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Postmodernized Cultural Globalisation: Threatening Folk Culture(s) in India
Abstract
This paper is a review of the literature on postmodernism, cultural theory and globalization. It attempts to theorize how postmodernised forms of cultural globalisation threatens folk cultural practices.
... As a final consideration, I will now step back from the specific case of Bhaba Pagla's repertoire, using it as a prism to look through the broader context of contemporary esoteric cults. The reception of Bāuls' folkloric production reflects mechanisms of innovation, decline and change, if contextualized in the framework of rural Bengal, a modernising landscape under the impact of the dominant culture of a globalising nation (Islam 2006). Redeeming its validity from a socioculturally imposed and arbitrary notion of "East", the case of the exegetical acrobatics of Bhaba Pagla's songs can reveal recurrent patterns of creativity, evolution and devolution (Dundes 1969) of an esoteric tradition. ...
The songs performed by the Bāuls of Bengal are characterized by a charmingly enigmatic language by which terms and practices related to the dimension of sexuality and ontogenesis are concealed under the veil of intriguing metaphors. While the orature of the Bāuls has been widely explored from the literary as well as the religious point of view, the question of the semantic reception of the songs has rarely been considered. The semantics of these songs concerns the fundamental opposition between man and woman, as the only unborn difference Bāuls acknowledge in human beings. The foundation of such a difference lies in the sexually active body. Although, for a meaningful practice of ritualized sexual encounter (yugala-sādhanā), male-female identities (svabhāb) have to be transcended, and male practitioners are recommended to adopt a feminine nature (nārī bhāb). This article will focus on the problem of the interpretation and understanding of Bāul songs revealing how a diverse typology of listeners or performers can differently explain the meaning of a song and its allegorical images related to the microcosmic body of the practitioner. The analysis of the interpretations of a selected sample of ‘songs of practice’ (sādhanā saṅgīt) composed by the saint-songwriter Bhaba Pagla (1902 – 1984) will show how the lyrics are understood and explained on different levels according to the social and religious background of the informant: a superficial, literal layer; a bhakti-oriented metaphysical layer; and an esoteric-Tantric layer, decoded and orally transmitted by living gurus. Combining the approach of the contextual theory of the study of folklore and verbal arts with the theories on the interpretation of metaphors and the semiotics of reception, I will try to show how different exegeses of the same songs – collected during an ethnographic investigation in the field – can at times encourage the institutionalization of a cult purified from its embarrassing ‘Tantric’ aspect or, in other cases, reinforce the system of beliefs about bodily fluids and sexuality of an esoteric community. The problem of the heterogeneity of oral interpretations and the polysemy of songs’ meanings will lead to a discussion on the politics of power that entangle emerging Bengali cults and their negotiation between universalism and esoteric secrecy. © 2017, Universita degli Studi di Torino, Facolta di Lingue e Letterature Straniere. All Rights Resreved.
Folk theatre has been neglected and undocumented for centuries even though it is a very vital part of the culture & identity of the people. Folklore is a western concept and can't be applied in toto to the folk performances in India; Saang theatre being one example of it. Lakhmi Chand has been considered the greatest exponents of Saang theatre. He uses stories from local history, mythology and folklore and uses them as vehicles to reinforce local culture and beliefs. The Saangs thus become important documents of the cultural identity of people.
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