the concept of gods and goddesses as protectors or guardians of a place is common to almost every myth, especially if it belongs to a multi pantheonic culture.
just as bonbibi protects our forests, we have mumbadevi protecting mumbai. And in greek myth, athene is the patroness of Athens.
Athene, interestingly is believed to have been borrowed from libyan lore by the pelasgians (pre Hellenic inhabitants of greece)where she was known as neth. (Greek myths: Robert Graves)
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Sunday, January 06, 2008
jungle lore
Its been a long time since i posted anything -- but the new year brings new resolve and many resolutions.
Was in kolkata and the sunderbans recently where the myth of the bonbibi or the forest goddess is very popular. The goddess is worshipped by muslims and hindus -- as a sari clad, bejewelled deity in some places and as a salwar kameez wearing young girl in others (though we did not come across this idol in any of the places we visited, i believe that the villages closer to Bangladesh worship her in this form). The bonbibi protects her followers against the wrath of dokkhin rai -- the tiger in human form.
Bonbibi was the child of a muslim trader who looked after the people of the forest. In a story that shows how she came to prevail over the region, we see how an orphan boy, dukhu is saved from the jaws of dokkhin rai. Bonbibi fights off dokkhin rai with help from her brother shah jongli and rescues the boy. (the myth is detailed in The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh and several versions exist on the web too) In the end, dokkhin rai seeks forgiveness and bonbibi grants him his life. Even today when the locals go into the forest to collect honey or timber or fish in distant waters, they pray to bonbibi to protect them from dokkhin rai.
Good triumphs over evil.
Well, in this story it is not that simple because dokkhin rai is not really evil. He is the creator of the forest and all that resides in it. And bonbibi is the protector of the tribes that live off the forest. dokkhin rai has his reasons and bonbibi, hers and the two live in peace and harmony. Like man and nature -- they cant live without each other.
This myth also reflects the cultural and religious upheavals in the region and strongly establishes the secular credentials of the people of the region. It is still performed by local troupes on special occassions and for a week long festival in mid january during sankranti. And every performance is preceded by a brief reminder that bonbibi is worshipped by both hindus and muslims. Wish there were more such people sharing many more such stories all over the world.
Was in kolkata and the sunderbans recently where the myth of the bonbibi or the forest goddess is very popular. The goddess is worshipped by muslims and hindus -- as a sari clad, bejewelled deity in some places and as a salwar kameez wearing young girl in others (though we did not come across this idol in any of the places we visited, i believe that the villages closer to Bangladesh worship her in this form). The bonbibi protects her followers against the wrath of dokkhin rai -- the tiger in human form.
Bonbibi was the child of a muslim trader who looked after the people of the forest. In a story that shows how she came to prevail over the region, we see how an orphan boy, dukhu is saved from the jaws of dokkhin rai. Bonbibi fights off dokkhin rai with help from her brother shah jongli and rescues the boy. (the myth is detailed in The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh and several versions exist on the web too) In the end, dokkhin rai seeks forgiveness and bonbibi grants him his life. Even today when the locals go into the forest to collect honey or timber or fish in distant waters, they pray to bonbibi to protect them from dokkhin rai.
Good triumphs over evil.
Well, in this story it is not that simple because dokkhin rai is not really evil. He is the creator of the forest and all that resides in it. And bonbibi is the protector of the tribes that live off the forest. dokkhin rai has his reasons and bonbibi, hers and the two live in peace and harmony. Like man and nature -- they cant live without each other.
This myth also reflects the cultural and religious upheavals in the region and strongly establishes the secular credentials of the people of the region. It is still performed by local troupes on special occassions and for a week long festival in mid january during sankranti. And every performance is preceded by a brief reminder that bonbibi is worshipped by both hindus and muslims. Wish there were more such people sharing many more such stories all over the world.
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