Folk Culture of Bangladesh

The Bengal region has a multifaceted folk heritage, enriched by its ancient animist, Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim roots. In 1907 an Indian scholar, Haraprashad Sastri, working in the Royal Archive in Nepal discovered a palm-leaf manuscript of 'Caryagiti' mystic poems by Bengali Buddhist poets. The poems, also collectively known as the 'Caryapada' were published by him in 1916. Sastri's discovery brought to light the oldest specimens not only of Bengali poetry but also of Indo-Aryan literature. According to Dr. Mohammad Shahidullah the discovery of the Cayagiti means that Bengali literature can be dates as far back as the seventh century. It is probable that the language had developed a hundred years before this. These poem-songs in old Bengali, designed to be sung with a particular rage, constitute an integral part of the heritage of Bangladesh and the basis of a long established tradition of poetry which has survived to the present day. These verse by Buddhist mystic poets are not only beautifully written and add greatly to Bengali literary traditions but they also constitute an invaluable source for the study of Bengali society and the Buddhist religion between the seventh and twelfth centuries. They are a particularly important discovery, since there are very few historical documents of the period in existence. Although the siddhacaryas, the writers of the Caryagiti dealt primarily with certain deeper metaphysical problems of tantric Buddhism, they also described their world. They give us a vivid account of the life and occupations of the common people, their work, events of birth, marriage and death, religious activities, dress and ornaments, food and utensils, and music and musical instruments.
Diverse civilization and cultures met in the Bengal delta from time immemorial. Various races entered India during pre-historic times through the North West of the Indian sub-continent and lived there until they were driven further east. Bengal continually attracted people from outside for different purposes. Lying at the crossroads of South-East Asia, South Asia and Central Asia, Bengal attracted people from the early civilizations of the fertile crescent: Central Asia Arabia, China and Europe, as well as from India. There are many accounts and references which point out that the ancient people of Bengal were different in race, culture and language from the Aryans who compiled the Vedic literature. The original inhabitants of Bengal were non-Aryan. Many linguists and anthropologists believe that the early tribes of Bengal were Dravidian, but belonged to a separate family.
It may be presumed that Bengal had developed a culture of its own which was non-Vedic and non-Aryan. The Aryan culture and the Vedic, Buddhist and Jaina religions influenced Bengal. The primitive culture became absorbed but it also influenced its adopted religion. The diffusion of the Vedic culture is seen during the Gupta period, evidenced by epigraphic inscriptions. The Vedic influence became stronger in Bengal during the Pala period. The Varman and the Sena kings were patrons of the Vedic culture. When the Chinese traveler Fa Hien came to Bengal in the fifth century the country was flourishing in Aryan learning and culture. Huen Tsang visited Bengal during the first half of the seventh century and found that the Bengalis had great respect for their learning. According to him Mahayana and Hinayana Buffhism, Brahminism and Jainism exited in harmony. From about the second millennium B.C. Aryanization in India extended to the Ganges Valley. The non-Aryans the Dravidians and the Kol (another aboriginal people,) fought with the Aryans and eventually made peace with them. Many non-Aryans remained unaffected by Aryan culture and language for quite some time, although they were looked down upon as "Sudras" by the Aryan settlers or the "Vaisas". The Dravidian culture was not possessed a philosophy which influenced the Aryans. Some of the cosmic notions seem to be Dravidian. The composite culture of Bangladesh reflects a synthesis of Dravidian and Aryan culture. The eastern Aryans were a mixed people. The Vedic Aryans called the non-Vedic Aryans Vratyas, outcasts or people without rights, who could obtain admission into the Vedic community by performing a sacrifice. Bengal was Aryansized much later than other parts of India.
Bengali Baul songs, which are a significant and ingrained part of the folk culture, are considered close to Carya poems in mysticism, are a synthesis of Shahajia Buddhism, Vaisnava Shahajia and Indo-Persian Sufism. Tagore was highly influenced by the Baul songs of Bangladesh. Murshidi, an old form of folk mimic, perhaps bears the last traces of Buddhist influence. One finds the impression of maya borrowed from the Buddhists. 'The world is nothing - we have to leave it behind' forms a common theme. 'Like the dew on the grass the body is transient' is an essential message.
