Written By: Md. Shihab Uddin, Md Habibur Rahman
1. Md. Shihab Uddin, Undergraduate Student, Folklore and Social Development Studies, Rajshahi University, Bangladesh Email: s2410850113@ru.ac.bd
2. Md Habibur Rahman, Professor, Department of Folklore and Social Development Studies, Faculty of Social Science, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh, Email: habibur.rahmanfolk@ru.ac.bd
Introduction
Although there is a huge distance between the cotton fields of the American South and the rivers of Bengal, there is a common frequency that is shared by both. In marginalized communities in both of these areas, folklore was not just for evening fun or to pass on memories from generation to generation. Folklore was an essential part of surviving, a way to communicate resistance, and a guide to finding freedom (Dorson 1983; Khan 1999). When we look at how the African American community used their experiences as slaves and as people subjected to systemic racism to create the Blues, Spirituals, and the Hoodoo tradition of using plants, and when we look at how the Bauls and village healers in Bengal created the tradition of being wandering musicians and herbalists who were opposed to the caste systems that existed in their societies and to British colonization, we can see that although the traditions of the two groups are very different, they have a lot in common. This is because both traditions were created in response to being oppressed by the ruling class. When the ruling class silences the voices of those being oppressed, the oppressed do not stop speaking; instead, they express themselves through song, story, and the natural world.
Metaphors of Escape: The Coded Language of Spirituals and Baul Philosophy
Music was one of the few forms of self-expression available to enslaved Americans during the long and difficult period of slavery. As such, music became one of the few tools used for resistance to slavery. Many spirituals were used as hidden abolitionist messages (Dorson, 1983). For example, "Wade in the Water" appeared to be a simple biblical account of the Israelites crossing the River Jordan; however, for enslaved people seeking freedom, it was a practical instruction manual for how to escape. This spiritual instructed enslaved people who were attempting to flee slavery through the Underground Railroad to use the river or stream to mask their scent from plantation dogs. In addition, "Follow the Drinking Gourd" appeared to be a folk song about farming, but in reality, it guided enslaved people toward the North Star by identifying the Big Dipper constellation. Both of these spirituals demonstrate how African American musical folklore was used to help physically free enslaved people.
During the nineteenth century, thousands of miles away from us in undivided Bengal, the Baul mystics had created their own secret songs to break free from another form of bondage. According to Shamsuzzaman Khan (folklore scholar), we can only understand Bengali folklore in relation to the unique cultural and historical environment of Bengal, where folk arts were used as forms of living dialogue with the spiritual world (Khan, 1999). The Bauls were and still are a syncretic group of traveling musicians who challenged both Hindu and Muslim orthodoxy by stating that the divine is found only in the human body and not in temples or mosques. For example, Lalon Fakir, a legendary philosopher, sang, "Khachar bhitor ochin pakhi kemne ashe jay" (How does the unknown bird go back and forth into the cage?). This song has traditionally been seen as having a metaphysical meaning; however, the "cage" can also be seen as a powerful, subversive metaphor for societal oppression, religious dogma, and the caste system which considered lower caste people untouchable.
Just as African American slaves sought physical freedom through the use of rivers and stars, the Bauls utilized their lyrical folklore to free themselves mentally and socially from the constraints of human divisions. Both traditions utilized allegorical language to express deep political thought. In both traditions, the song served as a safe haven and a private location for the oppressed to discuss how they would gain their spiritual and physical freedoms in plain view of their oppressors.
The Liminal Spaces: The Delta Crossroads and the Turbulent River
In all of African American blues folklore there is no symbol as important as the crossroads. The story of Robert Johnson selling his soul to the Devil at the intersection of Highways 61 and 49 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, at midnight for his amazing guitar playing ability has become one of America's most famous myths (Dorson, 1983). But, folklorists have traced the "Devil" used in these stories back to West African spiritual practices—specifically to Elegba (or Papa Legba), the Yoruba and Vodou trickster god of crossroads, entrances, and communications. The crossroads is an example of what is called a "liminal" area—a transitional area between the physical world and the spirit world, and an area where social rules are no longer applied (Lindahl et al., 2002). For a Black man living in the Jim Crow South, the crossroads would have been a dangerous area, a transitional area, and a place where he would make some serious choices. He would be alone on the road at night, and he would always be worried about being attacked because of his race. At the crossroads, the bluesman is making deals with forces much bigger than himself so that he can find a way to express himself in a world that doesn't want to listen.
The "Bhavsagar" the ocean of earthly existence replaces the crossroads in Bengali folklore. Folk singers constantly call on the "Doyal Majhi" (the compassionate ferryman or divine guide) to lead them through the storm on a small wooden boat. The liminal space equivalent in Bengali folk music, especially the Bhatiali (songs of the boatmen) and Baul traditions, is not a dirt road, but the wild, unpredictable river. Bengal is a region shaped by its large and powerful rivers such as the Ganges and Padma.
