The Undocumented and Unidentified Riparian Community named Jetor
Dublin Core
Title
The Undocumented and Unidentified Riparian Community named Jetor
Subject
Endangered Folk Cultural Heritage of the Jetors
Description
The Jetors comprise a community living incognito on the edges of the rivers, Kangsabati and Subarnarekha. They find no mention in the government documents but their "presence" in the district of Paschim Midnapore and Jhargram is a palpable reality. Before Dr Debdas Roy embarked on his exploration regarding the cultural specificities of the Jetor community under the aegis of ICSSR, the only scholar to have engaged with the aforementioned community is Dr Nirmalendu De who worked under the worthy supervision of Professor Tushar Chattopadhyay of the University of Calcutta. It is high time to lend visibility to this hitherto neglected community upon whom centuries of indignities and humiliation lie heaped.
Disclaimer: The denomination "Jetor" has been borrowed from a section of the elderly persons of the Jetor community and also from Dr Nirmalendu De, my predecessor in the field of research about Jetor community.
Disclaimer: The denomination "Jetor" has been borrowed from a section of the elderly persons of the Jetor community and also from Dr Nirmalendu De, my predecessor in the field of research about Jetor community.
Creator
ICSSR Minor Research Project 2023-24
Source
Gomuriapal, Banstala, Sarpal, Budra, Paharipara, Bhatpara, Dherua, Sankhakhula, Wallipur, Madanmohanchowk, Rupnarayanpur, Bhasra, Goaldanga and some other villages located on the banks of the rivers, Kangsabati and Subarnarekha.
Publisher
Department of English Literature, Language and Cultural Studies, Vidyasagar University
Date
09.01.2025
Contributor
Dr Debdas Roy
Rights
© Department of English Literature, Language and Cultural Studies, Vidyasagar University and ICSSR
Relation
Indigenous Folk Cultural Studies with special reference to Jetor community
Format
JPG Image Files
Language
Local dialect close to Kurmi Mahato language community
Type
Folk Culture
Identifier
Dr Debdas Roy undertook a field visit to the Jetor villages documenting the folk beliefs and rituals as part of his ICSSR Minor Research Project activities.
Coverage
The folk culture of a community who are spatially segregated and live on the edges of the waterbodies especially the rivers, Kangsabati and Subarnarekha.
Collection Items
Joldhala- one of the popular religious festivals
Women from different Jetor villages located at considerable distance are united by their common love of river (Kangsabati) and Baba (Lord Shiva), on whose head they pour Holy River Water twice a year. (Bhatpara, Paschim Medinipur)
Worshipping the Termite Mound
A section of the Jetor community holds a profound reverence towards termite mounds, worshipping them as sacred manifestations of divine power. It is believed that a folk goddess embodies the termite mound on the wall of a living room. The holes and…
Worship of Lord Shiva by an indigenous community
Jetors have their own priests (Bamuns). Nowadays priests are sometimes invited from outside their community, but in olden times their own priest used to perform Puja and related rites.
Ethnic Religious Ceremony of the Jetors
Jetor men of Bhatpara, Paschim Medinipur carrying water from Kangsabati to participate in their ethnic religious-festival named Jol Dhala. The human chain of worshippers resembles Proto-Australoids.
Young Sing Bajna of the Jetors
Young Sing Bajna (a kind of musical performance) artists of Sarpal, Paschim Medinipur, P.S. – Kharagpur. This is one of the ancestral professions of the Jetor people.
Sanai performance of a Jetor Artist
Jetor artist Sri Ananda Mahar of Budra, P.S. – Kharagpur, Paschim Medinipur, is playing on the Sanai (Clarinet). Sanai is one of the instruments the Jetors play in their Bai- Bajna performance.
Tusu Song of a Jetor Artist
Jetor artist Rupali Ghorai of Goaldanga, P.S. – Gurguripal, Paschim Medinipur is singing Tusu song. Another Tusu artist is seen dancing.
Jetor centenarian of Banstala
Jetor centenarian Kunti Maity of Banstala, P.S. – Kharagpur, Paschim Medinipur.
Chanch: The Traditional Craft of the Jetor Community
Gour Maity from the Jetor community showcasing a “Chanch”. Jetor people weave “Chanch” with thatch-grass collected from the bank rivers of Kangsabati and Subarnarekha, the two rivers on the banks of which Jetor people live.
Tusu Performance by Jetor Artists
Jetor Tusu artist Dulu Maity performing along with Khori Mahar, another Tusu singer of Sankhakhulya of P.S. – Lalgarh, Jhargram district.