• Pawan Soni

This paper explores how AI-powered image-to-video models can be used to preserve and revitalise Baiga tribal folk narratives, in the context of threatened indigenous knowledge systems in general. Folk tales of the Baiga people of central India are an important source of cultural, cosmological, and environmental knowledge. Baiga society passes all these knowledge through oral, and performative traditions. Increasing challenges of urbanisation, traditional preservation means that are confined to printed work, sound or video recordings, have not been sufficient to convey the essence of these narratives. The research argues that generative AI technologies, in particular, image-to-video models, offered by companies such as Runway, Veo, and Sora, open new possibilities for digital heritage creation and preservation. The survey conducted in this research serves to evaluate the responses of the participants to AI-created video, based on the storytelling of the Baiga folk narrative on a five-point Likert scale. Through the conversion of static visual images to dynamic visual sequences, the use of these tools promotes a closer interaction with the elements of experience of the Baiga storytelling. The study sees this use of technology as more than a form of documentation, but part of cultural revitalisation with the current use of digital media. Combining traditional stories with the newly emerging AI possibilities, the paper demonstrates that digital reconstructions would support intergenerational transmission, increase accessibility, and guarantee ensuring the tribal cultural memory in an ever more digital world.

Baiga tribe, folk narratives, digital heritage, artificial intelligence, image-to-video models, cultural preservation, indigenous knowledge, oral traditions.

"From Vanishing Tribal Culture to Digital Heritage: AI-Driven Image-to-Video Models for Baiga Folk Narratives Preservation", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 7, page no.c382-c396, July-2025, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2507244.pdf

"From Vanishing Tribal Culture to Digital Heritage: AI-Driven Image-to-Video Models for Baiga Folk Narratives Preservation", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 7, page no. ppc382-c396, July-2025, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2507244.pdf