Literature Atlas

How Stories Are Told
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Genre

Dastangoi

Epic and Heroic Narrative

Dastangoi is a thirteenth century Urdu oral storytelling art form, its Persian style of dastan evolving further in the sixteenth century. One of the earliest references to dastangoi in print is a nineteenth century text of forty six volumes recounting the adventures of Amir Hamza, titled Dastan e Amir Hamza.

Facts
Place of Origin
Pre-Islamic Arabia, spread via Iran to Delhi, India 1
Notable Example
Dastan e Amir Hamza 1
Defining Trait
The dastango's voice is the central artistic tool for orally recreating the story 1
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Dastangoi - Wikipedia
  • History section
    ascribed the origin of dastangoi to pre-Islamic Arabia, and detailed how the eastward spread of Islam carried dastangoi to Iran and then to Delhi in India.
  • Lead section, earliest print reference sentence
    One of the earliest references in print to dastangoi is a 19th-century text containing 46 volumes of the adventures of Amir Hamza titled Dastan e Amir Hamza.
  • Lead section, opening sentence
    At the centre of dastangoi is the dastango, or storyteller, whose voice is his main artistic tool in orally recreating the dastan or the story.
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