本文透過當代印度的兩種傳統表演，探討文類（genre)如何在變動的社會、 文化與經濟狀態中被轉化。以北印度Braj地區的一種口述史詩Dhola，以及西孟 加拉區的卷歌（scroll/song)「缽陀」ipatas)為例，本文探究這兩種傳統中，文 類的傳承與其當代意義。口述史詩Dhola的作用類似小說，含括多種異質的次文 類（secondary genre)如歌曲、吟唱、敘事、演說等。Dhola現在已有錄音帶和 DVD的形式出售，其表演形式與內容已脫離了村落廊間的口語表演，同時也加 入了新的次文類和新的內容。唱卷(patas)在傳統上是卷軸畫與歌唱合一之表演 形態，但也已逐漸消失。畫卷成為商品，賣給都市印度人及觀光客當成民俗藝 術掛在牆上。本文透過印刷、口傳表演、錄音帶或博物館來探討patas和Dhola 隨著時間的改變，理解文類如何根植於社會的實踐。這兩種傳統共享了由下而 上的世界觀（他們都是邊緣、低層階種姓的作品），讓我們能探討社會價值、語 言（和印刷）慣則、及由之所描繪的世界如何交會。世界各地的民俗文類正受全 球化的影響而轉變，這兩個印度的案例可視為例證。

Two performance traditions found in modern India raise questions about the ways genres are transformed by changing social, cultural, and economic circumstances. Using the examples of Dhola, an oral epic from the Braj region of northern India and patas, scroll/songs from West Bengal, this paper examines both the traditional and modern meanings of genre via these two traditions. The Dhola functions much like a novel, a heterogeneous compilation of secondary genres including song, chant, narration, reported speech, and more. Now Dhola is found on audio-cassettes and DVDs, shifting its performance style and content away from the oral performance on a village verandah while adding new secondary genres and new content. The pata (plural for ease for English readers, patas), traditionally a performed sung scroll, presented a unity of illustrated scroll and song, which has disappeared as the scroll alone has become a commodity sold to urban Indians and tourists to be hung on their walls as folk art. Exploring both the patas and Dhola over time—in print, oral performance, audio-cassette, or museum exhibitions—leads to an understanding of the ways genres are grounded in social practice. These two traditions, sharing a worldview from below (both are products of marginalized lower castes), allow us to explore the intersections of social value, linguistic and painted conventions, and the world thus portrayed. They are just two examples of the transformations of folk genres occurring around the world due to the influences of globalization.