gkfnL] nfsjftf] { tyf ;:s+ lt[ ;dfh Nepali Folklore Society Nepali Folklore Society Vol.1 December 2005 The NFS Newsletter In the first week of July 2005, the research Exploring the Gandharva group surveyed the necessary reference materials related to the Gandharvas and got the background Folklore and Folklife: At a information about this community. Besides, the project office conducted an orientation programme for the field Glance researchers before their departure to the field area. In Introduction the orientation, they were provided with the necessary technical skills for handling the equipments (like digital Under the Folklore and Folklife Study Project, we camera, video camera and the sound recording device). have completed the first 7 months of the first year. During They were also given the necessary guidelines regarding this period, intensive research works have been conducted the data collection methods and procedures. on two folk groups of Nepal: Gandharvas and Gopalis. In this connection, a brief report is presented here regarding the Field Work progress we have made as well as the achievements gained The field researchers worked for data collection in from the project in the attempt of exploring the folklore and and around Batulechaur village from the 2nd week of July folklife of the Gandharva community. The progress in the to the 1st week of October 2005 (3 months altogether). study of Gopalis will be disseminated in the next issue of The research team comprises 4 members: Prof. C.M. Newsletter. Bandhu (Team Coordinator, linguist), Mr. Kusumakar The topics that follow will highlight the progress and Neupane (folklorist), Ms. Meena Manandhar (sociologist), achievements of the study project. and Mr. Man Bahadur Sahu (anthropologist). Their work was divided into 4 main areas of folklore and folklife study, Preparatory Works whereby Prof. Bandhu, Mr. Neupane, Ms. Manandhar and The project office started the works right from the Mr. Sahu had collected the data in the areas of Folk beginning of June 2005. In this month, the necessary Language and Folk Communication, Folk Literature and preparatory works were completed including the purchase of Performing Arts, Socio-Cultural Folklife and Folkways, and tools and accessories (like memory cards, rewritable CDs, Material Folk Culture and Folk Heritage respectively. digital video cassettes, etc.), and the preparation of field sheets, questionnaires/schedules, etc. Pre-Field Work Contents In the month of June itself, field researchers were appointed, and a preliminary survey of the field area was Exploring the Gandharva Folklore and Folklife 1 conducted. Prof. Dr. C.M. Bandhu had surveyed the Folklore for Identity and Understanding: The Gandharva folk group residing in the villages adjacent to First International Folklore Congress, Pokhara sub-metropolitan city – like Batulechaur, Hemja, Kathmandu 2001 4 Badahare, and Tallo Gagan Gauda. From the survey, Prof. Bandhu found about 300 households of the folk group living in Nepali Folklore Society (NFS): An Introduction 8 these villages; and he recommended that it would be feasible to Folklore Galore (Abhi Subedi) 9 conduct the field work in and around Batulechaur village, with a close cooperation of the members of Nepal Gandharva Introducing the FOFO Study Project 11 Community Development Centre (henceforward NGCDC) Nepali Troubadors, the Gaines: A Living Heritage located in the village. He had mentioned the name of some (Prabodh Devkota) 13 important informants willing to help the field work at Batulechaur. He also suggested that the field researchers Some Major NFS Activities 16 should try to find more knowledgeable, skilled and talented Gaines (Gandharvas) from some other localities nearby. 1 Nepali Folklore Society Newsletter Vol.1 December 2005 The field researchers used several tools for data collection including the digital tape recorder, digital photo camera, questionnaires, diaries, notebooks, etc. During the field work, they met Gaines (Gandharvas), talked with them, interviewed them, took the photos, and videoed the scenes related to the concerned areas of study. The researchers tried to be very close to the Gandharva community by participating in Gandharvas’ daily life activities as far as possible. They tried their best to make the informants feel free in their presence. They participated together with the Gandharva people in singing, dancing, and even in their death ritual as Malami (the participant in the cremation procession). From such activities, they felt it easy to build up rapport with Gandharvas, which facilitated them a lot to collect the required information. Group Photograph on the occasion of Karkha competition Hari Bahadur Gandharva, 44, making sarangi, Badahare The project team leader