Dublin Core
Title
Bonbibir Pala (The Story of Bonbibi)
Subject
Bonbibir Pala (The Story of Bonbibi)
Description
The Bonbibir Pala is a performance that is unique to the Sundarbans. It is meant to celebrate and appease Bonbibi, who is considered the "goddess of the forest".
The legend of Bonbibi and her archenemy, Dakshinrai (or "the King of the South") has been prevalent in the Sundarbans for many years. The story goes that, the greedy Dakshinrai would terrorize humans living in the Sundarbans and destroy their livelihoods, in the form of a man-eating tiger. In order to counter him, Allah sent Bonbibi and her brother Shahjongoli in order to keep him at bay and restore the balance of nature, in which humans and tigers could co-exist without fear. In order to celebrate Bonbibi, the villagers started enacting the fight between Bonbibi and Dakshinrai as the Bonbibir Pala.
The unique nature of this performance lies in the fact that it manages to weave in a message of religious and multicultural amity within its larger agenda of portraying ecological concerns. Originally having a duration of three hours, an entire performance now runs for a duration of one-and-a-half hours. A written script supposedly exists for this performance, but is not required by the performers, who know every scene by heart. However, this performance is now in danger of being lost forever, as the new generations are not interested in carrying forth this tradition.
The performance recorded here was enacted by members of the Bhai-Bhai Natya Sanstha, a group of performers based in the village of Pakhirala, situated in the Gosaba block of the Sundarbans area.
The legend of Bonbibi and her archenemy, Dakshinrai (or "the King of the South") has been prevalent in the Sundarbans for many years. The story goes that, the greedy Dakshinrai would terrorize humans living in the Sundarbans and destroy their livelihoods, in the form of a man-eating tiger. In order to counter him, Allah sent Bonbibi and her brother Shahjongoli in order to keep him at bay and restore the balance of nature, in which humans and tigers could co-exist without fear. In order to celebrate Bonbibi, the villagers started enacting the fight between Bonbibi and Dakshinrai as the Bonbibir Pala.
The unique nature of this performance lies in the fact that it manages to weave in a message of religious and multicultural amity within its larger agenda of portraying ecological concerns. Originally having a duration of three hours, an entire performance now runs for a duration of one-and-a-half hours. A written script supposedly exists for this performance, but is not required by the performers, who know every scene by heart. However, this performance is now in danger of being lost forever, as the new generations are not interested in carrying forth this tradition.
The performance recorded here was enacted by members of the Bhai-Bhai Natya Sanstha, a group of performers based in the village of Pakhirala, situated in the Gosaba block of the Sundarbans area.
Creator
UGC-SAP III, DRS Phase II, Department of English, Vidyasagar University
Source
Vill - Pakhirala, Block - Gosaba, Sundarbans, Dist. South 24-Parganas - 743370
Publisher
UGC-SAP III, DRS Phase II, Department of English, Vidyasagar University
Date
10.01.2019
Contributor
Sk. Samsuddin: 9775675255
Rights
© Department of English, Vidyasagar University
Relation
Play, Performing Arts of Bengal, Performance Studies, Interview, Workshop
Format
JPG Image Files, AVCHD Video Files
Language
Bengali
Type
Performing Art and Cultural Text
Identifier
The Department of English, Vidyasagar University had undertaken a Field Trip to the village of Pakhirala in Gosaba block in the Sundarbans area in the district of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal on 10.01.2019 under the aegis of UGC-SAP III, DRS Phase II Project entitled "Translation, documentation, and conservation of Tribal Oral Folk Literature and Cultural Texts of West Bengal"
Coverage
Folk Performance/ Folk Drama of Bengal, Interview, Workshop