Among ancient works the Atharva Veda hymns were highly mystical poems composed earlier than the Buddhist mystical songs and may have directly influenced the later. The Hindu Krishna legend, an essential element of Vaishnavism in Bengal which was formed in Bengal as early as the sixth or seventh century A.D., was also inspired by Buddhism in Bengal. Evidence of this is found in the sculptures of Paharpur, the oldest of which probably belong to sixth or seventh centuries A.D. and the latest to the eighth century A.D. The Krishna legend was highly popular by the seventh century A.D. According to the Tibetan book, Pag Sham Jon Zang Of the eleventh century, Bengal occupied first place in the field of art. Tibetan opera or old drama combines singing and dancing, which immediately reminds one of the Carya Nryta and Carya singing which is still founded in Nepal and Bhutan today. Dance movements in Tibetan opera correspond with lyrics and melodies much as in the Carya Nrytas or dance. Some movements, such as bowing with the hands clasped and scriptures. The use of metaphors in the Caryas.
The Muslim emperors learnt the Bengali language and lived with the people. Mosques and temples rose side by side. The Muslim rulers ordered translations of Sanskrit classics into Bengali for the first time for the common people to understand. Poet Vidyapati prased Nasir Shah and Sultan Giasuddin for their intellectual patronage. Mahabharata was translated into Bengali. Muslim sultans patronized translations of Sanskrit and Persian works. Brahmins were compelled to write in Bengali. Bengali was adopted in Assam, Nefa, Orissa, Arakan, Ranchi and Bihar. Bengali Puthi literature was highly influenced by Muslims and the Persian language. The Muslims introduced many Persian, Arabic and Turkish words into Bengali. Dr. Dinesh Chandra Sen points out. 'This elevation of Bengali to a literary status was brought about by several influences of which the Mohammedan conquest was undoubtedly one of the oremost.7 An enriched folk culture grew up in Bangladesh due to both the Hindu and Muslim common masses and Bengali was its vehicle. Bengali was the common language and literature of the masses. The majority of the Muslims of Bengal, being convert from the Krishna and Nath. The unity between Hindus society, continued with their ancient cults such as the Sahajiya, Krishna and Nath. The unity between Hindus and Muslims in Bengali arose out of racial oneness, common interest and the communal life of the village. It was usual for Hindus and Muslims to take part in each other's social and religious festivals. The native culture of the community of the Bengal has gradually assimilated the influences and aspects of those people which resulted in making the folk culture of Bangladesh to be multidimensional and allotropic.
Classification of Folk Culture of Bangladesh
Folk culture may be divided into four main categories: (1) material, (2) formalised, (3) functional, and (4) performing. Included in the material category are those things that are used by people in their day to day life. These include houses, buildings, furniture, utensils, transport, professional implements, cottage-craft, fancy goods, costumes, foodstuffs, medicines and so on. Farmers produce various crops, weavers produce cloth, potters produce utensils, carpenters produce furniture and blacksmiths produce iron implements. Professional people like washer-men, hairdressers, goldsmiths, bell-metal craftsmen, conch-shell craftsmen, sweet makers, cobblers, thatchers, and fishermen use a wide variety of implements. Village people produce their essential goods mainly by themselves and market them without directly.
There was a time when the weavers of Bengal earned worldwide fame with their exquisite muslin. The fame of jamdani fabric still survives. The clay statues of Hindu gods and goddesses made by the potters are superb examples of their craftsmanship. They also make fancy pots for worshipping various deities. Since ancient times carpenters have been making wooden beds, doors, door frames, boats etc. At one time they used to make ocean-going ships with fancy names such as mayurpankhi, saptadinga, chauddadinga. Bamboo, cane, timber, jute and sponge-wood grown in Bengal are used to make a variety of essential and fancy goods and curiosities. While many of these items are produced by craftsmen for sale, many items are made by housewives during their leisure hours or as part of their household routine.
Oral literature as well as folk art is regarded as part of the formalised stream of folk culture.
Folk music
Folk music is not only a significant portion of the folk culture of Bangladesh but also has an important impact on the modern Bangladeshi music. A number regions of Bangladesh inherit their own form of folk music which differ by its nature and lyric. Farmers, cowherds, boatmen, fakirs, ascetics and professional snake charmers sing folk songs. This form of music is created and changed chronologically. There are nearly 50 different types of folksongs in Bangladesh;namely jari, sari, bhatiali, bhawaiya, murshidi, marfati, baul, gambhira, kirtan, ghatu, jhumur, bolan, alkap, leto, gajan, barongasi, dhamali, patua, sapude and khemta.
