• Topha Manham
• Gyati Nado Yami

Among the Nyishi of Kra Daadi district, Arunachal Pradesh, oral traditions celebrate women as nurturers, mediators and wisdom-keepers, yet rarely as political leaders. This study examines how myths, folktales, proverbs and ritual songs both revere and restrain Nyishi women of Palin, and how younger women are now reinterpreting these narratives to legitimise their growing participation in Panchayati Raj Institutions and self-help groups. Based on a 2024–2025 field survey (n=50), interviews with elders and women leaders, and textual analysis of oral literature, the paper reveals a gradual shift from symbolic empowerment to actual political agency. It argues that folklore is not merely patriarchal residue but a living cultural resource that can be mobilised for gender equality. The article offers an interdisciplinary framework linking oral tradition and political participation, with direct policy implications for tribal Northeast India.

Nyishi women, Palin, folklore, oral tradition, political participation, gender, tribal studies, Kra Daadi district

"NYISHI WOMEN OF PALIN: POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND REPRESENTATION IN ORAL TRADITIONS AND FOLKLORE", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 12, page no.b284-b298, December-2025, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2512143.pdf

"NYISHI WOMEN OF PALIN: POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND REPRESENTATION IN ORAL TRADITIONS AND FOLKLORE", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 12, page no. ppb284-b298, December-2025, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2512143.pdf