The singer's expression of extreme vulnerability to the forces of fate in songs such as "Amay bhashaili re, amay dubaili re" (You've left me to float away, you've submerged me), reflects the bluesman's isolation at the crossroads. Whether the crossroads are the dusty intersections of the Mississippi Delta or the muddy shores of the Ganges Delta, the folklore represents the fear that the marginalized feel in attempting to survive in a hostile environment. Both the bluesman and the Baul are looking for a guide to help them cross the dangerous boundary, which reflects a common theme throughout human history that people will rely on secret, mystical forces when there are no other means of obtaining justice.
Roots of Resistance: Hoodoo and Rural Bengali Healing
In addition to being reflected in music, the drive to survive systemic oppression was also expressed in the physical sense through folk medicine and spiritual conjure. African American Hoodoo (also known as rootwork) is not a formal religion; however, it is a very flexible, plant-based and spiritually-oriented system that developed out of need. Because African Americans were denied adequate access to medical treatment and legal protection both prior to and after slavery, they created their own methods of protection and healing by combining aspects of traditional African botanical knowledge with Native American herbalism (Dorson, 1983).
Rootwork provided a local source of power within a powerless setting. "High John the Conqueror," a root which was named after a legendary African trickster hero who continually defeated his enslaving masters, became a standard tool to provide luck, strength, and protection. Mojo bags were carried secretly against the skin, and contained various roots, bones, coins, and herbs that were used to protect oneself from the cruelty of plantation overseers, heal bodily illnesses, or draw in romantic partners. Hoodoo represented a significant assertion of agency; it was a means by which individuals could regain control over their bodies and environments by utilizing the same earth from the plantations that sought to destroy them.
A similar tradition has developed in rural, farming communities throughout Bengal. For centuries, these communities were completely isolated from modern health care and had no support from the upper-class Zamindars who owned the land they worked. Consequently, the rural poor relied heavily on their own "Kabiraj" (herbal doctor) or Fakir (Khan, 1999). Like the root worker in the southern United States, the Kabiraj uses an extensive knowledge of local plants including roots, bark, leaves, and soil incorporates spiritual chants or prayers into his/her practice. The use of a "Tabiz" (a small metal amulet containing written prayers, roots, or sacred soil that is tied around the arm or neck) is functionally identical to the Mojo bag in terms of providing protection and mental well-being.
The use of these folkways reflects a wider, traditional perspective on how we perceive our physical health, the spiritual protection of our bodies, and the natural world as being interconnected (Lindahl et al., 2002). Dominant cultures often dismiss Hoodoo and rural Bengali healing practices as being "just superstitions." However, to look at these practices strictly from a scientific standpoint would be to ignore their historical importance. These practices have been and continue to be significant examples of creating systems for maintaining psychological well-being. Both groups, the African Americans in the southern United States and the people in rural Bengal, utilized the spiritual power of nature to develop their own methods of protection, justice, and healing during times when they were explicitly denied access to those same services provided by the government.
The Unbroken Thread of Modern Resonance
Folklore has been described as a living, growing tradition and not a relic from the past (Dorson, 1983; Khan, 1999). Today, the fundamental parts of these unique traditions continue to define the current cultural landscape. The coded language of the spirituals and the harsh reality of the blues provided the basis for today's hip-hop, a form of music that continues to utilize rhythmic storytelling to express the systemic racism and police brutality that exists within urban areas of the United States. Today, when we hear a sample of a blues guitar or a civil rights chant in a contemporary rap song, we are hearing a contemporary version of the crossroads a way of dealing with survival in an oppressive world.
Additionally, Baul music and rural folklore have experienced a major revival within Bangladesh and West Bengal as a result of "folk fusion." Many younger people and rock groups use the traditional single-stringed instrument called the Ektara to create electrical sounds, which allows them to present the anti-caste, anti-establishment views of Lalon Fakir to large numbers of urban concert attendees. With the world becoming increasingly polarized and digital, the youth have turned to their ancestral folk philosophies to establish a firm foundation for their individual identities and to develop a common form of expression for protesting the social and economic inequalities that exist today.
Additionally, the world's climate crisis and the disillusionment with hyper-capitalism have led to an increased focus on eco-spirituality. The holistic botanical knowledge found in Hoodoo rootwork and Bengali Kabiraji is receiving greater appreciation from today's practitioners, who wish to decolonize wellness and practice sustainable, earth-based healing.
Conclusion
To compare African American folklore with Bengali mysticism is to see the amazing resilience of the human spirit. Although the cotton fields and the rice paddies may be separated by miles of ocean, they share a common thread of tears and joys experienced by those who worked them. Whether through the hidden pathways of an escape route within a spiritual, the dangerous, liminal space of a crossroads in the blues, or the defiant philosophy of a nomadic Baul, marginalized individuals have always created a place for their humanity using folklore. These traditions demonstrate that while humans may have their bodies enslaved and their rights taken away, their souls will continue to sing, heal, and resist, even when everything else has been stripped from them.
References
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