Folk literature
Main article: Folk Literature of Bangladesh
Folk Literature of Bangladesh has a significant contribution in Bengali literature, culture and tradition. Though it was created by illiterate communities and passed down orally from one generation to another it tends to flourish Bengali Literature. Individual folk literature became a collective product and assumes the traditions, emotions, thoughts and values of the community.
Folk tales
Folk tales composed orally by illiterate people belonging to rural communities and passed on from one generation to the next by means of telling and retelling. Because of their oral nature, folk tales often tend to have different versions. Folk tales may include fairy tales, called rupkatha or parikahini in Bangla. Although called 'fairy tales', all such stories do not necessarily have fairies, but are stories of a prince's adventures and his winning the hand of a beautiful princess or about the rewards bestowed on a kind girl because of her humility, kindness, hard work etc. These stories contain accounts of magical powers, divine help etc. In German, this type of tale is called 'marchen'. Books like Thakurmar Jhuli, Thakurdadar Jhuli, Thandidir Thale are edited by Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumder, are collections of fairy tales. There is another category of folk tales, locally known as srstikatha and 'creation myth' in English. These stories are narrated to explain why the coat of a tiger is striped, why the kutum pakhi came to be yellow in colour, or how a particular tree, a river or a constellation came into being etc. Other forms of folk tale include tales of lying, riddle and cumulative tale.[3]
Folk drama
Folk drama is combination of dance, song, music, and acting called as Bhasan, jatra, pala gan, ghatu, gambhira, alkap, kavigan, puppetry etc. It can be for entertainment or educational purposes. Jatra is the most popular form of Folk drama. In Jatra, legendary plays of heroism, mythological stories, folktales of love and tragedy, and similar countless themes are enacted in open air theatre. While some folk dramas emphasise songs, others stress dancing or acting.
Gitika/Ballad
Gitika means Ballad, though it tends to be longer than western ballads. Gitika is of two types: purbabanga-gitika & Nath Gitika. Prominent ballads are Maimansingha gitika, Nath Gitika, Purbabanga-gitika.
Folk art
Folk art includes a variety of different decorative arts; namely alpana (ritual painting), pottery painting, wall painting, body painting etc. Alpana, drawn by a housewife as part of her devotional duties, fulfills a religious purpose as well as satisfies an aesthetic need. Evolving from what was a devotional art, alpana has become a decorative art and is done on floors, pillars, walls, winnowing platters and baskets, on the occasion of both Hindu and Muslim weddings as well as at cultural functions and at public places on national days. Canvas painting by patuas occupied the forms of religious tales.[4]
Quilt embroidery falls in the category of stitch-craft. It is done exclusively by village women. Though intended to be used as bed sheets, winter covers and pillow covers, these quilts are admired for their aesthetic beauty even by educated people at home and abroad. Because of their increasing demand, these quilts are now being commercially produced in urban areas.[5]
Performing arts
Performing arts include jatra, baul, gambhira etc presented through singing, dancing and play-acting. Jari dance, sari dance, lathi (stick) dance, khemta dance and ghatu dance are part of jari songs, sari songs, stick plays, khemta songs and ghatu songs respectively. Meyeli git, saheli git and hudma git reflect the hopes and desires of women. Holi git, gazi git, magan git, wedding songs, hudma git are presented on appropriate occasions with the necessary rituals. Some songs are presented by professional singers known as gayen, bayati and gidal while others are sung by farm labourers and other workers at home and outside for relaxation and pleasure.[6][7] Farming has various rites beginning with the first tilling of the soil and ending with the harvesting of crops. Some are pre-harvest rites and others are post-harvest. Among the pre-harvest rites are megharani, hudma deya and ben biya (wedding of frogs) for rains and ksetbandhan, kaktaruya and gasvi for protecting the crops. There are also rites particular to only Hindu women such as tusu, bhadu, karam and basudhara.
Folk Games
There are a number of folk games played indoors and outdoors, some involve heavy exercise, others are for relaxation. Kabaddi is a popular sport and is now recognized as a international competitive event. People from different social strata enjoy different folk games;namely bali khela, boat racing, bauchhi, dariyabandha, gollachhut, nunta, chikka, dangguli, solaghunti, mogal-pathan, ekkadokka, baurani, kadikhela, ghuntikhela, kanamachhi, kite flying, pigeon flying, cockfight and bullfight. In some areas of the country, boat race, bali khela and bull-fight are organized with a great deal of fanfare and music.