The
Vaoaiya folk song is a very popular part of music in North-Eastern India,
Bangladesh and it is preferred by all over the World. Many experiments and
survey has been done over it, but there are very few existance in Internet
World. I have found some interesting History about the Vaoaiya Folk song in www.chandrakantha.com ,
researched and writen by Wing Commander Mir
Ali Akhter. Here I am sharing his contribution towards Vaoaiya Folk Song :
The
history of the Vaoaiya Folk Song,
like the history of most folk arts, is not always clear. It is believed
that the vaoaiya originated
in the Rangpur Districts and the Koch Behar. Many believe that it is
traceable back to the 14th and 15th century.
The
first scholarly approach to the subject of vaoaiya appears
to be the work of Sir Abraham Grierson (1851-1941). He was a former
British Deputy Collector of the Rangpur district. He collected two vaoaiya lyrics
1898 and used them as an example of the local dialect. It is published in
his book Linguistic Survey of India (1903), Vol-V, Part-I.
Etymology
The
term "Vaoaiya" is of
uncertain origin. Due to varying pronunciations, it is also often
transliterated as "Bhawaia".
When one looks at the history of the usage of word, as well as the history of
the folk-song, many inconsistencies are seen.
Several
different etymologies have been proposed. It has been suggested by late
Shibendro Narayan Mondol of Goripur Assam, that the termvaoaiya is
derived from the term "bhava" which
means emotion. This is consistent with the themes of love which are the
predominant emotion of this folk-song. However a somewhat different view
was put forward by the Late Dormonarayan Voktishashtree of Kaligonj,
Lalmonirhat, Rangpur. He suggests that term "vaoaiya"
originated from the term "vabaiya" means
"that which inspires contemplation".
These
two etymologies may not be as conflicting as they might on the surface
appear. It is certainly possible that there is a linguistic link between
the Sanskrit "bhava" and
the vernacular "vabaiya".
If so then, both etymologies may be considered to be somewhat related.
The
usage of the term "vaoaiya " is not universally
accepted. If one goes to very isolated areas, people may sing the vaoaiya folk-song,
but are unaware of the term. (1999/Boidder bazaar; 2003, Roumari).
Even as late as 1903 in Sir Abraham Grierson in his Linguistic
Survey of India, he
uses some well known vaoaiya lyrics
to illustrate dialects of the area, but does not use the term vaoaiya.
In
all probability the songs have been in the region for a very long time, but the
term seems to have arisen relatively recently. It appears that these
songs were originally referred and named by its subject or main hero of the
lyrics. Therefore a vaoaiya lyric
about trapped crane (boga) was
famous asbogar-gaan (song about he crane), another vaoaiya about
(bull-cart driver) would be called gaariaal vai. A song about
the chilmari river port, would be called chilmarir-gaan. such
designations are still used by folk musicians today. However sometime
between 1887 and 1903 the term "vaoaiya" came into usage.
Geographical
Distribution
The
geographical distribution of the vaoaiya folk
song covers much of the Rangpuri (dialect
of Bengali) speaking areas of northern Bangladesh. Preciselyvaoaiya is
the mainstream folk-song of the Dhorla, Dhudhkumar, Tista, Brahmaputtra river
basin area. The vaoaiya is
also found in the Koch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling (Torai), and
Goalpara area of Assam where the Rangpuri/Rajbangshi dialect is also spoken.
Language and Dialect
This
folk-song is sung in a rustic dialect of Bengali (a.k.a. Bangla or Banga
Bhasha). The various dialects of Bengali are part of the Eastern group of
Indo-European family of languages. The particular, dialect in which most vaoaiya folk-songs
are found is Rangpuri, otherwise known as "Rajbongshi". Word
"Rajbongshi" is the name of a very powerful race of this once
Non-Aryan land. Rajbongshi dialect was frequently called Rangpuri and
derives its name from one of the Districts in which it is spoken.
