FOLK SONGS OF WESTERN ODISHA
Folk songs of Western Orissa Peoples of Western Orissa are
simple & mostly depending upon Agriculture with the limited
source of income has debackled their normal way of life. The
natural calamities particularly the appearance of drought in
every decade,. In spite of it, the people of this areas live
their life with a sense of community, sharing their pains
and pleasures among themselves. The twofold life as opposed
to each other is seen among the people of western Orissa We
see the people singing, dancing and sharing their pleasure
in one hand and the struggling for their survival on the
other. Thus, the people of this locality try to forget the
stark reality of the painful moment of their hard life by
expressing themselves in singing, dancing and merrymaking in
their community. Burdened with the bare realities of life,
the folk-mind has never hesitated to express its creative
ability and imagination through the oral tradition and
performing arts. As community life is the basic social
characteristic of the people of this area, they never think
of enjoying their creative arts without the participation of
the whole community. Any one in the community can be a
singer or a dancer without prior training, irrespective of
age and sex. The folk oral traditions are handed down from
generation to generation. One more basic characteristics of
these oral traditions are the non-appearance of its
authorship. Still, there are some folk bards called
‘Geet-Kudia’ belonging to both the sexes, expert in
composing songs spontaneously while singing and dancing in
some ceremony or social occasion. The folk songs of
Kalahandi cannot be separated from dance and music. The
fullest enjoyment and expression is inherent in singing,
dancing and playing music by them. The rhythm of the Muhuri,
Dhol and Nishana musical concert of the local music players
attracts the hearts of the singers and dancers as well as
onlookers. The Folk songs of Kalahandi may be classified
into some sub-genres as follows : A. The songs of
entertainment : Rasarkeli, Sajani, jaifula, Bhamara,
Gua-nadia, Nialimalli, Dalkhai etc. B. Play songs : a)
Baria, Bangri, Kalakokila, Jeeralabanga, b) Khamkhamali,
Luklukani, Pithapuden, Maachh sare ghina, Kath jia geet etc.
C. Work song : Halia, Sagadia, Palarua D. Customary songs
base on ‘Rites de passage’ : Lullaby, Marriage, Mourning,
Duma utren E. Ritual songs : Thakurani geet, Gobha utara
geet, Tokiparab, Chaitparab, Holi etc. F. Songs related to
Purana : Palia, Pacharauchara and Badi geet. G. Songs
nominated upon musical instrument : Dhab, Ghumura, Madal.
The classification and the distribution of folk songs of
Kalahandi is not different from the folk songs of Western
Orissa,
The songs of Entertainment : Rasarkeli song (savour of
erotic taste), Jaiphula (a flower), Bhamara song (black bee
song), Gua-nadia geet (betel nut-coconut song), Nialmalli (a
combination of two flowers), Dalkhai song (leaf eater song)
are the songs sung by both the young boys and girls.
Rasarkeli song represents the intense love and attraction of
a male towards a female. The male addresses a female as
‘Rasarkeli’ which literally means the store of erotic savour
Jaipuhula (one petalled Jasmine) and Nialimalli are the
names of the flowers. The combination of Niali flower with
Malli (Jasmine) symbolizes the close and undivided
friendship in between the companions. So one friend
addresses the other as Jaipuhula or Nialimalli. All the
songs, thus, represent the deep love and relationship
between the companions. Bhamara geet is especially sung by
the females only to tease and disrepute the males. The
eternal relationship of a black bee with the flower is a
well known allegory in Indian aesthetics. The lustful
character of a black bee indulged with many of flowers is
the symbol of a lustful adulterer. The Bhamara song of
Kalahandi represents the above sense of poetic expression.
The gua-nadia geet is also an interesting song found in this
locality. Gua means betel nut and ‘nadia’ means coconut.
These two fruits hard on the surface and juicy within
represent the hard and strong surface of the woman’s
behaviour with a hidden softness in her brace. If one can
manage to penetrate into the heart of the woman by
overcoming her rude behaviour he can only enjoy her savour.
