Bhojpuri wedding folk songs now on UNESCO Heritage List
The wedding folk songs carried by indentured immigrant labourers
from India during British colonialism now find a place on the UNESCO
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The tradition was approved this month at the meeting of the
intergovernmental committee on intangible cultural heritage through an
application by Mauritius for the Bhojpuri songs and the accompanying ritual,
prayers, songs, music and dance of the Hindu Wedding Ceremony, Vivaah Samskara.
The songs, music and accompanying dances are known as Geet Gawai in Mauritius.
Similar traditions are practiced across the Indian diaspora. These are known as Lawa or Matikor in the
Caribbean with widespread practice in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname,
and the associated Caribbean diasporas in North America, Canada and Europe. The
practices, transposed from India through mass movement of bonded labour in the
19th century, include song, dance, music, cuisine, rituals and
communal engagement in the wedding cereomny
In the nomination submission, Mauritius noted: “Geet-Gawai is a
pre-wedding ceremony that combines rituals, prayer, songs, music and dance. It
is performed mainly by Bhojpuri-speaking communities in Mauritius who have
Indian descent. The traditional practice takes place at the home of the bride
or groom and involves female family members and neighbours. It begins with five
married women sorting items (turmeric, rice, grass and money) in a piece of
cloth while other participants sing songs that honour Hindu gods and goddesses.
After the site has been sanctified, the mother of the bride or groom and a
drummer honour musical instruments to be played during the ceremony, such as
the dholak (a two-headed drum). Uplifting songs are then performed and everyone
joins in and dances. Geet-Gawai is an expression of community identity and
collective cultural memory. The practice also provides participants with a
sense of pride and contributes to greater social cohesion, and breaking class
and caste barriers. Knowledge about the practice and its associated skills are
transmitted from older to younger generations on an informal and formal basis.
This is done via observation and participation by families, semi-formal
teaching houses, community centres, and academies. Nowdays, the practice of
Geet-Gawai extends to public performances and men also participate.
Last April, the UNESCO Executive Board approved a new
international indentured Indian
immigrant labour route initiative, piloted by Mauritius and unanimously supported
by all our executive board members.
Hindu Wedding traditions transposed, adapted and evolution from
India to the Caribbean are explored in Finding a Place, and LiTTscapes –
Landscapes of Fiction from Trinidad and Tobago. Finding a Place locates the
role of these practices in the oral traditions that fed the evolution of a
literary and journalistic sensibility while adapting to a new society while
LiTTscapes present representations of the practices and rituals in fictional
literature.
Dr Kris Rampersad is a UNESCO certified heritage expert and has
served as Chair of the UNESCO Education Commission; co-chair of UNESCO
Executive Board Programme and External Relations Commission, and co-chair of
the Consultative Body of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intangible Cultural
Heritage as an independent cultural heritage expert.
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