The Character of Socialization in the Tamil Fairy Tale

Abstract

A community enacts a few social laws to defend itself and to keep their social structure intact. This law can be approved by all or by a majority of the members of that committee. This law, passed by elder people of the community, is intended to determine the status, occupation, and function of each individual in the community. Only those who accept and adhere to this law or culture can be members of that community group. When a person violates these, he becomes subject to social exclusion. New members of the group must adhere to this ideological framework and not take any action that could affect it. The process of transforming children who do not belong to any cultural identity into members of the community begins in the family. The family system does these socializing in a variety of ways. One of them is the socialization that takes place through word of mouth. The elders in the family teach the children social values through stories. This article is based on the fairy tales found in Volume 7 of the Nattupurak kataik kalanchiyam on how marriage, sexuality, and faith, as constructed by social groups in Tamil society, are found in Tamil fairy tales.