Prof. Tulasi Diwasa and Cameraman Mr. Siddartha K. Shakya had also visited the field area for monitoring and facilitating the works, and for Mohan Bahadur Gandharva, 80, playing Arwajo, Arghaun video recording the relevant aspects of Gandharva folklore Problems during the Field Work and folklife. Prof. Diwasa interviewed 10 key informants including a lady Sarangi player (the only woman playing Despite the researchers’ success in collecting the this musical instrument found in the field area during required information to a great extent, they have also faced research). On this occasion, he also inaugurated the some problems in the field work. In the beginning, some Karkha (a form of traditional ballad found among people of Gandharva community made a doubt in the Gandharvas) singing competition held on 24th September researchers’ activities. Some of them thought that there 2005. The field researchers had taken a lot of initiatives to would be no point in helping the researchers, since there make the event successful by encouraging the Gandharva was no benefit for them in return. Some informants had people to organize that programme. It was the first event even asked for money before giving assurance for helping ever held in Nepal, which became a very important occasion the research team. However, this problem was overcome for the researchers to collect several traditional Karkha after appointing the Research Assistants from the local ballad songs found among Gandharvas. The programme people on recommendation of NGCDC. was organized in Pokhara by NGCDC in collaboration with Although the local informants had expressed their Nepali Folklore Society. There were 21 individual and commitment in helping the field work, the researchers could group participants in the competition altogether, who not get sufficient cooperation at Batulechaur due to the came not only from the different villages of Kaski but local people’s busy work schedule. Moreover, probably due also from different places of Tanahun, Baglung, and to their tendency to follow modernized life style and Palpa districts. Mr. Lal Bahadur Gandharva and Govinda practices, many traditional forms of Gandharva life and Gandharva were declared first prize winners in the competi- culture were already disappeared from that village. tion, and Prof. Diwasa gave away prizes to the winners. On Therefore, the researchers were compelled to go to the the occasion, 10 senior Gandharva singers were honoured places like Hemja, Arghaun, Badahare, Lamachaur, and for their contribution in the Karkha singing tradition. Gagan Gauda in order to collect the necessary information. 2 Nepali Folklore Society Newsletter Vol.1 December 2005 Post-Field Work Prof. Bandhu conducted interviews with different informants, which cover a wide range of subject matter. It After completing the field work, the research includes communication, oral history, riddles, poetry, folk team came back and submitted the detailed report to tales, language, belief and practices, singing in the villages, the project office. The project office has preserved all curses and oaths, code language, local dialect, etc. From his the information collected in the form of digital audio/ collection, altogether 20 onomastics words, 3 prayers, 75 folk video recordings and photographs. Now, the work of riddles, 75 proverbs and proverbial expressions, 200 special documenting the collected information is going on. The vocabulary items, 72 curses and taunts, 30 oaths, etc. have researchers are working to finalize the analysis and been collected. interpretation of data, which will be published later. II. Folk Literature and Performing Arts: Mr. The researchers have also brought some Kusumakar Neupane representative items of Gandharva material culture and handed them over to the project office. These items Mr. Neupane has taken altogether 140 photo- include Chakati (small mat made of straw), Sarangi graphs. He has also audio recorded different kinds of oral (a typical musical instrument like fiddle), Arwajo (a texts from the informants, with the total length of 18.46 musical instrument having the strings played with hours. He has spent more than 345 hours with the infor- fingers), Perungo (used for keeping chicken and small mants in the field. The subject matter covered in his animals), Sibring (used to keep fish) Tanglo (a fishing collection includes folksongs/ballads, religious songs, rod), etc. festival and ritual songs, personal memories, narratives, folk tales, etc. From his collection, altogether 3 interviews, Collection and Achievements 5 folk narratives, 5 myths, 3 folk tales, 5 personal memo- The research team has audio recorded several ries, 4 personal biographies, 16 folk ballads, 47 folk songs, oral texts from the field area