Introduction:
The description of people on linguistic basis is extremely common.
In other words, people are described on the basis of the language they speak or their mother tongue.
When we refer to some person as a Kannada or a Marathi, this usually means that he/she speaks Kannada/Marathi.
We also have a tendency to associate each region with distinctive kinds of food, clothing, poetry, dance, music and painting.
We also sometimes tend to take these aspects of people as granted and assume that the people are identified with these since time immemorial.
However, this may not be true.
This is because:
The frontiers that separate regions have evolved over time and are still evolving.
The cultures of a region are hybrid in nature i.e. they have evolved as a result of intermixing of local traditions with ideas from other parts of the subcontinent.
The regional cultures that exist today have not been exclusively for that region.
Some traditions appear specific to some regions
Some seem to be similar across regions
Some are derived from older practices in a particular area but take a new form in other regions.
The Cheras and Malayalam:
The Premise:
The Chera kingdom of Mahodayapuram was established in the south-western part of the peninsula (which is a part of the present-day Kerala) in the 9th century.
It is likely that Malayalam was the spoken language in this region.
The rulers introduced the language and Malayalam script in their inscriptions.
This is an example of the relation between language and region, and also of the use of a regional language in official records in the subcontinent.
The Sanskrit Conncetion:
The Cheras also drew upon Sanskritic traditions.
The Sanskrit epics form the basis of the temple theatre of Kerala that is traced to this period.
The first literary works in Malayalam which are approximately dated to the 12th century are directly indebted to Sanskrit.
Lilatilakam, a 14th century text that deals with grammar and poetics was composed in Manipravalam which literally means ‘diamonds and corals’, referring to the two languages- Sanskrit and the regional language.
The Jagannatha Cult:
This was the best example of regional cultures growing around religious traditions.
Jagannatha which literally translates to ‘the lord of the world’ is a name for Vishnu.
This cult is found in Puri, Orissa.
Till date, the local tribals make the wooden image of the deity, which suggests that the deity was originally a local god which was later identified with Vishnu.
Puri:
One of the important rulers of the Ganga dynasty, Anantavarman, decided to erect a temple for Purushottama Jagannatha at Puri, in the 12th century.
In 1230, subsequently, king Anangabhima III dedicated his kingdom to the deity and proclaimed himself as the ‘deputy’ of god.
With the increase in the importance of the temple as a pilgrimage centre, its authority in social and political spheres also increased.
All the dynasties who conquered Orissa tried to gain control over the temple.
Some such rulers were the Mughals, Marathas and the English East India Company.
They felt that gaining control over it would make them acceptable to the local people.
The Rajputs and their Heroic acts:
The region that constitutes present-day Rajasthan was called Rajputana by the British in the 19th century.
Though the name Rajputana may suggest that this was an area that was inhabited only or mainly by the Rajputs, this is only partially true.
Many groups in the northern and central parts of India identified themselves as Rajputs.
Also, there are people other than Rajputs who live in Rajasthan.
The Rajputs, however are often recognized as contributing to the distinctive culture of Rajasthan.
There was close link between the cultural traditions of Rajasthan and the ideals and aspirations of the rulers.
Most of the present-day Rajasthan was ruled by various Rajput families, from the 8th century.
One such ruler was Prithviraj.
The ideals of the Rajputs:
These rulers firmly believed in fighting valiantly and choosing death over surrender/defeat.
The memories of the rulers were preserved by way of poems and songs which were recited by specially trained minstrels.
These poems and songs also served as a role model for others to follow.
Even ordinary people were inspired by these stories which often depicted dramatic situations and a range of strong emotions- from loyalty to anger.
Women’s position:
Women often found a place in these stories either as –
The ‘cause’ for conflicts wherein men fought to either win or protect women OR
Following their husbands in life as well as death- There are stories about the practice of ‘sati’ that was prevalent during the period.
This is a practice involving the immolation of widows on the funeral pyre of their husbands.
REGIONAL CULTURES: KATHAK
Kathak:
The word kathak is derived from the word ‘katha’ which means story.
This dance form is associated with different parts of north India.
The kathaks were originally a caste of story-tellers in temples of the northern parts of India.
They embellished their performances with gestures and songs.
With the spread of the bhakti movement, this dance form started evolving into a distinct mode of dance in the 15th and 16th century.
In folk plays called rasa-lila, the legends of Radha-Krishna were enacted.
These combined folk dance with the basic gestures of the kathak story-tellers.
Ruler’s Patronage:
Kathak was performed in court under the Mughal emperors and nobles.
This is when it acquired its present features and evolved into a distinctive dance form.
It subsequently developed in two traditions or gharanas in: the courts of Rajasthan(Jaipur),Lucknow.
