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Encoded Selves: Human Nature in Kashmiri Proverbs, 1846-1947
Shaheen Mohamad Qazi1, Tariq Ahmad Sheikh2
1Department of History, School of Liberal and Creative Arts, Social Sciences and Languages, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar, Punjab, India. shaheen.history@gmail.com.
Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Science
|March 3, 2026
Summary
Kashmiri proverbs offer insights into human nature, revealing complex moral and social critiques from rural Kashmir between 1846-1947. This study highlights oral traditions as vital philosophical archives, challenging elite thought.
Area of Science:
- Anthropology
- History
- Cultural Studies
Background:
- Proverbs are often dismissed as folklore.
- Rural Kashmiri society under Dogra rule (1846-1947) remains under-explored.
- Vernacular intellectual traditions are frequently overlooked in historical analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze Kashmiri proverbs as a form of vernacular anthropology.
- To explore the conception of human nature in rural Kashmir during the specified period.
- To demonstrate the intellectual agency embedded in oral traditions.
Main Methods:
- Drawing on Subaltern Studies, microhistory, and intellectual history.
- Analyzing Kashmiri proverbs for moral reflection, social critique, and psychological insight.
- Examining oral traditions as repositories of ethical reasoning and social commentary.
Main Results:
- Kashmiri proverbs reveal a dialectical view of human nature (altruistic/egoistic, biological/cultural, social/individual).
- These sayings reflect both ideals (dignity, compassion) and cynicism (duplicity, opportunism).
- Oral traditions encoded ethical reasoning and social critique, forming a discourse on resilience and moral life.
Conclusions:
- Proverbs represent a historically situated discourse on human behavior and moral philosophy.
- This study challenges epistemic hierarchies by valuing vernacular thought over elite or written forms.
- It advocates for broader engagement with everyday philosophy in marginalized communities for understanding the human condition.
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