STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF A BENGALI FOLKSONG

Mazharul Islam
Rajshahi University

The idea that folklore belonged to the past, that it originated in the minds of primitive people, that it is the ramble of the by-gone ages, that it belongs to the illiterate village people, that it lives only in oral tradition and so on, are no longer accepted as valid and justifiable notion. The vast area of folklore is stretched from the past to the present. Folklore is a rich treasure of cities as well as of villages and it belongs to literates and illiterates alike. It is not languishing in nothingness, rather its creation is a continuous process. As civilization progresses, it will grow and adapt to the changing shapes and patterns of the culture.

Folklorists have spent a long time and their valuable energy to trace the origins of folklore. But now that "past-oriented" enthusiasm has softened down and the attention of the folklorists has been diverted to other directions. The methodologies followed in the structural analysis of folklore are the results of this new consciousness and trend. The study of folklore which was diachronic for a long time, has now embraced synchronism with the development of new methods of analysis as a consequence.

It is obvious that folklore changes in subject matter and theme, but its structure remains almost unaffected. There are certain patterns through which folklore is shaped and these patterns are followed repeatedly by the creators of folklore. Vladimir J. Propp, a Russian Folklorist, was the first to nice the adherence of Russian folktale to a set pattern. This led him to the serious study of the Russian folktale in terms of its structural patterns. Propp's results appeared in his book Morfologiye Skazki (1928). After the pioneering work of Propp, Western scholars such as Claude Levi-Strauss, Alan Dundes, E. Kongas Maranda, P. Marada and William O. Hendricks have attained a remarkable level of sophistication in structural analysis of various folk genre so far as Bengali folklore is concerned, structural analysis has not yet even begun. It is a matter of regret that the scholars of folklore in Bangladesh and India are still hesitant to adopt this method and prefer to remain in the dark age of the diachronic study of folklore.

In this short paper, I have, due to reasons of space and time, selected one Bengali folksong for structural analysis. Bit I am convinced that this method can be successfully applied to hundred of Bengali folksongs of various categories. This particular song comes from the hand of a great folk poet Pagla Kanai who was born in the district of Jessore, a southwestern district of Bangladesh. He sang most of his songs between the fourth and eighth decades of the nineteenth century. All his songs are still found in oral tradition. In fact his songs became so popular that one can collect them even now from almost half of the population of Bangladesh. I myself, collected over 500 songs, (Islam, in press). Pagla Kanai was one of the prominent mystic folk-poets known in Bengali as Baul. This particular song has mysticism in it which is reflected in its structure. Its analysis should concentrate on those aspects which are most common in all the mystic songs prevalent in Bengal oral tradition.

A Bengali Folksong of Pagla Kanai

A peculiar vessel was made
And then the Creator set the vessel on the earth
It does not glide on water,
But floats on soil surface
Its helm is in the hands of the mind-helmsman?
It moves by two oars.

What a miraculous mechanism is there in the Vessel!
It floats on the ground, but within it is the water.
Besides water and fire there are valuable contents in it,
O brother helsman! Be alert and upright,
Do not loose your grip
The Vessel may sink under water any moment!

Pagla Kanai is deeply concerned
As to what will happen to the vessel
When it will lose its strength
The joints of the vessel would be loosened, too;
And the water will enter in to its body.
The six senses, as the hemsmen, would take leave
And then the vessel will get drowned even in the ground
(Then the vessel will go to eternity)

I would like to explain three aspects of this song before taking up its structural analysis.

1) Narration : the narration is simplified in this song in active sentences where we get the subject and the object, the actor and the action. There are also functions containing the subject for indirect object and direct object. In the functions of the main character, the vessel, helped from behind by the Creator, initially we find goodness, but soon after it starts functioning, it compromises with badness. The Creator creates the vessel, which is the human being, with his body to be guided by his mind. With good intention, he sends it to the earth. But after coming to the earth, the vessel leaves the Creator and accepts worldly things. In spite of the caution, the vessel comes under the grip of evil force and is ultimately drowned. This is apparently the end of the physical being, but from this end a new life begins. Thus although the evil forces seem to have won, they really do not; goodness ultimately prevails. In almost all the Bengali folksongs, this conflict between the good and evil is usually noticeable.

