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Unit 3 : Folk Culture of Assam: Meaning and Importance Unit 3 Folk Culture of Assam : Meaning and Importance UNIT 3 : FOLK CULTURE OF ASSAM: MEANING AND IMPORTANCE UNIT STRUCTURE 3.1 Learning Objectives 3.2 Introduction 3.3 Defining "Folk Culture" and its various aspects 3.4 Oral Literature 3.5 Material Culture 3.6 Folk Custom 3.7 Folk Performing Arts 3.8 Let us Sum Up 3.9 Further Reading 3.10 Answers to Check Your Progress 3.11 Model Questions 3.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After going through this Unit, you will be able to- define Folk culture, describe the different aspects of Folk culture, discuss the various forms of Oral Literature of Assam, discuss the customs and tradition attached to Folk culture of Assam, describe the Folk performing arts of Assam. 3.2 INTRODUCTION In the previous unit, we have deliberated on the topic of Culture, its nature and Assamese culture in particular. We also analysed the cultural assimilation process in the making of Assamese culture. In this unit, we will discuss folk culture and its various kinds, like Oral literature, customs and traditions and performing arts in Assam. 36 Cultural History of Assam Folk Culture of Assam : Meaning and Importance Unit 3 3.3 DEFINING FOLK CULTURE The term culture has been derived from the Latin word "cultus", meaning to "care. Scholars differ in opinions regarding the proper definition of culture. Etymologically, the word Folk means 'of or pertaining to the inhabitants of land, their culture, tradition or history', or to go to its Assamese synonyms, it would mean people or Lok. Therefore, the connotation of the term folk culture refers to the culture of the people of an area in general and it includes mental, social and physical means of the people, which makes life run its course'. Folk culture is as old as human civilization and the collection of folk literature and and folk culture dates back to 5th -6th century B.C. However, scientific discussion on folk culture began only in the 16th century A.D. The forerunners of the study of folk culture in Assam and rest of India were the Civil Servants of the British Government and the Christian missionaries. However, even before them, in the creations of medieval poets and writers of Assam, there are a large number of sources of folk culture. In the writings of Sankaradev, Madhabdev, Madhab Kandali, Harihar Bipra, Ananta Kandali, we find the sources of folk culture of Assam but these sources or the works lack scientific explanations. Therefore, it can be said that the scientific study of folklore and folk culture began during the colonial rule. Technically, study of folk culture includes its various dimensions such as Oral literature, Material Culture of the Society, Social Folk Custom, Folk Performing Art etc. Assam is a land of numerous tribes and is often regarded as the melting pot of the multi-cultural ethnic society. It is said that Assam is a miniature replica of the subcontinent. Its geography has the characteristics that enabled many of the trans-regional elements to adapt themselves to the ecological condition of Assam. Consequently, the history of Assam is one of the continuous reflections of large scale population movements, where each cultural strain while maintaining its exclusiveness, has co-existed with others. Cultural History of Assam 37 Unit 3 Folk Culture of Assam : Meaning and Importance 3.4 ORAL LITERATURE Oral literature forms a major source for our knowledge abut any society. It not only helps us to understand the society but also is an important source in reconstructing the history of any period or of any place. Assam, is a land of multi ethnic culture. The various ethnic groups display a vast array of oral literature that reveals the various aspects of Assamese life such as the socio-economic and political condition of the people of Assam. Oral literature of Assam can be broadly categorized into five categories. From Cultural point of view, folk culture can be classified into different categories and this classification is known as ethnic genre or ethnic classification. This classification can also be called native classification since both ethnic and native classification refers to the same aspect of folk culture. The classification made considering the academic side as well as international norms of classification of oral literature is known as analytical classification. Within this category fall the following aspects Folk poem or oral song or verbal Songs/poems Prose Narratives Proverbs, sayings, maxims Riddles Folk speech etc. From the point of views of various themes of the folk literature it can be further sub-divided into the following sub-categories : Love songs /love poems Spiritual songs Philosophical Satirical Comedy Socio-economic Encouraging