Folklore, religion and the songs of a Bengali madman : a journey between performance and the politics of cultural representation /

: This book explores historical and cultural aspects of modern and contemporary Bengal through the performance-centred study of a particular repertoire: the songs of the saint-composer Bhaba Pagla (1902-1984), who is particularly revered among Baul and Fakir singers. The author shows how songs, if examined as 'sacred scriptures', represent multi-dimensional texts for the study of South Asian religions. Revealing how previous studies about Bauls mirror the history of folkloristics in Bengal, this book presents sacred songs as a precious symbolic capital for a marginalized community of dislocated and unorthodox Hindus, who consider the practice of singing in itself an integral part of the path towards self-realization.
: 1 online resource (xvi, 332 pages) : Includes bibliographical references (p. 284-324) and indexes. : 9789004324718 : 1570-078x ; : Available to subscribing member institutions only.