Culture is like a flowing river—it has transformation, not death. Culture is the diverse integrated form of human life practices and behavior. The way of life of the social people, continuous traditions, generation-to-generation rituals-beliefs, geography, thought-thoughts, ethics, production-innovation—all these are the basic materials of culture.
The scope of culture is vast and extensive. Therefore, it cannot be limited by any specific grid-tied definition. Culture is also manifested in different forms depending on the country-time-language-religion. Bengal and Bengali culture is also a cooperative hive of these features.
However, the multi-faceted culture of Bengal did not run in unison, it has been degraded, fragmented, transformed, rearranged by various impacts – political-social-economic-educational-technical. Modern urban life has given birth to an urban culture, elegant and elegant, but this culture lacks continuity or spontaneous inspiration. The culture of tribals is the memory-based culture of Bengal’s distant past.
These ancient tribal cultures survive with their conservative traits. At the center of Bengali culture is the position and existence of folk culture as a symbol of diversity. Again, tribal culture has a hidden kinship with the folk culture of Bengal. And Nagar-Sanskrit has linked the New Year-Mela-Nabanna festival and Mirmi Lokgan or Gramin Yatra with urban life, for which it is deeply inspired and indebted to folk culture.
In fact, folk culture is the main stream of Bengali culture – it is at its core that the true identity of contemporary Bengal and Bengali history-tradition-civilization is rooted. Properly planned modern urbanization has not yet happened in this country. The memories and impressions of rural society and civilization are still carried by these immature cities. Livelihood and nature are the rulers of culture.
Mainly agricultural life and rivers built and controlled the culture of Bengal. The self-sufficient village was the heart of Bengal and the source, nurture and development of culture. Within this village-centric culture lies the self-identity of Bengal and Bengalis. In this context, a quote by Ahmad Sharif can be recalled, ‘Actually Bengali history is another name for folk religion, folk philosophy, folk literature, folk art, folk music and folklore of folk beliefs and reforms.’ (Bengali, Bengali and Bengaliness; p. 9)
Two.
Gopal Halder calls the thousand-year-old Bengali culture ‘rural-dominant Bengali culture’ (Transformation of Culture; p. 217). He regretfully said in this context, ‘…so familiar that we fail to think of its simple and unpretentious materials and elements as the mainstay of our culture.’ (O; p. 217)
The world of folk culture of Bengal is diverse and extensive. The way of life and philosophy of the people are reflected in the folk beliefs, folk reforms and folk customs. Pala-parvana-wedding-sports-fair-nabanna became the form of festival-joy. Along with the daily life comes the talk of clothing-costume-decoration-decoration-food.
In the enchanted world of art, the eternal relationship of necessity and beauty is composed. In folk literature there is a record of deep understanding and joy of life. Satnari of folk culture is built on these bright elements.
The folk culture of Bengal is a sincere commentary on the collective life practices of the people of Bengal. This folk culture of Bengal is a wonderful example of harmony, coexistence and harmony. This folk culture was born with the focus on belief-reformation and folk-culture in accordance with the life of the primitive inhabitants of Bangajanpad in prehistoric times. Just as the Bengali nation has been formed from the mixture of blood of various peoples in ethnological judgment, this is also true about its culture. The folk culture of Bengal with its vestiges of the distant past thus makes the concept of ‘unity in diversity’ worthwhile.
Analyzing the elements of Bengali folk culture, we can find the search for pleasure, strong zest for life, protestant spirit, speech of people regardless of religion, humanity and worldliness. The Bengali people living in the liberal human soil of Lokayat Bengal have always been rebellious, conciliatory, pro-adjustment. The people of worldly society have made it true in their way of life that ‘brutality in conflict’. We want to be familiar with the social exceptional features of the folk culture of Bengal in the context of its general form, through which the importance of folk culture in modern times and its progressive materials can be discovered and made alive and respected by the present generation.
Three.
Totems, taboos and witchcraft of the distant past are closely related to folk reform and folk beliefs. There is a deep connection between people’s faith and reforms with methods and methods to eliminate crisis-concern-evil. Vows-Vows-Subjugation-Magic-Mantra-Jharfunk-Totka-Tavij etc. Cure diseases, wish-fulfillment and difficult asan are tried. The practice in this case, to a large extent, does not follow any religious norms or scriptures. The boundaries of religion are always crossed in folk beliefs and reforms.