2) Personal opinion of the poet : The poet here, while narrating the song comes forward with his own comments and opinions. For example, he makes a caution, "O, brother helmsman, be careful, the vessel may get drowned". He is also personally concerned about the future of the vessel. This personal feeling of the poet forms one of the basic characteristics of Bengali folksongs.

3) Description : Besides narration of the main theme, the poet gives some descriptions of natural surroundings and actions outside the narration. The description of the vessel floating on the ground, for example, ironically reminds us of the reveraine landscape of Bangladesh where hundreds of boats float everyday on the rivers.

Besides these three aspects, there exist some dramatic elements in this song. Without any preface, the song starts from the middle of the narration: "A peculiar vessel is made". The vessel then proceeds to embrace conflicts, conflicts fro within the helm and the oars. The poet puts an end to this narration in a dramatic manner and reveals his own anxiety about the future of the vessel in a very short but effective sentence. Immediately after giving the hint of his own concern, the poet narrates the decrease of the vessel's strength, the loosening of the joints of the vessel and flow of water entering the body of the vessel causing its ultimate sinking and that too o the ground! The six friends who were friends of better days, finding the distressed condition of the vessel, now depart heartlessly. "The friends in need are the friends indeed", has a parallel proverb in Bengali which says "many people will become your friends when you are in good position, when the position is lost, you will lose those friends". The poet has dramatically depicted this truth in the betrayal of six friends. The end of the vessel is described through a dramatic expression. The deepest tragedy of human life is thus expressed through this short but poetic description.

These dramatic elements can also be noticed in other Bengali mystic (or Baul) songs and some other types of Bengali folksongs including the ballads.

The structure of this song can be shown in the following diagrams:

First Stanza: The numbers indicate the sentence numbers

The main characters

The actions of characters

The main connector

The seed of Conflict

Negation

The Creator

      1, 2

 

0

The Vessel

      4, 6

TheEarth

5

3

Mind helmsman

      5

5

0

Second Stanza: The numbers indicate the sentence numbers

The main characters

The actions of characters

The main connector

Conflict

Agony

Doubt

The Poet

1, 2

Lack of:
i)  strength &
ii) faithfulness  of friends

 

1

2

Vessel

3, 4, 7

3, 4, 6

0

0

Six Senses

6

 

0

0

Third Stanza: The numbers indicate the sentence numbers

The main characters

The actions of characters

The main connector

The seed of ruination

Peculiarity

Caution

Vessel

2,  3

Mechanism

4, 5

1

 

The Poet

4, 5, 6

 

 

4, 5, 6

It may be admitted that there are differences of opinion about the methodology of structural analysis. But the aims and objectives of all the methodologies followed by different scholars so far are directed towards a common goal. Propp's observations seem rational and reasonable in this respect:

(1) "Function is understood as an act of a character, defined from the point of its significance for the course of the action".
(2) "Functions of the characters serve as stable constant elements in a tale, independent of how and by whom they are fulfilled. They constitute the fundamental components of the tale".
(3) "The number of functions known to the (fairy) tale is limited" (1968 : 1).

Before analyzing the song on Propp's lines, I would like to find out its inner meanings through the following manner:

The Creator creates the vessel
The Creator gives favour to the vessel
a (C,V)

He sends it to the earth
The vessel leaves Creator
-a (V,C)
The vessel likes worldly thingsa (V,W)
The vessel is in the company of evils c (W,V)
The vessel has no purpose, it is misledm (W,V)
The Creator is mysteriously inside the vessel a (C,V)
The vessel loses its strength, it gets oldc (W,V)
The Creator calls the vessel from withinm (C,V)
Worldly things leave the vessela (V,W)

[Abbreviations: C = Creator, V = Vessel, W = Worldly
affairs; for lower case letter, see below]
The letters used on the left side of the brackets indicate the strength of the first symbol within the brackets. These abbreviations may be explained in the following way:

1st a =              the predominance of the functions of the Creator
1st -a =            the vessel is predominant, Creator's function has delayed
2nd a =            the vessel gets into the worldly affairs, the real functions  of the vessel and worldly affairs begin.
1st c =             the functions of the worldly affairs are predominant, the   vessel also functions.
1st m =            predominance of the functions of the worldly affairs, vessel   is in the grip of evils.
3rd a =            the Creator enters and functions, the vessel also functions in  its own way
2nd c =           worldly affairs exert heavy influence on the vessel, vessel functions in the helpless manner.
2nd m =           in the conflict between worldly affairs, representing evils and the goodness, the Creator comes in the guise of goodness and functions; the vessel also                         functions, but it has no ability to satisfy goodness only.
2nd a =            the departure of the worldly affairs. The vessel functions to satisfy goodness and succeeds.

