Folk Religion and Mass Culture in Rural Bengal

Folk Religion and Mass Culture in Rural Bengal PDF Author: Gouri Sankar Bandyopadhyay
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Folk religion
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
With reference to Rāḍha, India.

Folk Religion and Mass Culture in Rural Bengal

Folk Religion and Mass Culture in Rural Bengal PDF Author: Gouri Sankar Bandyopadhyay
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Folk religion
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
With reference to Rāḍha, India.

Logic in a Popular Form

Logic in a Popular Form PDF Author: Sumanta Banerjee
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
Taking its title from Karl Marx s description of religion as the general theory of this world . . . [and] its logic in a popular form , this volume of essays explores the hidden logic behind the popular construction of certain myths, beliefs about godlings and spirits, and cross-religious cults, viewing them as popular inventions attempting to make sense of human existence in the face of an overwhelming and often hostile environment. These religious manifestations of popular logic ranging from Kali to Radha-Krishna to Satyapir to Tantrik practice are fluid, ever-changing, and always innovative. They represent an alternative stream running parallel to, and often challenging, the more strictly structured beliefs and practices of the Indian religious establishments, whether Hindu, Islamic, or Christian. The essays in the present collection are an attempt to rediscover some of the important aspects of this multi-faceted phenomenon of popular religion in the context of nineteenth-century Bengal, including tracing the impact of urbanization, colonialism, and nationalism. They also try to re-examine the relevance of some of the beliefs and rituals that have flowed down from that past and continue to survive in Bengali society today. Sumanta Banerjee is a cultural historian who specializes in research into popular culture, particularly of the colonial period. His best known works include The Simmering Revolution: The Naxalite Uprising, The Thema Book of Naxalite Poetry, The Parlour and The Streets: Elite and Popular Culture in Nineteenth Century Calcutta and Dangerous Outcast: The Prostitute in Nineteenth Century Bengal.

Folk Deities and Matrika Cult of South West Bengal

Folk Deities and Matrika Cult of South West Bengal PDF Author: Bina Kumari Sarma
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
Books Closely At Folk Deities Of South Bengal, Particularly Manifestation Of Mother Goddess In The 2 Districts-Bankura And Purulia. Based On Field Work And A Review Of Exiting Literature. Has 7 Chapters, The Best Being On Conclusions.

Regional Cults and Rural Traditions

Regional Cults and Rural Traditions PDF Author: Rebati Mohan Sarkar
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Hindu cults
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
This book is a significant contribution to a much known but less studied subject in the domain of social sciences. Dr. R.M. Sarkar, a well known anthropological researcher,based on his empirical findings has analysed the way of life of rural people through the study of village cults and village deities. The region of study covers a large territory extending from the border regions of Birbhum and Santal Parganas districts and include some parts of Burdwan in West Bengal and is mainly inhabited by the Bagdi,Mal,Lohar,Dom,Bauri,Mochi,Hadi communities and other higher castes of the greater Hindu society. The author has traced the origin from history and mythology of the five principal village deites; viz; Chandi,Manasa,Dharmaraj, Mahadana and Kali and have systematically analysed their pattersn of propitiations,feasts and festivals to illustrate various aspects of life of village folk-inter alia presenting a large number of rural traditions myths and popular beliefs details of numerous rites and rituals right from the starting of the puja festival up to the ceremonial immersion of the deities. In nutshell,the village deities emerge as mechanism for maintaining social solidarity and cultural harmony and cut across high and low segments such as Jal-chal (Castes from which water can be accepted), Jal-achal (Castes from which water cannot be accepted,) Chhut( Touchables ) and Achhut (Untouchables). This interesting work would arouse interest in scholars and researchers of Social Anthropology, Indology Sociology, Folklore, Philosophy and Religion.

The Changing World of Caste and Hierarchy in Bengal

The Changing World of Caste and Hierarchy in Bengal PDF Author: Sudarshana Bhaumik
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000641430
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
This book challenges the prevalent assumptions of caste, hierarchy and social mobility in pre-colonial and colonial Bengal. It studies the writings of colonial ethnographers, Orientalist scholars, Christian missionaries and pre-colonial literary texts like the Mangalkavyas to show how the concept of caste emerged and argues that the jati order in Bengal was far from being a rigidly reified structure, but one which had room for spatial and social mobility. The volume highlights the processes through which popular myths and beliefs of the lower caste orders of Bengal were Sanskritized. It delineates the linkages between sedantized peasant culture and the emergence of new agricultural castes in colonial Bengal. Moreover, the author discusses a wide spectrum of issues like marginality and hierarchy, the spread of Brahmanical hegemony, the creation of deities and the process of Sanskritization, popular Saivism, the cult of Manasa in Bengal and the revolt of 1857 and the caste question. Rich in archival sources, this book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of colonial history, Indian history, political sociology, caste studies, exclusion studies, cultural studies, social history, cultural history and South Asian studies, especially those interested in undivided Bengal.