The theme of the Gua-nadia song of this region is, thus,
symbolic with poetic taste. Dalkhai is a song well
distributed in Western Orissa. In Sambalpur district this
song is used at the time of rituals. But in this area, the
song is used at the time of entertainment. Sajani (addressed
by one girl to her companion) is a song of conversation in
between two girl companions. All these songs are based on
eternal love. The joys and sorrows of human feelings have
been reflected in it. The sweet and emotive feelings of the
lovers of both the sexes, are portrayed in the above songs
in a simple and lucid manner. The love and hatred, the
attraction towards each other, the thirst for union, the
social bond as an obstacle in their free unity, the
arrogance of a female to her beloved male, the presumption
and pretension of the young lady to her lover, the desire
for elopement by the couple, the social hindrances standing
against their way and will, the strong emotional desire to
die and dedicate for each other are portrayed in the said
songs. The exultant feelings of lovers flows down from their
heart like a wild stream in the form of oral tradition. The
eternal love and beauty and the symbol of human feelings
have been picturized in it. The greatness of this song is
that it is ever-living as oral tradition and it is the song
through which a young man expresses his secret desire before
a beloved to choose his life partner in which the society
also gives its full recognition. To get the vivid taste of
some songs are given below :
1. Rasarkeli Song : Malifula phutikari maha maha basu Kala
bhamarake dekhi gaha gaha hasu Tara tara hele nani alge jai
basu Kie toke kain kahela sangata Alge jai basu nani de
kahide re. (You bloom and smell like jasmine, You smile at
the sight of black bee, when I approach, you keep aloof, who
did say you, what o mate, you sit alone, O’ maid, tell me)
Rasarkelire Nandi tene pare kire gurjiphula dhoba, Amemane
chaluthile naikara lobha, Nandi tene pare kire pakhanara
gadi, Chhane para jugithiba sangata Sange jima gadhi kia
Dagadia re. Maa bua nani baile sangata, Jima udlia, kia
Dagadia re. (O Rasarkli, Across the river, there are while
flowers. Don’t avarice on us during our walk, Across the
river, there’s the stone seat O compeer wait me a while we
shall go to bathe together O how imposter he is, if parents
deny O comanion, we will elope.)
2. Jaiphula Song : Jaiphulare Sahaja patara hate, Bana luga
dei anichhe tote Jaiphulare Ghaita balibu mote. (O jaiphula,
saj leaf in my hand. I have brought you instead of woven
Clothes, you will call me husband.) Jaiphulare, panigala
sagaraku mana karithili sunagoriku Jaiphulare, Chora
buhinela taku. (O jaiphula, water glided down to the sea, I
desired the golden fairy, O jaiphula, the thief stole her.)
3. Bhamara Song : Khaili rasa gulgula, Tora nai babu maheji
pila, Maheji pila ho sate, Mora sange mana bhula bhamarare.
(I ate juicy sweets You have no wife nor children. Really,
you come to me, O black bee.) Duare ghantilu dhana, Ame
tukilamane khailu pana Khailu pana ho sate Pilamane hinamana
bhamara re. (Dried paddy on the corridor We girls chewed
betel, The boys are deprived; O black bee.)
4. Gua-nadia Song : Barike dogila hansa, Muhuke dekhile ho
sate, Budhi bayase, Sate, kusari rakhichhu rasa re Guanadia
Sate dindiri ase bhendia re Guanadia. (Swan corssed the
boundary Your visage looks old in age You are the stock of
sugarcane O guanadia, the young lad moves around you.) Ahare
ukiabati ! Tui nai heluga sate amara jati Sate kole dhari
chuma detire guanadia, Sate kindiri ase bhendia re guanadia.
(O brighrty ! were you my caste, Really, I’d kiss you
putting on my lap, O guanadia, the young lad moves around
you.)
5. Nialimalli : Tena pati base Bandu Machha nai bali kainje
kandu Sate bhaluchama tike bandhu re Nialimalli,
Nialimallike paimi bali Kede asha Karithili. (The Bandu [1]
bird sat on the ‘Tenda pati’ [2] (water lifting crane) Why
do you cry, that you have no moustache tie a bear skin on it
O Nialimalli to get you, how great hope I had !) Dalkhaire,
Suru suru bhaji mulapatara khaibake nanai hela batara Dasata
anguthi panchata mundi, Ame naijanu dalkhai, Khechada budhi.