The structural analysis symbolically represented by brackets and letters above demonstrates that the Creator who created the vessel to the earth, but does not leave it completely. The physical frame of man has some similarities with the steam vessel or a steamer. Man cannot exist and move, like the steamer, without fire and water in him. Although the Creator exists in man in the guise of the mind-helmsman, the man abandons Him and accepts worldly affairs as his best friends. He thus comes within the grip of the worldly evils. Then the conflicts begin. The poet expresses a word of caution. But this proves no good. We find the victory of the worldly affairs over man. This results gradually in the worn-out condition of the man when the worldly affairs or the evil forces abandon him. Then the man becomes free of the possession of the worldly affairs and the Creator's predominance is again established. The end of physical existence of man gives him the freedom from the influence of the worldly affairs and evil forces and allows him an opportunity to be with the Creator.

Thus, the Creator is the main force in this song who guides and controls the course of the theme and functions of the song and the destiny of the main character, the vessel, i.e., the man. Man plays, in this song, a role of the performer in between the Creator on the one side, and the worldly affairs and evil forces o the other. In the conflict, man abandons the Creator, but later on, he himself is abandoned by the worldly affairs and evil forces. With friends gone, forlorned as he is, he comes back to his own abode, the home of Creator.

There are lacks (L) and liquidations of lacks (LL) in this song:

1. The earth suffers from the lack of vessel - L
2. The Creator sends the vessel - LL
3. The vessel does not float and move on the ground - L
4. The vessel floats and moves on the ground - LL
5. The vessel does not move with only two
6. The vessel moves with two rows - LL
7. If the helm is abandoned, the vessel is drowned - the Lack of a helm - L
8. The helm is not abandoned and the vessel is not drowned - the presence of the helm - LL
9. What will happen with the Vessel? A sense of lack of Security - L
10. Pagla Kanai is concerned, lack of unconsciousness out of a sense of insecurity - L
11. The vessel loses strength - lack of - L strength, gets loose breached joints - - L lack of tightness of the joints; the - L joints do not prevent water from entering       the vessel -lack of preventive force - L
12. Six friends, the passions, do not remain present; lack of Presence - L
13. The vessel gets sunk on the ground - lack of power of the Vessel to keep itself from sinking - L

The figurative representation of the lacks (L) and the liquidation of lacks (LL) formula would thus be:
1)L 2)LL 3)L 4)LL 5)L 6)LL 7)L 8)LL 9)L 10)L 11)L 12)L 13)L

The figure here shows the upward and downward trends of the vessel I its course of life keeping I view the good and evil as the main forces of guideline. Too much lack brings the vessel to its fatal destination. Upto line 9 steady trend is indicated. But from line 10 onwards the "lacks" bring it downwards.

Following Propp, the structure of the song may be delineated in the manner as below:

The initial situation : (d)
1) There Is No Vessel On The Earth, The Creator Feels The Need of Making One:
Absence: (B)

(i)   A vacuum exists as there is no Vessel                    -            (B1)

(ii)  Not only a vessel, there should have been a
peculiar vessel, but it does not exist                             -            (B2)

2)  The Creator Makes A Peculiar Vessel:(C)

(i)  The Creator creates the Vessel and sends it tothe earth     -  (C1)
(ii)  That Vessel moves not in the water but on the ground       -  (C2)

(3)  Interdiction :
(i)   The Creator determines certain norms                            -    (y1)
(ii)  Interdiction is addressed to the vessel                             -    (y2)

(4)  Violation: (b)

(i)  The interdiction is violated and the vessel comes comes closer to worldly affairs   - (b)

(5)  The Villain’s Reconnaissance: (E)

