Bangladeshi Folk Literature ( bn, বাংলাদেশি লোক সাহিত্য) constitutes a considerable portion of
Bengali literature
Bengali literature ( bn, বাংলা সাহিত্য, Bangla Sahityô) denotes the body of writings in the Bengali language and which covers Old Bengali, Middle- Bengali and Modern Bengali with the changes through the passage of time ...
. 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.
History
From the third century onwards, the Mouryas, the Guptas, the Palas, the Senas and the Muslims came one after another to rule the land. As a result, they grafted their ways of life and cultural traits on the indigenous population. Subsequently, Portuguese, French and English ships anchored in the harbors of Bengal. They left not only their merchandise but also their customs. Each race left its own mark and it was not only physical but also cultural, which collectively formed the basis of the culture.
Oral literature and its influence
Because folk literature is oral, it tends to rely on some mnemonic devices and patterns of language and style. Bengali Folk Literature includes different types of epic, poetry and drama,
folktales,
ballads
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
, proverbs etc. and till now existing in community, whether literate or not may be in different form. The folklore of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
is heavily influenced by different races which were present years ago. The abundant folklore of the present-day Bangladesh, therefore, contains a variety of elements, which is partly to be explained by the historical forces.
Contents of folk literature
Covers all branches of formalized folklore, such as tales, songs, ballads, proverbs, riddles, charms, superstitions, myths, etc.
Folk music and song
The musical tradition of Bangladesh is lyrics-based, with minimal instrumental accompaniment. We can classify folk songs in seven categories: love, ritual, philosophy and
devotion, work and labour, profession and occupation, satire and fun, and mixed. On the other side there are different forms of Folk music,
Baul,
Gombhira,
Bhatiali,
Bhawaiya
Bhawaiya is a musical form or a popular folk music that originated in Northern Bengal, especially the Rangpur Division in Bangladesh, Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, India, and the Undivided Goalpara district of Assam, India. It has recu ...
,
kavigan
Kavigan, Kobi Gaan, Kobi Lorai or Kabigan ( bn, কবিগান) is a form of Bengali folk performance wherein folk poets sing and perform. A verbal duel among the poets, this mystic minstrels art was popular with rural folk form in ninet ...
, ghatu gan, jhumur, baramasi, meyeli git, jatra gan,
sari gan
Sari or Shari gan is a traditional form of folk music in Bangladesh are usually sung by boatmen and other workers groups.Sari g ...
, etc. The Baul tradition is a unique heritage of Bengali
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
, and there are numerous other musical traditions in Bangladesh, which vary from one region to the other. Gombhira, Bhatiali, Bhawaiya are a few of the better-known musical forms. Folk music of Bengal is often accompanied by the
ektara
Ektara ( bn, একতারা, hi, एकतारा, ur, اِک تارا, ne, एकतारे, pa, ਇਕ ਤਾਰਾ, ta, எக்டரா; literally 'one-string', also called actara, iktar, ektar, yaktaro, gopichand, gopichant, ...
, an instrument with only one string.
Gitika or ballads
Gitika means ballads though it tends to be longer than western ballads. Gitika is of two types:
purbabanga-gitika & Nath Gitika.
Purbabanga-gitika
It's mainly from Mymensingh and includes 'Mahuya', 'Maluya', 'Chandravati', 'Dewana Madina', 'Kanka O Lila', 'Kamala', Dewan Bhavna' etc.
Maimansingha gitika
Maimansingha gitika or Môemonshingha gitika is a collection of folk ballads from the region of
Mymensingh
Mymensingh ( bn, ময়মনসিংহ) is the capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center and educational hub of north ...
and around of Bangladesh.
Chandra Kumar De
Chandra Kumar De ( bn, চন্দ্রকুমার দে, Chôndrôkumar De; 1889–1946) was a writer and collector of medieval folklore and folk ballads of East Bengal villages, mostly in the Greater Mymensingh region which is now in Ban ...
and
Dinesh Chandra Sen
Rai Bahadur Dinesh Chandra Sen ( bn, দীনেশ চন্দ্র সেন) (3 November 1866 – 20 November 1939)Sengupta, Subodh Chandra (ed.) (1988) ''Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan'' (in Bengali), Kolkata: Sahitya Sansad, p.208 was a ...
were the collectors and editors; the collection was published from
Calcutta University, along with another similar publication named purbabanga-gitika.
Nath gitika
Its on stories of the conversion of Prince Gopi Chandra (Manik Chandra Rajar Gan, Govinda Chandrer Git, Maynamatir Gan, Gopi Chandrer Sannyas, Gopi Chander Panchali etc.) and on the miracles of the Nath guru (goraksavijay, Minchetan).