(The little greens and raddish leaf, O leaf-eater became
worthy of eating there are ten fingers for five rings O
dalkhai we don’t know how to tease.) 1. Bandu pati : A bird
like owl 2. Tenda pati : Water lifting wooden crane.
Dalkhaire, chala tukilemane nadike jima, Rupara thaline lau
katima Sunara thaline jogara [1] nema, Khaibake dema juna
puruna Suibake seja palanka uchhaidame ki dalkhaire, (O
leaf-eater, let us all the girls, go to the river, Cut the
gourd in silver plate, take the ‘jogara’ in golden plate we
will feed them opening new and old fetch them quit and
palanquin to sleep.) 1. Jogara : Fooding and clothing
provided to the host by their relatives for the guest as the
part of the ritual.
6. Sajani Song : Sajani, kahin jaithila jane, Khata paridele
basiba chhane, Katha charipada bane sajanire. (O companion,
where had you been alone ? You will sit for sometime when
offered cot, to have four good words gossip, O companion.) X
X X X Sajani, alua chaula jhain, Tumara mana katha kahila
nai Sajani, aja janigali muhin. (O companion, the white rice
is bright, You did not tell me your heart today I found it.)
A. Play Song : The Baira, the Bangari, the Kalakokila and
the jeera labanga are the songs sung by the two groups of
girls at the moonlit night on the village road. The girls
put each one’s hand against other’s waist and form a group.
Seven to eight girls constitute a group. While singing the
song, one group moves towards the other and recedes and
other group answers them as follows : First group
suggestions in a chorus : Uli Uli Uli Uli baria, Uli uli uli
uli re, Se uli gala bajara buli. Mahitani gala dhuli baria
Mahitani gala dhulire. Kholi kholi gala gai baria, Kholi
kholi gala gaire Tamara pina to usara nai, (repeat) Rahasa
gadima kahin baria, Rahasa gadima kahinre. (The cow went on
the road, Your corridor is not wide Where shall were post
the flag post ?) second group answers the above questions in
chorus as follows : Kholine rahasa gada baria Kholine rahasa
gadare Gahati ghare annuchhe jara, Oso kasa tike kara baria,
Osa kasa tike karare. (Post the flag post on the road, The
wife of village headman is on fever Arrange medicine for
her.) The luklukani (hide and seek), Khamkhamali pithapuden
(making cakes), maachh sare ghina (purchase a leaf of fish),
Kath jia song the sond of going for firewood) and some other
games are local folk-games. In each and every game the songs
are inevitable. The various characters, events and
conversations presented in the play-action help the children
expose their creative urges in the process of socialization.
C. Work Song : In most of the villages of kalahandi, the
landless people work in their master’s house as agricultural
labourers. They work throughout the year for stipulated
quantity of paddy; about ten to fifteen quintals per annum.
