https://ia601408.us.archive.org/21/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.124542/2015.124542.Folk-Tales-Of-Tamilnadu-Ed-1st_text.pdf
• Mugavai Rajamanickam, ed. (1985). Folk Tales of Tamil Nadu. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.
• Blackburn, Stuart (2001). Moral Fictions: Tamil Folktales from Oral Tradition. Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Academia Scientiarum Fennica.
• Madanacalliany, Shanmuganandan (2003). Contes tamouls de Pondichéry (Inde du Sud). KARTHALA Editions. ISBN 9782811136673. - Karthala is a French publisher whose library focuses on the folklore of the Global South, especially Africa and Asia.
• Hundred Tamil Folk and Tribal Tales. Translated by Sujatha Vijayaraghavan. Orient Blackwan. 2010.

Kerala:

• Folktales of Kerala. Sterling Publishers. - via https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.124538/page/n17/mode/1up
• Folk Tales of Kerala. IKK. Menon, I. K. K. Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India. 1995. - via https://archive.org/details/folktalesofkeral00meno/page/n8/mode/1up

Kadar:

• Thundy, Zacharias P. (1983). South Indian Folktales of Kadar.. Archana Publications. - available via https://lucknowdigitallibrary.com/publications/south-indian-folktales-of-kadar-2 or googlebooks

Oraon or Kurukh:

• Hahn, Ferdinand. Blicke in die Geisteswelt der heidnischen Kols: Sammlung von Sagen, Märchen und Liedern der Oraon in Chota Nagpur. Gütersloh: C. Bertelsmann, 1906. - via https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_tCZrRHPYF3UC/mode/1up
• Hahn (1931). A. Grignard (ed.). Hahn's Oraon Folk-lore in the Original: a critical text with translation and notes. Guwahati; Delhi: Spectrum Publications. - via https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.124561/page/n9/mode/1up The English language does not match 1:1 with the original Oraon/Kurukh book by Hahn

Raj Gondi:

• Fürer-Haimendorf, Christoph von. The Raj Gonds of Abilabad. Vol. 1: Myth and Ritual. The Aboriginal Tribes of Hyderabad, Vol. III. London: Macmillan, 1948. - via https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.237957/page/370/mode/1up

Brahui (Northern Dravidian):

• Ali, Liaquat; Kobayashi, Masato (2024). Brahui Texts: Glossed and Translated Short Stories and Folktales. Asian and African Lexicon. Vol. 66. Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA); Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. ISBN 9784863375321. - via https://tufs.repo.nii.ac.jp/records/2000650

Betta Kurumba:

• Coelho, Gail Maria (2018). Annotated Texts in Betta Kurumba. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. pp. 214–236. - Via Brill