Chottogram Gitika Published(1993) By Bangla Academy Editing By Momen chowdhury and Collect By Abdus Sattar Chowdhry( 1919–1982)
Folk tales
Folk tales are stories that are handed down orally from one generation to another. They are in prose and can be simple or complex. Based on subject, meaning and form, folk tales is of fairy tales, mythical tales, religious tales, adventure stories, heroic stories, sage tales, historical tales, legends, animal stories, fables, or comic stories. The lead character of Bengali folk tales are fate and divinity dependent and execute magical power rather than intellect, wisdom, labour, struggle or work.
Folk drama
Folk drama
Folk plays such as Hoodening, Guising, Mummers Play and Soul Caking are generally verse sketches performed in countryside pubs in European countries, private houses or the open air, at set times of the year such as the Winter or Summer solstices ...
is combination of dance, song, music, and acting called as Bhasan,
jatra,
pala gan Pala may refer to:
Places
Chad
* Pala, Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Ouest
Estonia
* Pala, Kose Parish, village in Kose Parish, Harju County
* Pala, Kuusalu Parish, village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County
*Pala, Järva County, v ...
, ghatu, gambhira,
alkap
Alkap ( bn, আলকাপ) is a Bengali folk dance popular in the districts of Murshidabad, Malda and Birbhum in West Bengal and Chapai Nawabganj, Randajshahi in Bangladesh. It has also spread to the adjoining areas of Jharkhand and Bihar such ...
,
kavigan
Kavigan, Kobi Gaan, Kobi Lorai or Kabigan ( bn, কবিগান) is a form of Bengali folk performance wherein folk poets sing and perform. A verbal duel among the poets, this mystic minstrels art was popular with rural folk form in ninet ...
, puppetry, etc. It can be for entertainment or educational purposes. Jatra is the most popular form of Folk drama. In Jatras, legendary plays of heroism,
mythological
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
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. Folk drama are commonly based on stories of Rama and Sita, Arjun and
Draupadi
Draupadi ( sa, द्रौपदी, draupadī, Daughter of Drupada), also referred to as Krishnaa, Panchali, and Yagyaseni, is the main female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata,'' and the common consort of the five Pandava brothers ...
,
Radha and Krishna, Nimai Sannyas, Behula and Laksindar, Isha Khan Dewan, Firoz Dewan, Zainab and Hasan, Sakhina and Kasem, Hanifa and Jaigun, Rahim Badsha, Rupban, Baidyani etc. Folk dramas usually have a
mythical, historical, religious and political flavour.
Rhymes
Rhymes
A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...
(Chhara) can be classified into the following groups: nursery rhymes, play rhymes, social rhymes, historical rhymes, satirical rhymes, occupational rhymes, educational rhymes, rhymes for rituals, and magical rhymes. Rhymes are recited or sung to calm and entertain children, many are for fun or to educate people on ethics, morality, mathematics, astrology etc. Some rhymes originated in historical events and preserve the memory of these events.
Proverbs
Proverbs are the shortest form of folk literature. Generally they are composed on the basis of human experience, pragmatic consideration, and wisdom. Many proverbs are found in the
veda
FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Co ...
s and the
upanisad
The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...
s as well as in the
charyapada, the oldest specimen of Bengali literature.
The Folk Literature refers not to written, but to
oral traditions. It may be in prose or verse, often mythological or historical, it can be narrative epic, occupational verse, ritual verse, praise poems to rulers and other prominent people. Whatever it may contain it highlights the exemplary wisdom of illiterate peoples.
See also
*
History of Bengali literature
*
Culture of Bengal
*
Culture of India
*
Culture of West Bengal
The culture of West Bengal is an Indian culture which has its roots in Bengali literature, music, fine arts, drama and cinema. Different geographic regions of West Bengal have subtle as well as more pronounced variations between each other, w ...
*
Music of Bangladesh
*
Music of Bengal
Bengali music ( bn, বাংলা সংগীত) comprises a long tradition of religious and secular song-writing over a period of almost a millennium. Composed with lyrics in the Bengali language, Bengali music spans a wide variety of ...
*
Music of India
Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk (Bollywood), rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed over ...
*
Music of West Bengal
The music of West Bengal includes multiple indigenous musical genres such as Baul, Ramprasadi, Bishnupuri Classical, Kirtan, Shyama Sangeet, Rabindra Sangeet, Nazrul Geeti, Dwijendrageeti, Prabhat Samgiita, Agamani-Vijaya, Patua Sangeet, Gam ...
References
*
Dinesh Chandra Sen
Rai Bahadur Dinesh Chandra Sen ( bn, দীনেশ চন্দ্র সেন) (3 November 1866 – 20 November 1939)Sengupta, Subodh Chandra (ed.) (1988) ''Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan'' (in Bengali), Kolkata: Sahitya Sansad, p.208 was a ...
, ''Maimansingha-Gitika'', Calcutta, 1923
* ''Purbabanga-Gitika'', 1926; Maria Edward Leach ed
* Ashutosh Bhattacharya, ''Banglar Lokasahitya'', vol. 1, Calcutta, 1963;
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Folk Literature Of Bangladesh
*
Bangladeshi literature