Folk Religion of Bengal

Folk Religion of Bengal PDF Author: Sudhir Ranjan Das
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bengal (India)
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls

Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls PDF Author: June McDaniel
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190290560
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
The Indian state of West Bengal is home to one of the world's most vibrant traditions of goddess worship. The year's biggest holidays are devoted to the goddesses Durga and Kali, with lavish rituals, decorated statues, fireworks, and parades. In Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls, June McDaniel provides a broad, accessibly written overview of Bengali goddess worship. McDaniel identifies three major forms of goddess worship, and examines each through its myths, folklore, songs, rituals, sacred texts, and practitioners. In the folk/tribal strand, which is found in rural areas, local tribal goddesses are worshipped alongside Hindu goddesses, with an emphasis on possession, healing, and animism. The tantric/yogic strand focuses on ritual, meditation, and visualization as ways of experiencing the power of the goddess directly. The devotional or bhakti strand, which is the most popular form, involves the intense love and worship of a particular form of the goddess. McDaniel traces these strands through Bengali culture and explores how they are interwoven with each other as well as with other forms of Hinduism. She also discusses how these practices have been reinterpreted in the West, where goddess worship has gained the values of sexual freedom and psychological healing, but lost its emphases on devotion and asceticism. Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls takes the reader inside the lives of practicing Shaktas, including holy women, hymn singers, philosophers, visionaries, gurus, ascetics, healers, musicians, and businessmen, and offers vivid descriptions of their rituals, practices, and daily lives. Drawing on years of fieldwork and extensive research, McDaniel paints a rich, expansive portrait of this fascinating religious tradition.

Fruits of Worship

Fruits of Worship PDF Author: Ralph W. Nicholas
Publisher: Orient Blackswan
ISBN: 9788180280061
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
The Center Of Attention Is The Religious Life Of Ordinary People In Rural Bengal, Bengali Attachment To Goddesses, The Religious Treatment Of The Calamities And The Analysis Of Myths, Both Historically And Structurally. A Uniquely Complete Picture Of The World Implicit In The Culture Of The Villages Of The Bengal Delta.

Identity, Nationhood and Bangladesh Independent Cinema

Identity, Nationhood and Bangladesh Independent Cinema PDF Author: Fahmidul Haq
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000605647
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Book Description
This book analyses how independent filmmakers from Bangladesh have represented national identity in their films. The focus of this book is on independent and art house filmmakers and how cinema plays a vital role in constructing national and cultural identity. The authors examine post-2000 films which predominantly deal with issues of national identity and demonstrate how they tackle questions of national identity. Bangladesh is seemingly a homogenous country consisting 98% of Bengali and 90% of Muslim. This majority group has two dominant identities – Bengaliness (the ethno-linguistic identity) and Muslimness (the religious identity). Bengaliness is perceived as secular-modern whereas Muslimness is perceived as traditional and conservative. However, Bangladeshi independent and art house filmmakers portray the nationhood of the country with an enthusiasm and liveliness that exceeds these two categories. In addition to these categories, the authors add two more dimensions to the approach to discuss identity: Popular Religion and Transformation. The study argues that these identity categories are represented in the films, and that they both reproduce and challenge dominant discourses of nationalism. Providing a new addition to the discourse of contemporary national identity, the book will be of interest to researchers studying international film and media studies, independent cinema studies, Asian cinema, and South Asian culture, politics, and identity politics.

Epigraphy and Islamic Culture

Epigraphy and Islamic Culture PDF Author: Mohammad Yusuf Siddiq
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317587456
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
Architectural inscriptions are a fascinating aspect of Islamic cultural heritage because of their rich and diverse historical contents and artistic merits. These inscriptions help us understand the advent of Islam and its gradual diffusion in Bengal, which eventually resulted in a Muslim majority region, making the Bengali Muslims the second largest linguistic group in the Islamic world. This book is an interpretive study of the Arabic and Persian epigraphic texts of Bengal in the wider context of a rich epigraphic tradition in the Islamic world. While focusing on previously untapped sources, it takes a fresh look into the Islamic inscriptions of Bengal and examines the inner dynamics of the social, intellectual and religious transformations of this eastern region of South Asia. It explores many new inscriptions including Persian epigraphs that appeared immediately after the Muslim conquest of Bengal indicating an early introduction of Persian language in the region through a cultural interaction with Khurasan and Central Asia. In addition to deciphering and editing the epigraphic texts, the information derived from them has been analyzed to construct the political, administrative, social, religious and cultural scenario of the period. The first survey of the Muslim inscriptions in India ever to be attempted on this scale, the book reveals the significance of epigraphy as a source for Islamic history and culture. As such, it will be of interest to students and scholars of Asian Studies, Asian History and Islamic Studies.