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Celebrating the advent of spring in various forms has been prevalent among communities across the world for centuries. Whether it is Bihu in Assam, Baisakhi in Punjab or May Queen celebration in the West, the focus is on the awakening of the earth from the hibernation of the winter months. The first warm wind and light showers wash away the dust of the past as she decorates herself with new flowers. This is also the beginning of the season for the farmer to plough the land and prepare for planting the crops. The folk dances and songs that accompany celebration of spring-coming are reminiscent of the hoary past when for the primarily agrarian society it was the most important time of the year. A good crop ensured freedom from hunger and survival against hostile elements and predatory animals. Living in close proximity of Nature, for the primitive man the Earth was like a woman, a mother giving birth to crops for his sustenance. Songs and body movements in dances in folk tradition accompanying the spring festival thus reflect sexual overtones, symbolising the desire for union between man and woman, as if to propitiate the Earth Mother in this season of creation; in short, a homage to fertility. Referring to the close relationship between the fertility cult and spring festival, the well-known anthropologist R. Briffault had observed: "...the beliefs that sexual act assists the promotion of abundant harvest of the earth's fruits and is indeed indispensable to secure it, is universal in the lower of culture." In India the ritual of worshipping Mother Nature, the Great Mother, by pre-Aryan agricultural communities was later taken into the fold by the Hindus which morphed into the Shakti cult. The Khasis of Meghalaya, a matrilineal society, claim that the revered goddess Kamakhya of Assam was originally their great mother Ka-meikha In Assam, the biggest festival is Rongali Bihu, a festival of merriment at the advent of spring. Dancing in the open field by men and women together and even eloping with the loved, one if their union was opposed by the elders, was common in olden days. While listening to the songs accompanying the vigorous Bihu dance with women in red symbolising fertility, one can grasp the tone. The woman sings: "How do I swing my body and mind/ How do I swing my slim waist/ O' my dear lover/ how do we dance bihu / so that young shoots sprout again." The man replies, "The tingling sunrays with the smile in your face/ intoxicate me, make me restless" and promises, "The way the rice field sways in the breeze/ You'll sway in my embrace the same way." Scholar Sivanath Barman of Assam in his book Lokokrishtir Utsha (Root of folk culture) points out that all the tribes of the North-East celebrate the spring festival in their own way. Free mixing between man and woman and dancing together are the common themes. The Bodos call their festival Baisakhu and the Rabhas "Baikhu," both of which etymologically translate into Mother Earth. Dances from Tripura (Biju), West Bengal (Santhali), Orissa (Sambalpuri), Chhattisgarh (Karma) in the east, Punjab (Giddha and Bhangra), Gujarat (Garba) in the west and from down south — Kerala (Kaikottakali) though geographically apart, display a commonality — invoking and praying for the fertility of the earth so that she bears fruits abundantly. In Orissa, this Sambalpuri dance song during the spring festival refers to Mother Earth dancing and giving shelter and solace to her children, "The Queen Earth is dancing../.. with the whistling wind/ Heavenly bliss we in her lap/ We live and lie in her lap/ She cares for us from life to death." In primitive society untouched by the mores of later-day Sanskritisation, free mixing in the season of mating , even for the animal world, was not castigated, Barman writes. Some communities encouraged it in the belief that it could augment fertility of the earth. Ina Karama song from Chhattisgarh, the woman sings invitingly, "The time for sowing is approaching/ The paddy in the granary are for eating/ The seeds are hidden in an inside room (that only I know of)". Indeed, spring festivals re-establish man's deep-rooted belief in Mother Nature's rejuvenation and benevolence.
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