The worship of Garsi or Olabibi-Vitekumor, taking vows at the dargah of the Pir-Dervish—in these cases Hindu-Muslim caste-identity distinctions disappear. A Muslim farmer’s Mansa-Tushti Puja or a Hindu boatman’s ‘Badar Badar’ journey down the river—all these belong to folk reforms, which have been passed down through generations. Just as a rural agrarian Hindu does not feel uncomfortable singing ‘Allah magh de pani de chaya de re tui’ for rain, so Muslims have no qualms about chanting snake charms with the names of Hindu gods and goddesses. In Asarbandana devotion, Allah-God, Messenger-God are equally desired, uttered in the same breath.
In the folk culture of Bengal, we can also find the source of community-regardless uniformity. Birth, marriage, death, agriculture—all these matters have profoundly influenced Bengali public life since ancient times. Infertile women’s desire for children, pregnant women’s ‘sadhabhakshana’, anishta-banjana-warning after child birth and some marriage rituals are common in the folk society. There are also similarities in agriculture-related ethos. The rituals that are observed in the fields of praying for rain, sowing seeds, protecting crops, harvesting crops etc., show a sincere picture of the same-mindedness and spiritual unity of the farming community.
In the folk life of Bengal, housing-furniture-food-clothing-decoration-decoration-decoration is basically the same. A house made of straw or hemp, and a house made of tile or thatched roof, a fence of jute or kanchi, a cowshed on one side, a terrace, surrounded by trees — this is the general picture of the dwellings of the rural people. Mat-kantha, bamboo loft or mud floor sleeping material.
Among the items of use are earthen pot-patil-sanki-kunjo, bronze-brass plate-bowl-ghat-ghada; These are the main ones. The food habits of the Bengali society are also almost identical except for the forbidden food items of their respective communities. Lokayat Bengalis also had the same dress – dhoti, lungi, chadar, towel, fatwa etc. And coarse thread loom saree is the universal attire of village women. Conch-sindur is also used among married Muslim women in some regions.
As the atmosphere of collective participation was favorable in the field of entertainment and sports, the opportunities were also unlimited. Boating, stick games, Dariyabandha or Hadudu—these forms of mundane sports were universal. Participation in fairs or Navanna celebrations was spontaneous. Almost all secular fairs of Bengal are religious, whether they are held around the birth and death of Saints and Gurus, Puja-Parvan, Rath-Snanayatra or Eid-Muharram. Although the occasion is a religious festival, the mood and appearance of the fair is completely secular, cherished in socio-cultural spirit.
A rich folk art tradition developed in Bengal thanks to self-sufficient village cooperatives. Essentially, the daily needs and demands of life were the motivation of this art and by perfecting it, the signature of artistic sense and sense of beauty is reflected in it. Design-alapana, folk painting, clay-metal-bamboo-cane-wood-needle-weaving or ecological art is the vast world of folk art, in which the talent, craft, innovation and artistic sense of the folk artists of Bengal are revealed.
It is significant that the anthropologist finds in this folk art the identity of a common sense of art, ‘there is no sectarianism in this art. The Hindu Bengali makes the same statement on his Lakshmi’s foot, jump or saree, the Bengali Muslim makes the same statement on the colorfully patterned pith of Jainamaz and Muharram. The purpose is the same. To encourage what is noble in religion.’ (Worldly Traditions of Bangladesh, Abdul Hafiz; p. 18) This common artistic consciousness consolidated the ethnic unity of Bengalis.
Bengali society is the proud inheritor of a rich folklore tradition. Folk literature of Bengal has been developed with a huge wealth of rhymes-riddles-proverbs-mantras-legends-folklore-folklore-folktales-songs and songs. Folk literature is one of the most important materials in the infrastructure of folk culture. Bengali-Manse, his deep identity of art is mixed here.
Apart from folk-sadhanasrayi community-songs, all of the art forms that belong to folk literature are collective creations of society, which are extended from time to time, cherished from generation to generation. In these works, the memory of social experience is involved, sometimes the fragments of history are not overlooked. The memories of the Battle of Palashi, the words of the Blue Rebellion, the image of the mass movement are blurred in the songs written by anonymous folk poets. Tipu Pagla’s rebellion, Titumir’s struggle, Khudiram’s self-sacrifice are captured by the folk poet by spontaneous impulses.
