Bon Bibi Palagaan

Subject: Arts and culture

Context:

The centuries-old folk theatre form and the worship of a forest goddess has helped the islanders of sunderbans to understand the power of nature and the limits the human need.

Concept:

• BonbibiPalagaan is a dramatic performance tradition connected with the worship of the cult goddess Bonbibi.
• The followers of Bon Bibi are fishermen, crab-collectors and honey-gatherers many of them impoverished  who go into the wild mangroves, teeming with wild animals such as tigers and crocodiles, to earn a livelihood. They believe that only Bon Bibi protects them when they enter the forest.
• Traditionally, Bonbibi-r Palagaan was simply recited or sung as a eulogy to the deity to invoke her blessings.
• In contrast to the Bengali literary canon, this popular performance-ritual, which is exclusively practised in the Sundarbans in lower delta region West Bengal and Bangladesh, has survived orally or through handwritten manuscripts in the periphery without receiving much recognition.
• The word ‘pala’ means a ‘long narrative verse’ and ‘gaan’ means ‘song’ in Bengali.
• BonbibiPalagaan is considered to be the representative performance-ritual of the Sundarbans and also an emblem of the syncretist nature of the region.