In
1903 -1878 the following numbers of people used to speak in Rangpuri or
Rajbongshi dialect areawise:
Rangpur: 2,037,460
Cooch Behar: 562,500
Jalpaiguri: 568,976
Darjiling (Tarai) :
47,435
Goalpara : 292,000
The
performance of the vaoaiya uses
a very stylised and exaggerated use of aspirations. These aspirations are
much more pronounced than the aspirations normally found in the day-to-day
dialects of Bengali. This produces a very characteristic performance
style that is much appreciated by the connoisseurs of this rustic
art-form. However, since the use of these exaggerated aspirations carries
no linguistic consideration, it is better to consider this to be a musical
ornamentation rather than a linguistic characteristic. As such, we will
return to the topic later.
Social Settings
The vaoaiya folk-song
must be seen in the context of its rural social environment. We will look
at the social aspects of the vaoaiya from
four standpoints. We will look at the connection with the agricultural
work; the performance within the folk theatres, the instruction and propagation
of the art form, and gender associations.
The
most common situation in which this folk-song will be performed is within the
context of agricultural labour. These songs are commonly sung while
farmers are at work, during breaks, and to relieve the monotony and loneliness
at night when they are off in the fields, or otherwise away from home.
These working class villagers are always on the move due to the nature of their
jobs, therefore, it is a form of entertainment that is well suited to their
lifestyle.
The
connection between folk-song and agricultural labour, is very strong. For
instance some types of songs have completely disappeared as the particular form
of labour disappeared. For instance the dolabarir-gaan (songs
of low-land cultivation), vuinira-gaan (weed-picking
songs), gatar-gaan(songs
of communal cultivation), have completely disappeared as these particular jobs
disappeared.
This
folk song may be closely associated with labour, however in the not too distant
past, the vaoaiya broke
out of its traditional agricultural setting and found a new home in the folk
theatre. It became very important for three types of theatre. These
were the kushan, dotora-gaan and poddopuran.
Of these three dotora-gaan is no
longer extant.
There
is a new setting which is beginning to emerge. Due to a renaissance in
Bengali culture, urban dwellers are now beginning to attend concerts and
performances of folk music. Today the vaoaiya and
other Bengali folk music may be seen and heard on stages and in theatres in the
cities.
There
are a number of positive aspects of this new form of consumption of the
art. There has been the positive effect of giving traditional folk
musicians additional sources of income. It serves to preserve forms of
folk-song that might disappear due to changing social, agricultural, and
economic conditions in the villages. It also raises the awareness of folk
art-forms in areas outside of the districts where they have traditionally been
performed. However we must also remember that taking the folk music
outside of its traditional environment begins to alter its fundamental
nature. For the same reason that zoos are not a substitute for
preservation of natural wildlife, in the same way, the rise in popularity of
folk theatre in non-traditional; urban settings is not a panacea for the loss
of rural cultures.
For
any art-form to thrive, there must also be a vibrant system for its instruction
and propagation. The instruction for the vaoaiya folk-song
is typical of instruction of folk music throughout South Asia. It is
strictly an oral tradition. However unlike the formalised systems of
training which are typical of the classical traditions, (e.g. Hindustani
Sangeet), this oral tradition is significantly less formalised. As such,
you occasionally find material transmitted from teacher to student within the
confines of a moderately structured theatre group, but it is more likely that
the folk-songs are simply absorbed organically in the same way that other
aspects of culture (e.g., food, languages, religious beliefs) are
transmitted. It should be mentioned that institutional presence in the
preservation, and transmission of folk-songs is presently underway, both by
governmental organisations as well as NGOs, but this is still in its infancy.
There
are strong gender associations in the vaoaiya. Although the
themes of the songs often were those of the feelings of women, the vaoaiya were
usually composed and performed by men. It is interesting to look at this
fact from the standpoint of women's rights. Where the urban Bengali male
only became vocal concerning women's rights after mid 20th century, the
performers and composers of this folk-song were showing these same concerns at
least a century or two earlier. In someway those folks may be considered
to be pioneers in this movement. Can this be considered to be a
proto-feminist movement?
