Koridhya and its Manasamangal, an uncharted tale of an oral tradition: a quest

through a continuum

Introduction:

The emergence of Manasalore in India is an oral one. It was, in its preliminary

form, transmitted orally from one generation to the other through ballads and
short limericks (Bhattacharya Ashutosh, Bangla Mangalkavyer Itihas, pg-287).
Eventually, through the process of ‘transculturation’, it accumulated and imbibed
the nature of the existing epic traditions as well as the other folk traditions. This
process of transculturation subsequently led to ‘neoculturation’ or a creation of
new cultural phenomena that culminated in the emergence of the scripted or
written texts in the 13th and 14th century with the advent of ‘mangalkavya’ as a
literary genre in Bengal. The wide circulation of the written texts amongst the
educated upper class led to the cultural hegemony that forced the oral tradition,
emanated from the Manasalore, to persist only in the periphery.Throughout
Bengal numerous versions of the orally transmitted tradition of Manasalore can
be traced, some crystallized in written transcripts and audio-visual
documentation, some lost.

One such version of the oral tradition of the preliminary form of Manasalore can
be traced through the performances of Srishtidhor Badyokor of Koridhya village
(Birbhum district) in the western region of Bengal. On the outset, he is a
performer of ‘palagan’, ‘jaatgan’ like other performers of the same region but his
performances bear the markers of a specific narrative pattern that is at once
reminiscent but substantially different from the existing canonized texts. Several
evidence (listed below) point to the fact that this version could be one of the oral
versions of the preliminary form of the Manasalore which has its only repository
in Srishtidhor’s memory, both personal and collective, and therefore, is in need of
documentation. This research aims at documenting the performer and his
performance through which a tradition of an uncharted version can be traced.
Literature survey: The Mangalkavyas belong to the popular tradition, as “they
hint at the popular religious belief that circulated among the ordinary folk prior to
the establishment of Aryan culture in the region…” (Bhattacharya Ashutosh, pg-
247).

As Subha Chakraborty Dasgupta, writes, “As far as early texts are concerned a
general outline of the stories is already seen in a crystallized form in two versions
of the Mangalkavya composed in the 15th century, with certain variations and
interpolated stories. But there may be many other versions to which we do not
have access” (A journey to Joramath and its Manasamangalpala). The core of the
story remains the same in all regions with variations in detail. The written texts
that are in circulation are also versions of the oral.

The version that we take up bears its semblance to the one that used to be sung
by Devangshee community of Kodde Kalipur and Koridhya. This is the version that
was supposed to be one of the persisting oral traditions of Manasalore. Ashutosh
Bhattacharya has indicated, that the tradition of Manasamangal might have
emerged from the western region of Bengal, to be more specific, Birbhum district,
as most of the known poets, belonged to this tradition were connected to this
part of the state in one way or the other. This apart, the many manifestations of
Manasakatha in Bihar and Orissa also suggest that the tale of Manasa had passed
through the soils of Birbhum (or Western Bengal) at some point of its origin
(Bhattacharya Ashutosh, pg-296).

Dharmamangal, another tradition of Mangalkavya , that has originated from this

region carries its seeds from Shunyopuran, a Buddhist tantric text. Subha
Chakraborty Dasgupta too hinted at the presence of the influence of Tantric
Buddhism in Srishtidhor’s songs that uses the imagery of blue lotuses that
emerges from the heads of the snakes when struck by bricks (Dasgupta
Chakraborty Subha, pg-55). Hence the process of transculturation can easily be
noticed.
Statement of purpose: In his conversation with Subha Chakraborty Dasgupta,
Srishtidhar reveals that his grandfather used to sing from a manuscript, which is
now lost. The very existence of the manuscript has become a myth. Srishtidhar,
like his father before, is ignorant of the world of written words. Hence, it is his
memory both personal and collective that serves as the archive for this version of
Manasakatha. The performance that he gives, therefore, is never the same. Each
performance is a novel one. And because of this, the narrative is somewhat
modified each time to fulfill the needs of present audience. The tradition that the
narrative forbears, therefore, is alive and growing with each performance.