The agricultural labourers are known as Halia, literally
implying ploughman. The earning provided to the halia by his
master is insufficient to maintain his family throughout the
year. Still the halia, with his limited source of income
tries to satisfy his family. He wants to live happily within
his limited universe. Poverty is the real identity of his
life. He works as had as the bullocks, but never gets a
plateful of rice to fill up his own stomach or to satisfy
his family. In the “Halia song” the life picture of a halia
family of this locality is reflected in a lively manner, in
which one can find the pitiable condition of his family. The
master knows how to extract hard work from the halia, but
never cares for his miserable condition. The halia not only
works in the field but also he goes to the forest with a
bullock cart to collect fire wood. After coming from the
forest he requests his master to give some paddy. He
remembers that in his house there in no single grain of rice
to cook. After releasing the bullocks from the cart the
halia goes to his master to beg rice. In the Halia song the
above description are as follows : Eade sagada anili gharake
ghare gadi hela thia Katha patra sari mahajana thane sabu
katha kahe thika, Samia hela je masuri dhana ho, napidia
mahajana. Bela uchhluchhi ghare adhadiya nahin Kutibe
bhuasen dhana. (brought the cart to the house finishing
collecting wood, tells before his master O master, it is
time, give me masur paddy the time is going. no paddy in
house, to be husked by the women.) The hard and strenuous
life of a halia or sagdia (cartman) becomes colourful with
the soothing and inspiring words of his beloved who inspires
him to live a happy life. The romantic spectacles of nature
like the couple of weaver birds living happily in the nest
on the mango tree and the frog couple living under the arum
tree shape their ideas. Keeping an eye on the uncertainty of
the life span, the halia invites his mate to make a nest
like in the following manner. Ama gachha tale baya basa kala
Sarugachha tale benga Marigale jiba thiba ki nathiba tumari
amari sanga. (the couple of weaver birds nesting on the
mango tree, the couple of frog, under the arum tree What is
the surety of life, let’s be mates.) D. Customary Songs
based on “Rites de passage” : In the various stages of
social life, song in inevitably employed. Mother sings
lullabies to sleep her obstinate child. The boys and the
girls sing song while playing. Songs are sung from the time
of child birth to death ritual of human beings. In marriage
ceremony, there are some rituals where the song is
inevitable. Without the song the tituals are said to be
incomplete. In the time of the marriage negotiation of a
girl, the young girls of her village welcome and appease the
guests through singing and dancing. During marriage ceremony
the various rituals such as Haldi Makha (smearing turmeric
paste on the bride) Mali chagha (adorning the bride with
beads and ornaments) Telchagha (smearing of oil to the bride
and bridegroom) Mangal geet (auspicious song) are
exclusively needed. In the Telchagha song of the paharia
tribe, the ritual is described as below : Tel tel balsa nani
kahan pawe tel, Tel tel balsa nani kain tel chaghia,
Hirabati parbati kain tel chaghia Dada achhe tel chaghei,
bada bohu awa, Kaka achhe tel chaghei Kaki mane awa Dadi
achhe tel chaghei, Aai mane awa Tel tel balse nani, kai tel
chaghia. Hirabati parbati, kusum tel chaghia. (O girl, you
are speaking of oil, where from will you fetch oil ? O
hirabati, O Parbati, which oil will you smear ? Elder
brother is coming to smear oil, elder sister-in-law coming.
Uncle is coming to smear oil, aunt is coming. Grand father
is coming to smear oil, grand mother is coming. O Nani, you
are speaking of oil, which oil will you smear ? O Hirabati,
O Parbati, smear kusum oil on her body.) While the bride
bade farewell along with the bridegroom, the Kanialama song
recited by her parents and companions is heart-rending and
awful. In this song the painful feelings of the bride’s
departure from her own parents house is described in a
heart-breaking manner. The parents feel sorry for the
departure of their beloved daughter. The song is as follows
: “Dhire dhire renganani dhire dhire renga, Dhire dhire
renga nani kania lama bele, Mudar jawa khusal jahi, gagar
luga khusal jahi Dhire dhire renga nani kania lama bele. Bua
kande Katan sale, maa kande ronda ghare, Na kanda nakanda ho
yo, Kania lama bele, Gaile mangala geeta, dele hulahuli, Na
kanda na kanda na bua kania lama bele.” (O bride, move
slowly, Your hair knot will fall down. Your clothes will
slip down. It is the time of your farewell O girl, move
slowly) (Father is crying near husking place. Mother is
crying in the kitchen, Don’t cry, Don’t cry, O, It is the
time of her Farewell. They sang the auspicious song. And
gave hulahuli. Don’t cry father and mother I is the time of
her farewell.) Mourning : The place of woman in the society
is inferior in comparison to men. The new bride has to fare
many difficulties in her husband’s house. Her mother-in-law
and her husband’s sister became hostile and scandal her.
