Advancing structural analysis of non-Western oral narratives through computational methods
Comprehensive report documenting the development, benchmarking against 15 Russian folktales (ProppLearner corpus), and validation against Dr. Naji’s published analyses of Kurichyan and Guarani narratives.
F1 = 0.735 on Russian tales (matching human expert level) · F1 = 0.696 on Narippaattu · F1 = 0.516 on Marmaaya Pattu
A novel 3-layer analytical system that extends beyond Propp’s limitations for non-Western narratives. Layer 1 identifies cultural context. Layer 2 applies 14 extended cross-cultural functions. Layer 3 discovers emergent culture-specific functions.
Propp covers only ~30–35% of Kurichyan narrative events. The framework discovered 5 new culture-specific narrative functions including Sympathetic Ecological Resonance, Divine Bypass of Social Hierarchy, Sacred Geography Inscription, Ritual Etiological Closure, and Ritual Honoring of the Defeated Adversary.
The Proppian Narrative Analysis Tool has been validated against multiple corpora spanning Russian, Indian, and South American oral traditions, establishing performance baselines across diverse narrative types.
15 Russian folktales with gold-standard Proppian annotations. Published under MIT license. The primary benchmark for validating computational narrative analysis.
Origin myth from the Kurichyan tribal tradition of Wayanad, Kerala. Validated against Dr. Naji’s published structural analysis.
Origin myth of Malakkari in the Tree Song tradition. A highly non-linear, ritual-embedded narrative presenting unique analytical challenges.
A South American Guarani narrative analyzed in Dr. Naji’s comparative cross-cultural study of structural patterns in indigenous oral traditions.
| Corpus / Tale | Tradition | F1 Score | Precision | Recall | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ProppLearner (15 tales avg.) | Russian | 0.735 | 0.710 | 0.762 | Matches human expert inter-annotator agreement |
| Narippaattu (Wolf Song) | Kurichyan | 0.696 | 0.727 | 0.667 | Strong cross-cultural transfer |
| Marmaaya Pattu (Tree Song) | Kurichyan | 0.516 | 0.533 | 0.500 | Highly non-linear, ritual-embedded structure |
| The Beginning Life of the Hummingbird | Guarani | — | — | — | Validation in progress |
Beyond Propp’s original 31 functions, this research introduces 14 extended cross-cultural functions and 5 emergent culture-specific functions discovered through computational analysis of non-Western narratives.
An act of mercy or compassion that alters the narrative trajectory, distinct from Propp’s helper functions.
Actions performed under compulsion, enchantment, or divine mandate rather than free will.
The dispatcher figure releases or frees the hero, reversing the typical sending-forth pattern.
Two parties simultaneously discover each other’s identity or nature, creating reciprocal recognition.
Information transfer that crosses traditional narrative role boundaries (e.g., villain to hero).
The difficult task itself becomes the resolution, rather than being a precondition for it.
The donor actively seeks out the hero, inverting Propp’s model where the hero encounters the donor.
A formalized ritual offering that serves a narrative function distinct from gift-giving or sacrifice.
Community or group action replaces individual heroic agency as the narrative driver.
An act of world-creation or origin that establishes the foundational reality of the narrative universe.
Provision of food or sustenance as a structurally significant narrative event beyond mere hospitality.
Establishing sovereignty or rights over a territory as a narrative function tied to identity and belonging.
Fundamental transformation of the natural world or landscape as a consequence of narrative events.
A character absorbs or subsumes the narrative role of another, collapsing distinct actantial positions.
The natural environment responds sympathetically to narrative events, reflecting emotional or spiritual states through ecological phenomena.
A divine or supernatural force intervenes to circumvent established social or caste hierarchies within the narrative.
Narrative events inscribe spiritual significance onto physical landscapes, creating sacred places through story.
The narrative concludes by establishing the origin of a ritual practice, linking story to ongoing ceremonial life.
The defeated antagonist is ritually honored rather than destroyed, reflecting indigenous values of ecological balance and respect.
A computational tool for analyzing narratives using an integrated framework combining Vladimir Propp’s 31 narrative functions with Ochs & Capps’ five narrative dimensions. Designed specifically for non-Western and non-linear narratives.