Bhawaiya is a musical form or a popular folk music that originated in Northern Bengal, especially Rangpur Division in Bangladesh, Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, India and Undivided Goalpara district of Assam, India.[4][5][6][7][8] A "working class" music, with the recurring figures of mahouts (elephant trainers and catchers), mahishals (buffalo herders) and gariyals (cart drivers) the lyrics of these songs express pangs of separation and loneliness of their womenfolk,[9] with elongated tones accentuating pain, longing and "deep emotion".[10] Generally believed to have originated in the 16th century under the Koch king Vishwa Singha,[11] it has evolved into stage performances since the 1950s and more widely since the 1990s.[12] The lyrics of Bhawaiya songs are non-denominational.[13]
There are various explanations of the meaning of Bhawaiya. Low-lying land with shrub and other vegetable are called Bhawa. Buffalo keepers used to sing this song while ploughing. Hence the name Bhawaiya came to exist. According to some other researcher Bhawaiya is derived from the word Bawaiya which is subsequently derived from the word bao (breeze). The derivative of the word Bhawaiya is Bhav > Bhao + Iya = Bhawaiya. So the derivative meaning of this word is emotionally charged. According to Abbas Uddin, a notable singer and composer of Bhawaiya song, this song is like the random and pleasant wind blowing of North Bengal and it is named as Bhawaiya. According to a survey( conducted by the Folk cultural and tribal cultural centre, Government of West Bengal) among the performers of Bhawaiya song the name is derived from the word Bhao > Bhav. These songs carry a deep "emotion" of biraha or separation and loneliness.[14]
Performer[]
The most dominant performers in the Bhawaiya are the Bengalis of North Bengal and the Koch Rajbanshi (a specific and separate ethnicity) people from the North Bengal. But the non-Bengalis and non-rajbanshis of the area also partake in this music. Nowadays some of the well-known Bhawaiya songs are adopted in Bangladeshi Cinema, West Bengali Cinema and Assamese Cinema as well as in some modern folk bands.[citation needed]
Musicology[]
Folk song is characterised by a typical tonal structure which reflects specific natural, environmental and work related factors, topographical condition, ethnic and phonetic characteristic of the region. The following tonal structure is generally used in Bhawaiya music:
S R M P D n...
S R G M P n....
M P D n D n D P M...
n n S R G G M G R S .....
etc. (S=Sharaja, R= Rishava, G= Gandhara, M= Madhyama, P=Panchama, D=Dhaivata, n= flattened Nishada).
Flattened tone of S, R, G, D, P and sharpen tone of M are not used in this folk song. Use of only flattened n is also a fundamental characteristic of Bhawaiya song. Dn Dn - is one of the known tonal texture of this song. S and M are used comparatively more here. The melody of this folk song generally does not go beyond the middle octave. But in some recent song specially in catka the tune goes up to the upper octave. Bhawaiya song are sung in a higher pitch. Typical voice modulation is characteristic of this folk song. many microtunes are used with the main tune and pitch for this voice modulation.[citation needed]
Film[]
Bangladeshi film director Shahnewaz Kakoli's movie Uttarer Sur (Northern Symphony) is based on the life of a Bhawaiya singer. It tells about the gradual demise of this folk song from the northern part of the Bangladesh due to poverty. This movie is screened in 18th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF).[15]
^"Population by Religious Communities". Census India – 2001. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved 2019-07-01. Census Data Finder/C Series/Population by Religious Communities
^Rahman, Urmi. (2014). Bangladesh - culture smart! : the essential guide to customs & culture. Kuperard. p. 121. ISBN978-1-85733-696-2. OCLC883354783.
^Ahmed, A. F. Salahuddin; Chowdhury, Bazlul Mobin (2004). Bangladesh, national culture, and heritage : an introductory reader. University of Michigan. p. 407. ISBN984-8509-00-3. OCLC56598621.
^Khāna, Mobāraka Hosena (1988). Music and its study. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. p. 69. ISBN81-207-0764-8. OCLC18947640.
^"The Goalpariya folk music genre (which combines both song and dance), originating in the Goalpara region of Assam, contains several characteristic yet diverse themes, principally spirituality, longing, desire, and separation. Based on these themes, the songs and dances are categorized into different groups. Two important categories of Goalpariya lokageet (the Assamese term for folk music) are bhawaiya and chatka." (Sarma & Monteiro 2019:331)
^"(T)he popular image that the term bhawaiya still conjures up is a form of plaintive ballads that speak of love and loss and endless longing within a woman’s heart." (Dutta 2019a)
^"There is an approximate consensus that the origins of the form may be dated back to at least the sixteenth century, during the reign of Raja Bishwa Sinha, who established the kingdom of Koch Bihar."(Dutta 2019a)
^"The initial set of changes started to unfold in the 1950s when the folk genre was transferred from its natural setting to the ‘stage’. Although initially the performances were confined to Goalpara, gradually they began to be staged across Assam. With the technological revolution and the opening up of the economy in the 1990s, Goalpariya lokageet began entering the realm of the Internet, giving global audiences access. (Sarma & Monteiro 2019:334)
^"(B)hawaiya developed as an integral cultural expression of the Rajbanshis, and these songs are composed in Rajbanshi (or Kamrupi or Kamtapuri), the most widely spoken Bengali dialect across this belt. Despite the influence of Brahminical Hinduism, Islam and Vaishnavism over the preceding centuries, the popular culture of these communities have retained matriarchal influences, evident from the many extant folk rituals and practices." (Dutta 2019a)
^"[W]hen mahouts went away (often to Bhutan, which was close to Goalpara and is sometimes mentioned in the songs) to catch the elephants, they were unable to return home for six months to a year. Their wives, who stayed at home, would express the pangs of separation and loneliness through these lokageet. Hence, the element of biraha, ‘deep emotion’, comes out very strongly through such songs." (Sarma & Monteiro 2019)
Sarma, Simona; Monteiro (2019). "Contemporary 'Folk' Dynamics: Shifting Visions and Meanings in the Goalpariya Folk Music of Assam". Folklore. 130 (4): 331–351. doi:10.1080/0015587X.2019.1622923.