Being the victim of them, she remembers the sweet days of
her mother’s house. Sometimes the situation in her family
becomes so intricate and unbearable that she comes to her
mother’s house for rescue. There, keeping her head on her
mother’s shoulder she bewails which bursts out in form of a
song : E mago, kaisi miracha badato raga, ma go mui po
heithile tui deithitu bhaga, ma go mui jhi heli bali tui
moke nandine boholaidelu ma go; mui nai sunila katha
sunuchhi ma go; moke chori hotli khaila baluchhan ma go X X
X X E bohu, mora suiba thana mela hela go bohu, mora korihia
darapanake kena dekhba go bohu. moke kena kuri deba go bohu
Toro kaje randhi deba go bohu. (O mother, the unripe chilly
is very bitter. Were I a son, you’d given me my share, As I
am your daughter You threw me adrift the river, O mother. I
am scandaled, I had never been. I am alleged a thief in
their house.) X X X X (O sister-in-law, my sleeping bed
falled empty Who shall avail my old looking glass. Who will
comb my hair Who will help your cooking, sister-in-law) Not
only the daughter, but the mother as well remorses herself
as to why she put her beloved daughter in such a hell.
Remembering her daughter’s pitiable condition she cries
which out of her heart in the form of song. Duma Utra Song :
It is a common belief of the people of this locality that,
the soul of the man after his death never dies. It takes
rebirth again. In some tribes the soul or ‘Duma’ of the
deceased person is invited to the house through a ritual,
which is popularly known as Duma Utara—literally meaning the
invitation of the spirit from the unseen world. The
relatives of the deadman arrange this ritual by inviting the
Duma into an earthen pot on the bank of a river or a water
source. At that time the whole clan and the kinsmen of the
deadman are invited and the worship of Old souls (Juna Duma)
begins. Then the worship and invitation of new Duma (soul)
is carried through an invocation. The new soul in summoned
with the old souls to the kitchen of the descendant of the
deadman. The new soul (Nua-duma) is worshipped as a God or
ancestor spirit. It is a common belief that the ancestor
spirits save their respective families from diseases, unseen
dangers and watch their fields. Even they predict the future
occurrences to them and save them from those difficulties.
The people count their last five ancestors as living spirit
always watching over them. In all the rituals related to
rites de passage and rites de intensification the invitation
and worship of the ancestor spirit is inevitable. When one
is blessed with a male child, then it is believed that some
ancestor ‘Duma’ has taken rebirth into his family. Through a
divination process they try to know the particular ancestor
who has taken rebirth as that male child. In all the
agricultural festivals the Duma is worshipped with due
importance. The invitation of Duma, i. e. the transformation
of human soul to divine soul is performed through a long and
strict ritual. The invocation is sung by the respective
ethnic bard a long period of time. In the Dumautra song the
origin of the respective caste, the glorious personalities
and their miraculous deeds are described in a gracious
manner as to inspire the present generation with their
glorious heritage. Here a ritual of Gond Duma utra, while
‘parghania’ a gond bard invoking the old and new spirit, is
presented originally. Ero rela rela je Ero rela rela, Gahar
mati pati je gahar chhotibudhi Gahar pardasian je gahar
Baburai Gahar je gangadi je gahar je gangadi, Ata gada soga
je sabu thula hele, Babubole babu je loko borun jibu, Kar
gharke jibu babu, kar gharke jibu, Gadake je Damdagarh
Markam gharke jibu Dasa parigala je dasa parigala. Atagarha
sagane je biha borun heba, Babu bale babu je biha borun
heba, Ken godke jibu babu, Lanji garhke jibu, Netam gharke
jibu babu, Netam gharke jibu. (Ero rela rela je Ero rela,
the holy soil and the seat of the village. The goddess
chhotibudhi of the village. Goddess pardesien of the
village. Goddess Gangadei of the village. The eight clan
gathered at one place, O boy, You will go to invite all the
kinsmen Whose house will you go to, my boy to whom will you
go ? You will go to Damdagarh find Markam clan there. Oh our
bad time arrived, our bad time came. A marriage ceremony
will be held among the eight fort clans. O boy, you will go
to invite them all. To which fort will you go my boy ? You
will go to Lanjigarh There you will find netam clan, You
will go to netam’s house.) Formerly the Duma song was in
‘Gondi’ Language, but now all the Gonds of Kalahandi speak
Oriya dialect and sing their invocations in local Oriya.
