Songs of Protest and Desire: Muslim Women of Bengal

Presenter:

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Abstract

Bengali Muslim Wedding Songs (biyer geet) is a century-old tradition practiced solely by Muslim women of Bengal in a socio-religious setting. The thematic and contextual aspects of these songs show how women use this ritualistic performance as a tool to voice their protest and desire rather than performing a prescribed ritual confined to patriarchal religious norms. These songs are composed orally by Muslim women of Bengal and memorized across generations. Agency of women passes on as legacy when women of the latter generation modify themes and contents in accordance with their contemporary social scenario. In parallel with the thematic element, the gradual changes in terms of performance space and audience advocate female agency and autonomy. This paper looks into the world of Bengali Muslim women and their everyday religion through these songs and examines how position of women in Muslim religious rituals is redefined in this practice. Women are not passive sufferers here. They actively take part in defying the role assigned to them and sing about their deprivation and anguish. Women set their own stage in this ritualistic setting using the same religion that confines them. This paper travels along the living traces of this tradition across districts of West Bengal and present Bangladesh discussing dimensions of female agency in Muslim religious setting. In this paper, a comparative methodology for thematic and contextual study involves an audio presentation of live recordings, field reports, transcripts of interactions with performers and English translations of select songs.