Citizen archivists record South Asian oral traditions ^{CEFR B2}

Citizen archivists in South Asia are documenting oral culture to protect knowledge that is disappearing with modernization and cultural homogenization. The project "Enhancing Indic oral culture on Wikimedia projects" supported native speakers from 14 language communities and so far produced 227 recorded items, including folk songs, riddles, oral histories and traditional medicinal knowledge. Because much of this knowledge is transmitted orally, mainstream education and mass media often exclude it; recording and sharing it on open platforms helps correct that gap.

Archivists typically record video with phone cameras, transcribe the audio for accessibility, and upload the material to Wikimedia Commons, Wikisource and Wikipedia. Linking recordings to open knowledge platforms both preserves content and gives communities control over representation, reducing the risk of unethical external data collection and enabling wider access for speakers and researchers.

Local examples show the work's range and consequences. In Tulu communities, O Bele pardhana agricultural songs (kabithe) were sung communally during planting and harvesting; archivist Kavitha Ganesh said older people now often do not practice farming and cannot remember the songs well because machines, changing jobs and a shift to Areca farming removed the social contexts where songs were learned. In Angika, roughly 80 collected songs often sung by Dalit women portray gods in everyday roles; a Shibguru song describes Lord Shiva sleeping without his third eye while thieves enter a temple. Torwali musical practices, once suppressed by puritanical extremism, were reasserted at the Simam Festival 2011 and Idara Baraye Taleem-o-Taraqi (IBT) made videos available on Commons.

In Eastern Tharu, archivist Sanjib Chaudhary recorded a migration song that mentions crossing the Sursari/Saptari river between Saptari and Morang and omits the larger Kosi River; he is researching Kosi's diversion history to see whether Sursari was once dominant. Such recordings can prompt local historical and geographic research as well as cultural preservation.

• Documenting oral culture preserves underrepresented knowledge.
• Open uploads increase accessibility for speakers and researchers.
• Community-led recording reduces unethical outside data gathering.