Every ethnic group has their own way of rituals for inviting
Duma, though the basic world view as regards to the ancestor
worship is uniform throughout. The distribution of Thakurani
worship as the Goddess of Smallpox is prevalent all over
India. Though the smallpox has been eradicated in this
country, the traditional belief of Thakurani mata for the
goddess of smallpox still persists in some parts of India.
Even in last 1986-87, this belief was predominant in the
Kutia kondh tribe of Kalahandi. Hundreds of Kutia Kondhs of
this district died out of some unknown disease. The medical
facilities provided for their treatment were refused. They
had a strong belief in their mind that their Thakurani
mata—mother goddess of smallpox was humiliated for some
cause and hence out of anger she took revenge on them. They
also confirmed that no medical treatment can save their
life, unless Goddess Thakurani is appeased with buffalo
sacrifice. No doubt this is a blind belief. But the
conservative people of these area have a strong faith in it.
In the months of Fagun and Chait (February and March) when
the outbreak of chicken pox and Measeales takes place, they
worship Thakurani mata by offering her the somke of resin,
syrup of molasses along with the turmeric and him leaf and
recite the song with deep devotion. In a Thakurani song
recited by the village priest it is described that Mother
Thakurani, taking a basket in her left hand and a broom in
her right hand, washes up the villages and takes hundreds of
lives gathering them in her basket. Even the Gods are also
not left out of the clutches of her and become the victim of
her sharp eyes. The song is as follows : Mago, akhi
chhipichhipi mago mundare chhipiri Loi loi chale budhi mai
hata mela kari. Aago jagat janani mata Nagara bharmani kari
jau more dai Lima haladi paile go thana tumari Mata go rakha
dukha harani. (O mother, with your twinkling eyes and a
basket on your bushy head. You walk leaning, spreading your
hands. O universal mother You move in the cities and
villages You relish in Nim and turmeric O mother, save me,
take away all my miseries.) E. Ritual Songs : Govautara Song
:
The Kondh tribe of Kalahandi were practising meriah
sacrifice till the last part of 19th century. They were
sacrificing their daughter and son to appease Dharani
mata—the earth Goddess. These is a strong belief and a
worldview in their mind that, the Goddess will never be
satisfied unless she is offered human blood. The Kindhs
believe that the Goddess would give more harvest if human
blood is offered to Her. Even in this religious rites, the
Jani (priest) of the community was offering his elder son to
dharani mata. This tradition was prevalent in the Kondh
dominated area which was suppressed by the Britishers. Now,
the meriah sacrifice has stopped, but to compensate the
cultural loss of juman sacrifice, the Kondhs offer Buffaloes
in place of it. This trend is still continuing in Kalahandi
and in other Kondh areas of South-East India. This ritual is
known as Pod-puja, literally means buffalo sacrifice. The
Durga Mahishasura myth of the ‘Devi-Bhagabat’ and ‘Chandi
puran’ has been associated with the buffalo sacrifice. The
Kondhs believe that the Dharani mata as Durga and the
buffalo brought for sacrifice as the symbol of
Mahisasura—the demon. This ritual takes place on a Thursday
during the brightmoon period of the month of Pausa. This
ritual is observed by the Kondhs as well as the co-habitants
as an agricultural festival. Before the buffalo is
sacrificed on the altar of Goddess Dharani mata, a long and
mythic song is invocated by the ‘Gova Jani’ (the priest who
knows the essence of the myth) from the preceding evening.
The process of recitation begins from Wednesday evening till
the end of the myth by Thursday morning. The ritual is known
as ‘Gova utara’ literally means the dismounting of essence
(of the Kondh myth). Soon after the Gova utara is over the
buffalo is sacrificed before the goddess and its head is
offered in Her altar. The song is most secret, handed down
from the generations of Gova Jani. The main singer Gova Jani
with his choir singers use to sing the song with a wooden
musical instrument named ‘Sadki’. All over the night the
Gova Jani and the choir of singers take mahua liquor and
sing the song. The song is sung for twelve hours. The
beginning of the song is as follows : E mago Dharam tui
Dharme jaya go pape khaye E gudguduchhe, rudruduchhe E kein
sabad ho houchhe na je E kein leela ho houchhena je Aja nai
ho kalanai Rangal butta tale rud ruduchhe Ke gota bua janam
hauchhe. Penbora ho, kan bora je Se gota bua janam houchhe.
