ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the analysis of woman nature motifs Aves-Eve and Fauna-Fem in folktales from India and also from around the world. The images that draw a link between woman and birds are called Aves-Eve kind. The significant features of bird woman tales are as follows: women communicate with birds in both the literal and metaphorical sense; they consider the birds as their own relation. The girl who understood the birds' in the Nagaland folktale and the boy who could speak with birds' in the forest represent the spirit of sensitivity towards the non human living beings in their environment. Folk narratives abound with animals as important symbols helping the suffering woman. Animal-woman relationships or Fauna-Fem motifs recognised in folktales from India are a revelation to people who grow up in a society with anthropocentric values. The stories facilitate the need to be sensitive to animals and recognise their inherent worth in an era of exploitation and ill-treatment.
