Marriage Rituals and Songs of Bengal - With Staff Notations (An Old and Rare Book)

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Khushboo Kulshreshtha: Born in 3 November 1983, Etmadpur (Agra) Uttar Pradesh. Currently staying in Mumbai. Graduate in Music from Agra University and L.L.B. from Gorakhpur University. Besides music, dancing and playing instruments is her hobby. She has also written on various newspaper & magazine on the topic of Music & Cooking. 3 books has been published on Indian Music.

Bengal is full of music. Her sky, forests, rivers ( boats drifting down streams ), green fields ( harvesting and reaping ) and villages overflow with music. Her religious festivals and social ceremonies have their own peculiar musical performances as essential parts of them. Yatra, Bhasan Yatra, Kristo Yatra —all open-air dramatic performances on a circular stage surrounded by andiences all abound in music. Her religious movements or revolts or reforms like that of Vaishanavas or of Bouls etc , her traditional nonscriptural popular religious ceremonies or rites like Gajan, Bhadu, Tusu, Murshida etc. are mainly musical. Her social ceremonies, particularly New Rice (Navanna) festival, marriage ceremonies are functions embeded in continuous musical strains. Shehnai, a wounderful flute starts playing early in the morning a day or two earlier than the appointed day of marriage and continues for two or three days, hourly changing the Raga (tune ) and in between two such changes, the married women folk of the family and of relatives or of the neighbours of the village, having husbands living ( or even widow grand-mother's in the case of muslims ) perform rites called "Stree Achar", along with songs sung collectively. The composers of these songs are anonymous individuals or collective groups, the compositions have been continually changing ages after ages,differently in different regions or districts. Many of these musical festivals, ceremonies, functions, performances and, rites are alike among Hindus, Muslims and even Christians in West and East Bengal ( now Bengladesh ). Music in `Stree Achara' in marriage ceremonies have not of course, been found to be among the Hindus of West Bengal, excepting the Tagore family ( who were Brahmos, a modern reformed offshoot of the Hindus, and who cannot be called to be strictly belonging to the West Bengal culture ).

This book deals only with marriage ceremony and its "Stree Achars" ( songs sung during these rites ). The songs mentioned here are collections from folk songs, the tunes given herein are also collections from actual performances. These are only a few of hundreads of such songs sung in hundreds of villages. The scope of this book is narrower still. For, it does not deal with the religious and social festivals and ceremonies of the tribal populalation like Santals which are very rich in songs and dances. We have an intention to publish a book on the subject in future.

This book gives a brief description of the marriage ceremonies of the Hindus and Muslims of Bengal and of the Tagore family, a few of the songs sung by the married women while performing different rites of the marriage ceremony in addition to that ordained by the scriptures. These are "Stree Achars" or rites performed by women folk. These rites (anointing with turmeric paste and even putting vermillion on the forehead and the partition line of hair in the middle of the head of the bride by the bride groom, ) being the religious part of the rites of the marriage ceremoy, were similar among Hindus of Bengal and Muslims of some particular areas of Bengal (use of vermillion by married women having husbands alive is not in vogue among Hindus in many states of India and now is rarely in use among the Muslims of Bengal.)

The songs given here, as the readers will find, are related to the following functions :

(i) song of the barber who accompanies the bridegroom along with his relatives and friends to the bride's house. The song given here is collected from West Bengal.

(ii) (ii) Songs attached to ‘Stree Achars' or functions of married women folk of the bride's house during—(a) fetching of water and consecreting it with song etc. for bathing the bride and bridegroom with it.

(b) grinding of turmeric for anointing with its paste, the bride and the bridegoom. (c) anointing the bride and bridegroom with turmeric paste.

(d) bathing of the bride and bridegroom by the women folk, with the water brought by them.

(e) 'Kori khela' after religious rites are over. The bridegroom repeatedly puts koris, rice etc. helter scelter and the bride collects them and puts them in order.

jokes by brides' younger sisters and friends with the bride during the whole of the night of the day of marriage or the next day. We have given in this book drawings of a few of the objects in use during a marriage ceremony : (i) a crown ( head dress ) worn by the bridegroom and another worn by the bride. cii) a painted 'Kula' i.e. winowing plate made of bamboo.

This book gives a brief description of the marriage ceremonies of the Hindus and Muslims of Bengal and of the Tagore family, a few of the songs sung by the married women while performing different rites of the marriage ceremony in addition to that ordained by the scriptures. These are "Stree Achars" or rites performed by women folk. These rites (anointing with turmeric paste and even putting vermillion on the forehead and the partition line of hair in the middle of the head of the bride by the bride groom, ) being the religious part of the rites of the marriage ceremoy, were similar among Hindus of Bengal and Muslims of some particular areas of Bengal (use of vermillion by married women having husbands alive is not in vogue among Hindus in many states of India and now is rarely in use among the Muslims of Bengal. ) The songs given here, as the readers will find, are related to the follow-ing functions : (i) song of the barber who accompanies the bridegroom along with his relatives and friends to the bride's house. The song given here is collected from West Bengal. (ii) Songs attached to ‘Stree Achars' or functions of married women folk of the bride's house during—(a) fetching of water and consecreting it with song etc. for bathing the bride and bridegroom with it. (b) grinding of turmeric for anointing with its paste, the bride and the bridegoom. (c) anointing the bride and bridegroom with turmeric paste. (d) bathing of the bride and bridegroom by the women folk, with the water brought by them. (e) 'Kori khela' after religious rites are over. The bridegroom repeatedly puts koris, rice etc. helter scelter and the bride collects them and puts them in order. (n jokes by brides' younger sisters and friends with the bride during the whole of the night of the day of marriage or the next day. We have given in this book drawings of a few of the objects in use during a marriage ceremony : (i) a crown ( head dress ) worn by the bridegroom and another worn by the bride. cii) a painted 'Kula' i.e. winowing plate made of bamboo.

**Contents and Sample Pages**