Karnataka Folklore University, also known as Karnataka Janapada Vishwavidyalaya, is a state public university located in Haveri district of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is a specialised university dedicated to the study, documentation, research and promotion of folklore, traditional knowledge systems and the intangible cultural heritage of Karnataka and India.
| Name | Karnataka Folklore University |
|---|---|
| Local name | Karnataka Janapada Vishwavidyalaya |
| Type | State public university |
| Location | Haveri district, Karnataka, India |
| Country | India |
| Focus | Folklore, folk arts, traditional knowledge |
| Language | Kannada |
Karnataka has a long-standing academic tradition of folklore studies, with departments and research centres in several state universities producing significant scholarship on oral literature, folk performance, ritual traditions and material culture. The establishment of a dedicated folklore university was conceived as a means of consolidating this body of work and providing an institutional home for the systematic study of janapada (folk) traditions across the state's regions, communities and languages.
The university was set up by the Government of Karnataka as a state university devoted exclusively to folklore studies, making it one of the few institutions of its kind in India. Its main campus is in Haveri district, in the northern Karnataka region, an area noted for its rich tradition of folk performance and oral literature.
The university's academic activity is centred on folklore as a discipline, with teaching, research and outreach covering areas such as:
As a specialised state university, Karnataka Folklore University functions both as a teaching institution and as a cultural-research body. It contributes to the academic recognition of folklore as a distinct discipline, supports fieldwork-based scholarship on Karnataka's diverse cultural communities, and provides a platform for practitioners of folk arts to engage with formal academic and archival processes. The institution complements the work of the Karnataka Janapada Academy and folklore departments in other Karnataka universities.