It grew into a major art form under the patronage of Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh.
By the third quarter of the 19th century it became firmly entrenched as a dance form in other adjoining regions as well.
These include the present-day:
Punjab
Haryana
Jammu & Kashmir
Bihar
Madhya Pradesh
The emphasis in this dance form was laid on:
Intricate and fast footwork
Elaborate costumes
Enactment of stories
The perception of the British:
Like any other cultural practice, kathak also was viewed with disfavor by most British administrators in the 19th and 20th centuries.
It was however continued to be performed by the courtesans and came to be recognized as one of the six classical forms of dance in the country after independence.
Classical Dance forms of India:
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Dance form
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Region
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Kathak
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North India
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Bhratanatyam
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Tamil Nadu
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Kathakali
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Kerala
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Odissi
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Orissa
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Kuchipudi
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Andhra Pradesh
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|
Manipuri
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Manipur
|
MINIATURE PAINTING:
Miniature Painting:
This was another tradition that developed in different ways.
Miniatures, as the name suggests, are small-sized paintings that are generally done in water colour on cloth or paper.
The earliest miniatures are found on palm leaf or wood.
The regions that attracted miniature paintings are:
Western India- Some of the most beautiful miniatures are found in western India.
These illustrated Jaina texts.
Himalayan foothills around the modern day Himachal Pradesh- This region had developed a bold and intense style of miniature painting called Basohli, by the late 17th century.
Bhanudatta’s Rasamanjari was the most popular text to be painted here.
The Mughal influence:
The emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan patronized highly skilled painters who primarily illustrated manuscripts containing historical records and poetry.
These had the following features:
They were generally painted in brilliant colours.
They generally portrayed court scenes, scenes of battle or hunting, and other aspects of social life.
Many painters moved out to the courts of other emerging regional states with the decline of the Mughal empire.
Hence the Mughal artistic tastes influenced the regional courts of the Deccan and the Rajput courts of Rajasthan.
At the same time they developed and retained their distinctive features.
Following the Mughal example, portraits of rulers and court scenes came to be painted.
Apart from these, themes from mythology and poetry were depicted at centres such as: Mewar, Jodhpur, Bundi, Kota and Kishangarh.
A Rare Commodity:
These paintings were often exchanged as gifts and were viewed only by an exclusive few which included the emperor and his close associates.
Impact of Nadir Shah’s invasion:
Nadir Shah’s invasion and the conquest of Delhi in 1739 led to the migration of Mughal artists to the hills to escape the uncertainties of the plains.
Here they found ready patrons.
This led to the founding of the Kangra school of painting.
The Kangra artists, by the mid-eighteenth century, developed a style which breathed a new spirit into miniature painting.
They were greatly inspired by the Vaishnavite traditions.
The distinguishing features of the Kangra painting were:
Soft colours including cool blues and greens
Lyrical treatment of themes
Even ordinary men and women painted.
They painted on walls, pots, floors and cloth.
These works of art have occasionally survived, unlike the carefully preserved miniatures which were preserved in palaces for centuries.
REGIONAL CULTURES: BENGAL:
As mentioned in the beginning of the chapter, we presume that people of a particular state, have spoken its regional language since time immemorial.
Hence we assume that people in Bengal have always spoken Bengali.
Though now Bengali is recognized as a language derived from Sanskrit, early Sanskrit texts of the mid-first millennium BCE suggest that the people of Bengal did not speak Sanskritic languages.
Emergence of Bengali:
Commercial ties began to develop between Bengal and Magadha (south Bihar) from the fourth-third centuries BCE.
This may have led to the growing influence of Sanskrit.
The Gupta rulers, during the 4th century, established political control over north Bengal and began to settle Brahamanas in the area.
Hence the linguistic and cultural influence from the mid-Ganga valley became stronger.
The Chinese traveler Xuan Zang observed in the 7th century that languages related to Sanskrit were in use all over Bengal.
Developments in Bengal over centuries:
Eight century: Bengal became the centre of a regional kingdom under the Palas from the eighth century.
Between the fourteenth and the sixteenth century: During this period, Bengal was ruled by Sultans who were independent of the rulers in Delhi. When it was conquered by Akbar in 1586, it formed the nucleus of the Bengal suba. While the language of administration was Persian, Bengali developed as a regional language.
The language of Bengal:
By the 15th century, the Bengali group of dialects came to be united by a common literary language based on the spoken language of the western part of the region, now known as West Bengal.
Though the base of Bengali is Sanskrit, it has passed through many stages of evolution.
Many non-Sanskrit words are also a part of modern-day Bengali.
The sources of these words are tribal languages, Persian and European languages.