Historical-political etc. Many of the folk songs are sung during some special occasions or 38 Cultural History of Assam Folk Culture of Assam : Meaning and Importance Unit 3 festivals. Considering the context of its performance, folk literatures can also be divided in a category. This is called contextual classification. Many of the aspects of art and of Folk literature pertain to some social functions. For this reason it is also called functional folklore. For example, the lullaby sung for making the children sleep can be classified as lullaby considering its functional aspects. Depending on the regional and linguistic characteristics, Assamese oral literature can be divided into many categories such as Kamrupi (songs of Kamrup) Songs of Nalbari Darangi (songs of Darrang) Sonitpuri (songs of Sonitpur) Lakhimpuri (Songs of Lakhimpur) Dibrugarh (Songs of Dibrugarh) Songs of Sivsagar Songs of Jorhat Songs of Nagaon Songs of Marigaon Goalparia (Songs of Goalpara) Songs of Dhuburi etc. Assamese oral literature can also be divided into many other categories depending on its contents. Among then the religious sons are worth mentioning as they have occupied an important place in the oral or folk literature. Songs sung during or at the time of prayer or worship are called the religious songs. These songs mainly contain the origin of gods and goddesses, spread of their worship in the Earth, rituals of prayer and worships etc. Religious songs can be divided in some sub categories such as : Songs related to Various Gods and Goddesses: These songs are related to goddess Durga, Manasa, God Shiva and Jagannath etc Cultural History of Assam 39 Unit 3 Folk Culture of Assam : Meaning and Importance Aai naam or songs of Goddess Sitala: These songs are sung for the cure of pox. If the goddess is satisfied by the song then the disease is cured, according to popular belief. Apeswari or Apechari Naam: These songs are sung, mainly by the women, to satisfy the fairies so that they do not harm the people, mostly the children. Sonarai Pujra Geet: These songs are mainly sung in the Goalpara areas of Assam. There songs are sung by the cattle rearer at the time of Sonarai Puja and are known as Sonarai Pujar Geet. Kati Pujar Geet: These songs are sung by the women not having a child to satisfy God Kartik so that they can have child. These songs are also sung in the Goalpara area. Bas Pujar Geet: There are two kinds of Bas Puja- (i) Mada-kaam and (ii) Bahgawati Baas. Songs sung during this puja is called Baas pujar geet. Tukuriya Pujar Geet: These songs are sung by the people of Pati Rabhas at the time of the Tukriya Puja. Barmani Pujar Geet: These songs are also sung by the Pati Rabhas. Deh Bisarar Geet: These songs are sung by the bhakats or the monks who used to travel from one place to another singing songs related to human life and daily happenings. These songs reflect the pains and joys of human lives. Jikir: These songs are mainly sung by the Muslim people of Assam. Like the Deh Bisarrar geet these songs also represent human life, its joy, pain etc. Jaree Geet: These songs are also sung mainly by the Muslims giving a description of the tragedy of the Karabala. Besides the lives of Hazarat Mohammad, Bibi Fatema, Hasan-Hussain etc. are also represented in these songs. Kamrupi Loka Geet: These songs were mainly sung in the Kamarup areas. The bhakti or the spiritual feelings of these songs 40 Cultural History of Assam Folk Culture of Assam : Meaning and Importance Unit 3 attract the people. Lord Krishna, Siv-Parvati etc. are the main deities who are prayed through these songs. LET US KNOW Tragedy of the Karabala: This is related to the battle of Karabala which took place in 680 AD. The Battle was between a small group of supporters and relatives of of Muhammad's grandson Hussain Ali and a much larger military detachment from the forces of Yazid I. Hussain and all his supporters were killed including his six month old infant son. Shia Muslims commemorate and acknowledge through this event the great sacrifice made by Hussain Ali and others. Songs related to festivities Assam is a land of rich cultural heritage. Many festivals are celebrated throughout the State. Among the festivals the most prominent ones are the Bihu, Bhatheli, Moho -Ho, Ambubachi, Suweri etc. In all these festivals many song are sung and these are a major source of oral literature of Assam. However, these types of songs can broadly be divided in two categories - (i). Songs related to Bohag Bihu and (ii). Reformative songs or songs related to various stages of life. Songs related to Bohag Bihu The bihu songs are mainly sung during the time of Bohag or Rongali Bihu. However, there are a few songs related to both Kati and Magh Bihu. The bihu songs are known as Bihu Geet or Husari geet.
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