(O mother, the king of all virtue Goodness wins and
wickedness perish what sound there; what games occuring
there ? Not today nor tomorrow Beneath the Rengal tree it is
sounding. Who takes birth Pen Bora and Kan Bora, they are
coming) Tokiparab Song : The ‘Tokiparab’ or Tokimara parab’
is also a perverted form of female infanticide by the Kondh
paroja tribes of Kalahandi. In this festival the
Kondh-paroja sacrifice ewe symbolizing it as the daughter of
Jani—the Kondh paroja priest. The objectives of this ritual
has nothing dissimilar then the buffalo sacrifice. They
think that if the hair or a flesh of the ewe is taken away
from the sacrificial ground and buried in the field, the
field will be fertile and carry ample harvest. So the
Kondh-paroja never cares to get a hair or a piece of flesh
at the cost of getting injured. Several invocation songs are
sung in the time of Tokiparab, e.g. one old Kondh paroja
tries to get a hair or a piece of flesh of the ewe and when
he fails to get it, out of sorrow he sings, Alo jani wena,
menda buri kaji Soda gosia soda, menda buri kaji Hartarati
jaga kitam menda buri kaji (Hello Jani, hear me, for a hair
of an ewe, Hear master hear, for the hair of an ewe, The
whole night awoke, for the hair of an ewe,) Chait Parab Geet
: The festival Chaitparab is observed in the South-Eastern
part of Kalahandi. This festival continues for a month. It
is a spring festival of this locality. The symbolic
representation of hunting and food gathering from the jungle
are shown by the young tribal lads acting like hunters. In a
common place of the village called ‘shemelmuda’ all the
villagers unite to take part in chait parab. Irrespective of
age and sex, the folk participate in dancing, singing and
playing music collectively. Feasting and drinking are the
most important items in this festival. Sharing of joys and
expressing their creative self is the sole motif of this
festival. This is a festival especially meant for the
unmarried young boys and girls. Song competitions among them
take place all over the night with music and dancing. They
boys and the girls form separate group facing each other on
the common place. The natural setting of the blue-green
mountain, moon lit night, cold air with the fragrant scent
of wild flower is the folk stage for the community dance.
There is no such bar in between the onlooker and the
performer. Any onlooker can be a performer without
hesitation. *Chait parab festival is observed in
South-Eastern Kalahandi. In western Kalahandi it is called
‘Chaitra’. The way of observation of ‘Chaitra’ is different
from that of Chait parab. As the festival falls on the month
of Chait (March) it is popularly known as Chait Parab. At
the ‘Geet kudia’ and ‘Geet Kudiani’ (folk bard of both the
sexes) begin the prayer to local deities like earth Goddess
along with the Goddess Durga, Saraswati and Sarala. Then
after the invocation songs are over the young boys and girls
begin their love song as competing each other in the
presence of the community. The song is followed with music
and dance. The songs are full of erotic sense expressing the
naked thought of participants of both the sexes. Some songs
are given below : Rasare, asa asa mora champalo gharani,
Khaiba ke debi ke lala murguni To kolare basthibi, Mui rahi
rahi kari dharapadigale kenabate chhadi jibi, Tui birasa
nakara mote Malliphula, birasa nakara mote. (O Savour, O my
golden fairy, do come. I shall provide you with red deer
meat and will be sitting on your lap. If caught up, where
shall I go ? O jasmine, don’t make me sorry.) The young girl
hearing the love approach of the yound lad, replike like
this : Rasare, Hakadaka deli, Khamana ke gali, Akhada
phikili, kamala tulili, Satasara phula mude ne khuchili,
Tumar kholi dane gali, Tumar Tumar para jeta dhangara ke
redhi ne dhamasa deli. (O Savour, I called everybody and
went into the jungle, throwing parched rice, plucking
oranges, dressed with seven pronged flowers on my head, I
went on your road. I kicked all the young men like you in my
heel.) The Bhatra, Paroja and Gond tribes of estern
Kalahandi enjoy the chait Parab dance heartily. The
Dhangda—Young lad invites his beloved Dhangadi—Young lady to
sing and dance in this occasion. The Dhangada invites his
mate his mate as follows : Lele rasode, lele rasode,
Sarikelana duta keli aso ho. Amta rengsa juli, lele rasode,
Amata parwajuli, nachi asa ho. (O nectar of love, O nectar
of love, Come to play with your Sari-compeer. You are my
friend, since our crawling time You are my friend like
pigeon couple O Sari, come to dance.) Besides these songs,
the chherchera song in the time of Pausa purnima and the
Holi song in the time of Holi-Dola purnima are noteworthy.
