![Folklore in Bangladesh [ বাংলাদেশের পল্লীসাহিত্য, 11th BCS]](https://englishgoln.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/English-GOLN-02-Folklore-in-Bangladesh.jpg "Folklore in Bangladesh Essay Writing 1")
Folklore in Bangladesh is a common topic for Essay Writing in many competitive exams. Today we are going to create a sample or essay for students. We suggest not memorising the essay but rather taking an idea and writing the essay later on by own language and style.
[11th BCS]
Folklore in Bangladesh
Introduction:
Folklore refers to age-old rites and rituals, lifestyle, literature etc. of a particular community. According to Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, Folklore means ‘traditions and customs of a country or community. In a nutshell, Folkore can be considered synonymous with folk culture. The words ‘folklore and folk-culture can be used interchangeably. It needs no telling that folklore and rural society are inseparably related. They are interlocked with each other.
Rural societies are the breeding grounds of folklore. As the separation of a newborn child from its mother leaves the child helpless, similarly folklore separated or detached from rural society loses its soul bud becomes lifeless. Therefore folklore gives vent to a wide plethora of human feelings and emotions nourished in villagers-sorrows and joys, tears and laughter, love and hatred, indifference and penchant-There lies a bounteous source of folklore or folk culture.
Folklore and its features:
Folklore is the product of simple minds. It is not as polished and refined as our modern culture. It is simple, traditional, conventional, colourless and sometimes crude by nature. Lack of education and proper nourishment has lent some degree of monotony, insipidity and crudity to it. This folk culture passes on to successive generations mainly in a spoken form.
Social values, knowledge, belief, art, law, customs, and other capabilities and habits transmitted from generation to generation within a social group are the particular possession of folklore. It is mainly embedded in traditions. People preserve and nurture it as inherited property. Folklore is not found in printed forms as people concerned with it are not educated in the sense that they do not know how to read or write.
Personal experiences are the major source of folklore. It is orally transmitted from one generation to another, accepted and preserved in human memory. Basic elements of a nation are found in folklore.
Folklore in Bangladesh:
Bangladesh is a culturally rich country. It has a rich cultural tradition that speaks of our common people and soil. At every phase of our rural areas (outlying villages) lie the bounteous elements of folklore. Different aspects of our folklore are given below:
A. Bangladeshi Folk art :
Bangladeshi Nakshi Kantha:
It is a unique possession of Bengali culture. Nakshi Kantha (embroidered quilt) is a very artfully woven quilt by our village women. a very colourful and gorgeous weaving act. Different types of designs are eventfully depicted on the quilt at every skilful sitch of needle. There are various types of Nakshi Kantha we find the mention of seven kinds of quilts in the famous poet of folk Jasimuddin’s Prose Purbobanger Nakshi Kantha O Saree’. This type of Nakshi Kantha is emotionally involved with the life of our common women. Their feelings and pent-up emotions and long-cherished dreams, which never see the light in reality, find an outlet through such marvellous artful performance.
Bangladeshi Nakshi Pitha:
Another element of our folklore is Nakshi Pitha. Date juice and rice flour are the main ingredients of such Nakshi Pitha. They are different by name: Tel pitha, Chitoi pitha, Kuli pitha, Payes, Patisapta pitha, Bhapa pitha, Golap pitha etc. are notewarthy. They are very tasty. Mothers-in-law in our country entertain their sons-in-law with these delectable pithas.
Bangladeshi folk Rituals and beliefs:
As most rustic people are bereft of scientific knowledge, they believe in fate, not in labour. They are fatelists. They think that everything that happens in this material world is preordained by God. So, they accept what comes to them and do not try to change their lot. For example, they do not take any birth-controlling measure because they think that children are the gifts sent by the Almighty and so He will feed them. They are very simplistic and c48 Professor’s Selected Basic Essay
Some beliefs are mention-worthy regarding pregnant women. Some of the strictures or regulations are cited below from ‘Mymensingh Gitika’:
- A pregnant woman should not go out alone at night. If she becomes compelled. She should take ‘fire’ with her.
- She should not engage herself in cutting or chopping anything at the time of lunar eclipse. If she does, the coming infant can be harmed.
- She should not bind a broom or brush. This act may enhance the labour pain.
B. Bangladeshi Folklore and literature:
Our countryside is replete with literature. There spreads a rich quilt of literature in our country. We are always surrounded by multi-layered elements of folk literature (Palli Sahittyo). According to Dr Muhammad Sahidullah, one of the important folklore researchers, our folklore is like air encompassing us from all sides. We have deeply emerged into the boundless ocean of our folklore literature. The main areas of folk literature are:
(a) Rhyme (b) Folk song (c) Ballad (e) Proverbs and riddles.
Bangladeshi Folk Rhyme:
Rhyme is the oldest stream of folk literature.
Rhymes are mainly composed in order to entertain children. These rhymes are in most cases meaningless, logicless and thoughtless, yet they are animating, lovely and heart touching. The recitation of such rhymes provides us with exquisite delight. They are mingled with our blood and make our hearts leap up with joy. These are very enjoyable to children and take them to an imaginary world of dreams and fairies. For example:
“Rode Hossey Bristy Hossey Khekshialir Bie Hossey”
[Sun is there, rain is there
There is the marriage of a vixen”]
Bangladeshi Folk song:
It is one of the most influential streams or fountains flowing from our folk literature. Folk-songs are highly melodious strains streaming from simple hearts. No complex query of life philosophy or event mars the lyrical quality of the folk songs. These are composed of dialectical languages (regional languages) and leaves long-lasting impressions on the minds of particular regions. Vatiali, Vawoiya are examples of prominent folk songs of our country. So mindblowing is their lyricism that they take us to a world for from our sensual entanglement of the material life. For example:
(i) “Mon Majhi Tor Boitha nere
Ami ar Baite Parlam na”
[oh, the boatman of my mind!
Take your oar
Unable am to any more.]
Bangladeshi Folk Proverbs and riddles:
Our folklore is filled with aphorisms and maxims. These are the outcome of knowledge exercise and wisdom. Some talks have achieved the prestige of being proverbs and aphorisms (witty sayings) because of some truth universal appeal underlying these sayings. Some of the proverbs translated into English are cited below:
(a) A bad workman quarrels with lis tools.
(b) Might is right.
(c) A tree is known its fruit.
Conclusion:
Culture is like an ever-flowing river. It cannot be captured within the time frame. According to Ross, Culture is the acquired behaviour pattern transmitted imitation or instruction. Culture is a complex whole that includes knowledge, belief, system ideas, lifestyle, of life-patterns. Culture is articulated or expressed irrespective of country, time, and religion.
In fact, the history Bangalee identity woven folklore folk culture that includes folk-art, folk-literature (proletariate etc. In the words of Mostafa Jaman Abbasi – folklore possessions. – Through Bangladesh is economically poor, it is rich in folklore possessions.
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