It
must be noted that simply being concerned about the condition of women is not
the same as the empowerment of women. The fact that women originally did
not sing the vaoaiya,
does raise questions about it feminist credentials. However in recent
years, there has been a rise in of feminist school of thought which actively
embrace the concept of essentialism. The non-participation of women in
the performance of the vaoaiya may be merely a rural acknowledgement
of this basic essentialism, specifically in regards to the division of labour.
With the ever widening definitions and scope of feminism, it is arguable that
the traditional vaoaiya may
have elements of essentialist feminist thought.
Ultimately
these discussions of whether vaoaiya may
be considered to represent a form of essentialist based feminism is of
absolutely no importance for several reasons. First, I believe that most
people would praise the efforts and sentiments of the pro-women stance, but
would balk at its inclusion into the relatively narrow definitions of feminism.
Secondly it is a mere academic exercise attempting to force an element of
Bengali folk culture into a largely irrelevant Western intellectual
cubby-hole. Finally, the conditions have totally changed since the
1950's. From that time on, women have been singing and performing the vaoaiya;
therefore the non-participation of women has been a non-issue for half a
century.
The
social settings are certainly important for the production and consumption of
this artform, but this naturally leads us to some other topics. We have
already alluded to the fact that these settings are reflected in the subject
matter of the songs. It is therefore appropriate for us to take a much
closer look at the themes and subject matter of these songs.
Themes and Texts
The
themes of the vaoaiya folk-song
reflect the experiences of rural life in northern Bangladesh. They
reflect the professions and viewpoints of village life. We can say that
the themes of this folk-song revolve around four main topics. These deal
with occupations, common life issues, nature, and folk journalism.
Although a review of the agrarian lifestyle readily shows that all of these
topics are interrelated, it never-the-less forms a convenient position from
which to begin our discussion.
The vaoaiya is
commonly linked to the professions of rural life. Common professions are
the, mahout (elephant
handler), moishal (buffalo
handler),rakhal (cow boy), boidals (bull
cart driver), garials (cow
cart driver) hallooa (cultivator),
or the vui-nira (weed
cleaner of the crop fields). The varied aspects of these professions form
major themes for the folksongs.
However,
the themes of the various professions do not stay confined to professional
topics, for they spill over into the area of lifestyle and life issues.
Evening often finds the villagers many miles away from their homes. For
instance, in the old days, moishals (buffalo
handlers) had to stay in bathansaway from home and
family. Mahoot (elephant
drivers) too, worked in the distant riverbank areas and forests, had the same
hard and lonely fate. Garial(cow-cart drivers) had to
transport rice, jute etc. to distant ports or market places; such trips often
took several days. The separation imposed by the nature of the agrarian
economies naturally lead to feelings of loneliness. It should be no
surprise that such feelings are commonly reflected in the themes of the vaoaiya folk-song.
Common
life-issue subjects of vaoaiya are men-women's worldly affection,
spiritualism, desire of affection, painful feelings of lost love, destitution,
desire of pre-marital meetings, sufferings of early widowhood, late marriage of
mature women, etc. It also reflects women's variegated feelings such as
love, affection, likes, dislikes, hopes, frustrations, etc.
Nature
also forms important themes of the vaoaiya folk
song. The nature of the agrarian existence brings people into close
contact with nature; therefore birds and other animals play an important part
in this art-form. Appearances of birds are especially notable in vaoaiya's
lyrics. In fact, birds are used to symbolise women's emotion. In vaoaiya,
birds are the symbolic bearers of messages concerning their love and feelings
to distant beloved ones. Rivers, and floods are also important themes of vaoaiya.
This is simply because they play such an important role in shaping the rural
lifestyle.
Vaoaiya is a good example of folk journalism. From its
lyrics we know aeroplanes were first seen in this area (Rangpur) sky in
1931. Vaoaiya bears
information regarding World War II, this is seen in references to the
construction of Lalmonirhat airfield, construction of Kurigram - Chilmari
railway track, and other themes. We also get information regarding
natural disasters such as cyclones (hurricanes), floods, tidal-bore, famine, etc.