Ruthless exploitation of feudal society, injustice of class-based society, heartless dominance of scriptural religion gave birth to revolutionary Baul in the society. Shastradrohi and inquisitive Bauls have played a historic role in protesting against social disunity and exploitation.
In this philosophy-poverty country, the Baul society has given a vitalist philosophical theory at the crossroads of spiritual pursuits. In Baulgan and Samandharma mystery music, one can see the intimate expression of human love, love for humanity, communal harmony and humanity beyond the theory.
The best commentator of Baulmat, Fakir Lalan Sai, condemned caste-religion division and untouchability. He was uncompromising against casteism and fundamentalism. Lalan, who does not believe in religious caste, has declared a pledge to burn the caste by fire.
Inspired by the ideals of humanity, Lalan advocated the formation of a harmonious human society without caste, wishing an end to communal discrimination and class exploitation. I also heard the praise of the human birth, human excellence and worldliness in Lalan’s song, ‘What else will happen to such a human birth./ Do whatever your mind does quickly in this way../ Sai created the opposite/ I hear that there is nothing good in man/ Gods and gods/ worship them/ Accept to be born..’
Not only that, Lalan Fakir, the greatest cultural representative of the folk society, did not hesitate to stand up against the tyranny of the zamindar. Duddu Shah, Lalan’s disciple, was also a saint-baul of free will, strongly committed to social commitment. Names of Jalal Khan, Ramesh Sheel, Vijay Sarkar, Mohin Shah, Shah Abdul Karim and some others have to be mentioned in the list of protesting martyrs. The Baulgan of the Marmi community, a relic of the agricultural society of the distant past, is a bright chapter of Bengal’s folk culture and a unique cultural resource.
Four.
We have given a glimpse of the form of harmony and coordination reflected in the folk culture of Bengal. The mainstream of this folk culture is devoted to secularism with a strong passion for life and humanitarianism. The parents of folk culture have played a brave role in the crisis and problems of social or state life. Rhymes-songs-songs have the signature of struggle and protest spirit. In fact, closeness to life and social connectedness have added a vitalist dimension to Bengali folk culture.
It was through this folk culture practice that one day Bengali’s search for self-identity and self-discovery began. Rabindranath was his hero. Gurusadaya Dutta built his bratchari movement with various elements of this folk culture. Dineshchandra Sen, Chandrakumar Dey, Abdul Karim literary experts and many others have to be mentioned in this genre. Muhammad Mansuruddin, poet Jasimuddin, Ashutosh Bhattacharya joined later. Folk culture was one of the ways to reveal the nature of Bengali ethnicity.
In this context, we have to talk about Rabindranath’s Swadeshi era songs. Those Swadeshi songs composed by Baul, which evoked an unforgettable excitement in the mind of Bengalis, belong to history today. Rabindranath also had to go to Gagan Harkar’s Baulgan in Shilaidah for the song ‘Amar Sonar Bangla, I Love You’, which is the national anthem of Bangladesh today.
Charankabi Mukundas’ Swadeshi Yatra and song made Bengalis crazy for freedom. The poets and singers of secular society have a special role in the various struggles and movements of our country. A Baul poet, Mohin Shah, was assaulted by the police for singing language movement songs. The glorious story of our great liberation war is also reflected in the works of folk poets.
Folk culture is a spontaneous inspiration of Bengali life. Yet some of the patrons of urban culture, the culture-proud, scholarly scholar, want to dismiss folk culture with disdain, sloppiness and indolence. Against this negative attitude, the comment of an anthropologist is very relevant and important, ‘Bengali culture has been born and nourished in the countryside of Bengal; That is why the civil culture that wants to raise its proud head on this country today, is unable to get its roots into the essence of the nation; However strong it may seem from above; It is getting weaker and weaker from within.
Therefore, those who want to re-establish the society on the path of welfare, they will still have to look for the basic elements of Bengali culture in the ruined rural life. (‘Bengali Folklore’, Ashutosh Bhattacharya). This Bodh and Bodhi can be accepted as the pure formula of Bengali cultural practice.
Curiosity and doubts about its traditional self-identity arise at the time of nation’s transition or awakening, as it arose during the language movement and liberation war. The village and its culture are the true identity of us.
Our culture, civilization, our memory-dreams, glory, tradition, our history about the village of the vast Bengal will be revealed as the form of our nationality. That will be the true ‘homecoming’ of the forgotten-confused Bengalis.