The Muslims of Chanarmapur were caste Dhuniya (cotton carders) and they are on a lower rank compared to other castes of same group. Among Muslims the caste norms are strong and caste based discriminations are of similar nature as found in India in other religions. It mandates 'outsider' to spend many years to make substantive academic contribution.įinally, the 'insiders' of village Muharram in Bihar are the poorest of the poor with low literacy rate. Belk, Sherry and Wallendorf (1988) too highlight the significance of 'natural setting' in the detailed description by the respondent and richness of data. Lincoln and Guba (1985) suggest conducting natural inquiry in the context bound setting.
The basis of ritual songs is collective singing. Ethnomusicologists agree about the loss of memory after performance. Memory of each line of song by the different members of the group completes the song. When we assemble at Chowk we sing together by supporting each other," said one respondent It is a classic case of collective memory.
I faced this issue while studying the village Muharram. Secondly, the observations of various rituals in the village Muharram are performed for a very short duration - between mid-night of 7th Muharram till afternoon of 10th Muharram- and the individual performers forget about details of performance after the 10th Muharram. At other places they place betel leaf and betel nut. In Chanarmapur they placed two Turbat (grave) prepared from cotton clothes. However, the material objects inside the Tazia also varies. Tazia is the only object of village Muharram that is common across Bihar and across India. The educated Muslims often reject village Muharram as a performance of the Jahils (uncouth). The village Muharram is so much different from the popular understanding of Muharram that village Muharram of Bihar appears to be a new variety of ritual observation.
In the neighbouring village it was observed on the seventh Muharram. In the village I conducted fieldwork (hereafter Chanarmapur, located in the Bhojpuri speaking region of the West Bihar), the Matkod ritual is observed on the fifth Muharram. Matkod is part of a marriage ritual that is performed in the village Muharram as a mark of marriage between the daughter of Hasan and son of Hussain. The level of difference can be gauged from the example of Matkod (digging of earth) ritual conducted during the village Muharram. Firstly, the village Muharram in Bihar is highly varied according to region and the caste Muslims observing Muharram. Provided the fact of low or no remunerative aspect of the academic work on village Muharram there are other reasons for less attention on the phenomenon. In spite of wide observation of Muharram in the rural landscape of Bihar there is no academic study on the village Muharram of Bihar.
0 kommentar(er)