(i)  The Satan starts functioning in the guise of worldly affairs                                  -  (E1)

(6)  The Villain Receives Information About His Victims:

Delivery :  (z)

(7)  The Villain Attempts to Deceive His Victim In Order To Take Possession of Him:

(i)   The Villain starts to deceive the vessel and makes an
attempt to take away the vessel’s best assets, the good qualities                       -            (f1)

(ii)  The villain slowly persuades the vessel                                                    -               (f2)

(iii)  The villain applies his magical power, as a result the possibility
of the vessel’s drowning becomes visible, the poet alerts the mind-helmsman     -            (f3)

(iv)  Besides application of magical power, the villain attracts the vessel with
worldly beauty and spreads his influence over vessel’s mind and thus makes
way for the vessel’s destruction                                            -                                         (f4)

(v)   The villain proceeds with utmost carefulness                    -                                        (f5)

(8)   The Victim Submits To Deception And Thereby Unwittingly Helps His Enemy :

Complicity:  (O)

(i)   The vessel accepts all the conditions of the villain and becomes a worldly figure    -    (O1)

(ii)  The vessel favourably reacts to all the alluring acts of the villain                            -     (O2)

(iii)  The vessel mechanically reacts to the employment of the magical or other means  -   (O3 O4)

(9)  The Villain Causes Harm Or Injury To The Members Of Vessel:

Villainy :  (A)

(i)   Taking advantage of the old age of the vessel, the vessel, the villain causes loosening of the screws of
the joints and eats up the edges of joints of the vessel                                                                                      -            (A1)

(ii)  The six comrades of the vessel are allured by the villain and they are compelled to leave the vessel             -            (A2)

(10) The Members Of The Primary Lack Something:

Lack :   (a)

(i)   The screws lack strength                                                                                                                            -            (a1)

(ii)  So far the six comrades received some advantages, but now the advantages are lacking, so they leave          -            (a2)

(11)  Misfortune or Lack Is Made Known To Vessel Through Caution:

Caution:  (B)

(i)   A call for being careful of the villain is given to vessel              -            (B1)

(ii)  Misfortune is predicted                                                          -            (B2)

(12)  The Villain And The Vessel Join In Direct Combat:

Conflict:  (h)

(i)   The vessel starts conflict with the help of mind- helmsman                                                                                 -            (h1)

(ii)  The time and oldness of the vessel join their hands with the villain, as a result, the vessel loses its strength            -            (h2)

(13)  The Victory Of The Villain, Destruction Of The Vessel:

Defeat :  (m)

            (14)  The Ultimate Victory Of The Vessel:

Victory:  (I)

(i)  Death is not the end, it marks the victory of the spirit            -                                                (I1z)

(ii) when the worldly things leave the vessel, the villain is defeated and the
vessel gets back to its original abode (eternity) to live there with peace.                          -            (I2)

Since it is a mystical song, death here signifies the death of the evil forces and victory of the soul.

The abbreviated symbols used here may differ to some extent from Propp.  This is because Propp used the abbreviations in the analysis of folktale, while I have used them for analyzing a folksong. One may differ from the procedure I have followed above in analyzing this song, but it is evident from this experimentation that Propp’s method is applicable to folksongs besides the tales.

                           The model may be represented in the figure given below:CLICK HERE

in this model I have tried to follow Propp, Dundes and Hendriks. The song is a mystical song and I had to bring out some hidden truth from the expressed and unexpressed language of the song. In doing so, I must say that I have immensely profited by the methods of these three scholars. I would not claim that my presentation is flawless. But I made a sincere attempt to prove that there is great potential in analyzing the vast and varied field of Bengali folksongs using the structural models of these three scholars Models may, of course, differ. But through the structural analysis of folksongs of Bangladesh as well as of Indian Bengali-speaking area I am sure, some truth, hitherto unknown to us, will be revealed. Our emphasis should be now on the importance of synchronic study of Bengali folklore along with the diachronic study which we have been pursuing for a long time, largely devoid of any strong scientific basis.

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1957
1963

1964

1978

 

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Morphology of the Folktale. Austin: University of Texas Press. [Originally published in Russian as Morfologiya Skazki (1928)].