Through our research we intend to archive the performances of Srishtidhar

Badyokor and other singers of the same region whose performances bear
semblances to that of Srishtidhor’s, though is different in terms of texture and use
of language and rhetoric. Thus we intend to document all the available fragments
in order to obtain a fairly substantiated idea of a tradition never charted before.

Srishtidhar Badyokor himself is an interesting subject of research oriented

documentation. He belongs to a musically inclined community of Badyokors. He is
not only a singer, but also a snake charmer, “who claims to see snakes in different
forms and enters into a different relation with them, conquering the negative
senses associated with them.” He performs the rites of an ‘ojha’, though does not
believe in the power of mantras, a priest who conducts Manasapuja, though is
never allowed inside of the temple because of his low birth. He possesses
immense knowledge about the medicinal herbs that work as antidotes, yet is
illiterate, a performer whose range and command of voice is truly awe-inspiring.
However, he is not a snake charmer by birth and his claim about his heritage of
‘Devangsee’ community is also dubious. His songs, according to him are the gifts
from his father and his Guru Purnochandra Badyokar from whom he learnt to play
with the snakes. Srishtidhor grew up in a musical environment and therefore he
never sees his music as something special or unique. Rather this uniqueness has
made his music to get subjugated to the popular versions of written texts
especially to the tradition of Bishnu Pal’s Manasamangal ( though the text is also
peripheral as it never got proper recognition from scholars and educated
audience). He had to learn Bishnu Pal’s Manasamangal so that he can be safe if
the question of authenticity and legimization arises in the minds of his audience.
This in the course is forcing him to modify his texts and through ‘deculturation’
the original flavor of the tradition is fading away day by day.

The research, that we intend to do, will bring about the labyrinthine personality
that Srishtidhor is and through an audio visual documentation of his
performances we can look through time and culture both synchronically and
diachronically to enter into the multi-dimensional areas of thought and praxis in
order to participate in the history of tradition.

Significance of the research:

The research will be culminated in-

a) An archive of the songs and performances of Srishtidhor, through field

recording and an audio-visual documentation along with a written
transcript of the same.
b) A documentary film charting the version of Manasalore that we take up,
that will recruit other performers of the said region as well, along with
Srishtidhor to have an intertextual and an intercultural overview.
c) A written transcript of the version of the narrative that will get
documented.
d) A workshop focusing on the performative aspect of an oral tradition that
has never been documented before.
e) A socio-cultural mapping of the entire region through performative
interaction amongst the variations of the tradition, which we take up.

Research methods:

Data collection will comprise of field recordings and audio visual documentation
of individual performances as well as responses in interviews.
Participants and recruitment:

The research will recruit a variety of performers from the said region along with
Srishtidhar Badyokor based on whose performances the documentation depends
at large. Thus a multi vocal narrative will be constructed creating a sense of values
and attitudes, based on ‘lived experience’ that tradition generates.

Interviews:

All the interviews will be conducted over a 6 months period in 2014-2015, during
which the researchers will make repeated visits to Jhoramath and its adjacent
places. The main function of these interviews is to reveal the understanding and
perspectives relating to the type of performances they adhere to. Using an audio-
visual recording, all the interviews will be recorded with the consent of the
participants. The recorded material will be transcribed afterwards.

Time-table:

2014

August: Research and shooting of Jhapan Utsav in Bishnupur (Bankura district),

first session of interviews. Archiving of songs.

September- October: Research work, academic research, interview, interaction,

digital encoding, review.

November- December: field work, second session of interviews.

2015

January: Third session of interviews, review, digital encoding,

February- March: field work.

April- May: Research, post production, archiving.

Jun: Research and shooting of Maanasapuja.

July- August: Finalizing, review, archiving.

September: Final submission.

References:

Bhattacharya Ashutosh, Bangla Mangalkavyer itihas ( A history of medieval

Bengali Narrative Poems).

Dasgupta Chakraborty Subha, A Journey to Joramath and its Manasamangalpala,

Jadavpur University press.

Transculturation and Cultural Hybridity, (http://www.gira.info/en/about-

us/research-questions-and-key-notions/transculturation-and-cultural-hybridity).

By

Titas Roy Barman Manidipa Singha

gunja.palki@gmail.com bihanga666@gmail.com

9433723625 8697035438

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