Bengali literature:
The early Bengali literature can be divided into two categories:
The one that is indebted to Sanskrit and
The other that is independent of Sanskrit
Bengali literature indebted to Sanskrit:
It includes the translations of the Sanskrit epics, the Mangalakavyas and bhakti literature such as the biographies of Chaitanyadeva (the leader of the Vaishnava bhakti movement).
These are easier to date because many manuscripts have been found indicating that they were composed between the late 15th and the middle of the 18th centuries.
Bengali literature independent of Sanskrit:
It includes Nath literature such as the songs of Maynamati and Gopichandra, stories concerning the worship of Dharma Thakur, and fairy tales, folk tales and ballads.
These were circulated orally and cannot be precisely dated and were particularly popular in eastern Bengal where the Brahmanical influence was relatively weak.
TEMPLES IN BENGAL:
Migration of People:
Sixteenth century onwards, people began to migrate from the less fertile western Bengal to the forested and marshy areas of south-eastern Bengal.
As they moved eastwards, they cleared the forests and started practicing agriculture there.
They cultivated rice crop there.
In due course of time, the local communities of fisherfolk and shifting cultivators, often tribals, merged with the new community of peasants.
Setting up of mosques:
The migration of people coincided with the establishment of Mughal control over Bengal with their capital in the heart of the eastern delta at Dhaka.
Officials and functionaries received land.
They often set up mosques that served as centres for religious transformation for people in these areas.
Pirs:
Some order and stability was brought about by the early settlers, in the conditions of the new settlements.
These were provided by people who are respectfully and affectionately called pirs.
Pirs were community leaders who also functioned as teachers and adjudicators and were sometimes ascribed with supernatural powers.
The term also included:
Saints or Sufis and other religious personalities
Daring colonizers
Deified soldiers
Various Hindu and Buddhist deities
Animistic spirits
The cult of pirs became famous and many of their shrines can be found everywhere in Bengal.
Temples:
The temple-building spree that started in the late 15th century in Bengal, culminated in the 19th century.
Temples and other religious structures, as mentioned in the earlier chapters, were built by powerful individuals and groups for demonstrating their power and to proclaim piety.
Many ‘low’ social groups in Bengal, such as the Kolu (oil pressers) and Kansari (bell metal workers) helped in building many of the modest brick and terracotta temples.
Many families belonging to these social groups availed of the new economic opportunities created by the incoming European trading companies.
They proclaimed their improved social and economic position through the construction of temples.
The local deities which were once worshipped in the thatched houses of the villages began to be housed as images in temples when they gained the recognition of the Brahamanas.
The temples began to copy the roof styles of the thatched huts which were either double-roofed (dochala) or four-roofed (chauchala).
This led to the evolution of the architecture that was of Bengali style.
Four-roofed structures:
This is a relatively more complex structure with four rectangular roofs which are placed on the four walls and move up to converge on a curved line or a point.
Usually the temples were built on a square platform with a relatively plain interior.
The outer walls were decorated with paintings, ornamental tiles or terracotta tablets.
Such decorations reached a high degree of fineness in some temples, particularly in Vishnupur in the Bankura district, West Bengal.
STAPLE FOOD:
The Staple food-Fish and rice:
Local availability of items determines the traditional food habits of people.
Bengal is a riverine plain which produces lot of rice and fish.
Hence these two items are a part of the diet of even the poor Bengalis.
Fishing has always been an important occupation of people of the region.
Even Bengali literature has several references to fish.
Even aspects of architecture like terracotta plaques on temple walls and viharas (Buddhist monasteries) depict scenes of fish being dressed and taken to the market in baskets.
Though Brahamans were not allowed to eat non-vegetarian food, the popularity of fish in the local diet forced the Brahamanical authorities to waive this restriction for Bengali Brahamanas.
A 13th century Sanskrit text from Bengal, the Brihaddharma Purana permitted the local Brahamans to eat certain fish varieties.
Nation States in Europe:
People in Europe, till the 18th century, perceived themselves as subjects of an empire or members of a church.
But there was another added perception in the late 18th century, when people began to identify themselves as the members of a community that spoke a common language such as French or German.
Consequently, by the early 19th century:
School textbooks in Rumania began to be written in Rumanian rather than in Greek and
Hungarian was adopted as the official language of Hungary instead of Latin.
Hence the consciousness regarding each linguistic community being a separate nation; was created.
The movements for Italian and German unification further strengthened this feeling in the late 19th century.
Do You Know?
The Naths were ascetics who engaged in a variety of yogic practices.
Dharma Thakur is a popular regional deity in Bengal which is often worshipped in the form of a stone or a piece of wood.
