ABSTRACT
The Introduction explains how through a ‘belated’ queer reading of select tribal folktales of the North Bengal region the book argues that non-heteronormativity, far from being alien to our cultures, is actually Indigenous. The chapter begins with a discussion on what is meant by ‘nonnormative’. Thereafter, it discusses why the term ‘tribal’ has been used over other terms that are often associated with the Indigenous communities in India. The chapter also focuses on the construction of ‘tribal’ and ‘folk’ and how in these contested categories lie layers of erasures and marginalisations out of the existing queerphobia among the ‘mainstream’ in India. Brief summaries of the chapters explain the intersectional and psychoanalytic aspects of this work. The justification for selecting the four communities—Toto, Limbu, Lepcha and Rabha—has been provided along with the declaration that this work is more about interpreting tribal folktales than about identification. Finally, the chapter ends with the possible activism to which the book might contribute by assisting the majoritarian ‘mainstream’ in accepting queer as an autochthonous identity.