The
fact that the vaoaiya folk
song reflects themes of the pastoral existence is no surprise; however we must
also take note of themes which are conspicuous by their absence. Vaoaiya was
never composed on mythological characters or tales. Unlike many other folk-songs
of the subcontinent, Lord Krishna and Radha have no presence in vaoaiya's
theme. The name "Kala" (nickname of the Lord Krishna) is found
in few lyrics, but that has no religious link, is only to address a women's
beloved one.
Classifications of
Vaoaiya
The
classification of the various forms of vaoaiya is a
thorny topic. As in many other folk art forms, scholars have proposed
classifications, which may be academically defensible, but are generally not
acknowledged by the practitioners themselves.
Scholars have
classified the vaoaiya as:
Chitan - "Chit" means
"to lie on the back", probably they wanted to mean that a vaoaiya song
which is sung in chit position
may be calledchitan. This classification is a bit problematic
because all songs can be performed in chit or Kait (laying
on ones side) position. According to this definition, musical
characteristics are irrelevant.
Khirol - This is the name
of a river in West Bengal. A few scholars suggest that when the lyrics of
the song refer to this river, then the song is of the khirol class.
But again the musical characteristics are irrelevant.
Kata-Khirol - This
classification is somewhat problematic. This term is neither found in the
dictionary, nor used by the common villagers, nor educated Bengalis. "Kata" means
"cut". I interviewed many popular vaoaiya singers
concerning this term and no one could provide an example.
Doria - The term "doria" means
"sea", but the geographical distribution of the vaoaiya is
away from the sea. Therefore the meaning of this classification is not
clear.
Dighol-Nasha - "Dighol" means
"long", and "nasha" means
"nose", so "dighol
nasha" would
be "long nose". But people also use the word"nashi" amongst
the pile (supporting
singers-cum-aqctors) of folk theatres for those who can sing in the high
register.
Moishali - The term "mohis" means
"buffalo". Moishali means
"connected with buffalo". Therefore moishali
- vaoaiya referres
to themes that refer to buffalo. Again the musical characteristics are irrelevant.
Goran - The term "goran" means
"rolling on sides". This classification is also
problematic. There is no such tune of folk-song vaoaiya which
resembles somebody rolling on the sides and singing.
We
must reiterate that although these classifications have been used by scholars,
they are generally not used by the performers of these folk-songs.
Instead one finds a system of classification based upon prominent words of the
lyrics. It should be noted that the musical characteristics of these classifications
are irrelevant.
Here
are some examples of the forms of vaoaiya as
the people themselves would classify them:
Bogar-Gaan
- There is a famous song "Fande poriya boga kande
re". "Boga" means
"he-crane", therefore "bogar-gaan" means
"Song that refers to the he-crane".
Garialvaier-Gaan - There is a famous
song, "Oki
garial vai koto robo ami ponther .." "Garial
vai" means
"cart driver brother" ("Vai" means
"brother" and is a common term of endearment".) Therefore, Garialvaier-Gaan means
"a song which refers to the brother cart driver".
Chilmari-Bondorer-Gaan - A line in one
famous song goes, ".....
hakao gaari tiu Chilmarir bondore..." "Chilmari" is
name of a famous river port of Brahmaputtra. Chilmari-Bondorer-Gaan literally
means "Song that refers to the port Chilmari."
Kuruar-Gaan - Kunkura is
kind of grass used to make fishing nets and fishing line for hooks. The bogar-gaan is
also known as kunkurar-gaan,
because "...
ahare kunkurar suta....." is also in the same lyrics.
Veloar-Gaan - "Veloa
re tui kene kandish .." The term "veloa" means
"an old owl". In a famous vaoaiya, "Oh old owl, why
do you cry while perched on the cottonwood branch?". The term
"veloar-Gaan" literally means, "A song that refers to an old
owl".
Thanks
a Lot to www.chandrakantha.com