F. Songs related Purana : Songs related to Purana are
popularly known as Palia song and Pachara-Uchara song
literally meaning the song of question-answer. The mystic
and mythic topics of Indian epics are asked by one group and
the other group tries to answer it. The question of victory
and defeat depends upon the capacity of the groups. The
victors are rewarded for this. Most of the songs are
borrowed from the Purana and Sastras and handed down orally.
In Ghumura dance this form of songs are employed. This song
is the inter link between the folk and elite from. G. Songs
nominated upon Musical Instruments : The songs especially
used in the time of dances are named accordingly. These are
Ghumura song in Ghumura dance, Dhab song used in the time of
Dhab dance, Madal geet in Madal dance, Danda geet in the
time of Danda dance. The Ghumura is a systematic dance in
which a classical form is found out. The songs are sung in
the line of Oriya Malasri, Chaupadi and Orissi songs.
Besides some folk songs of the locality are also sung in the
Ghumura dance which keep the folk classical continuum. The
Dhab is a musical drum played by the male dancers and
drummers of Kondh tribes of Kalahandi. The name of the dance
and the song is named according to the musical instrument.
The young male and female of Kondh tribes dance the Dhab
dance singing the Dhab song. Most of the Dhab songs are
based on extremely erotic expression with the nude
description of sexual enjoyment. This song is sung both by
male and female before the community without any hesitation.
Dalkhai and Sadarasa songs are two important songs used in
the time of Dhab dance. Dhab songs of Kui language are full
of pornography symbolically exposing the primodial human
instincts. Some of the Dhab songs are given below : ‘Jajare
Jalia mo ghatimalia basigala denga gachhe, Hata khete nai
goda khete nai khaibake mana achhe, Kamala, tumar gagare
jhule, Dharai deba tumar mana thile.’ (The notorious and
wearer of beads, sat on the tall tree, my oranges dangling
on your body. If you wish, you will get me those in my
hands. You will make me handy of it.) X X X X Rasare,
Jubadehaku, Jaki rakhiachhuy dui kumbhaku, Debiboli moke
asha delu, Jaldi jalidi kam helabele dam paisa mulkalu. (O
nectar of love, your body is young, You hoard your two
vessels You promised to give me While I was going to get
you, You bargained for money.) The Mandal dance of the Gond
and Bhunjia tribes of Kalahandi is a primitive tribal dance
in nature. The songs sung in this dance are known as
Sarudhana small property. The free and unhesitating
expression in the above songs are interesting, such as :
Khajura khaili ante sarudhana, khajura khaili ante, Maa
ghara jhia hoila pete Sate chali na parila bate sarudhana
Chali na parila bate. (O small property, I ate date palm
carrying in my clothes. The daughter being pregnant in her
mother’s house. Could not walk on the road.) III The above
discussions are based on the available folklore materials of
Kalahandi collected by the author himself. Besides this, the
social and aesthetic aspects of the folk songs of Kalahandi
need further discussion. Lastly it may be concluded that the
Folk oral tradition is the life-pulse of the people of
Kalahandi who share their love and affection, joys and
sorrows, pains and pleasures in the community with a sense
of belongingness. The external value in these folk songs
bear the life picture of the people of this locality. Source
Dr. Mahendra Kumar Mishra IV-B, 45/2, Unit - III,
Bhubaneswar - 751001 Orissa, India Phone # : 091 - 0674 -
405483 Email : mahendra_ku@yahoo.com
