In search of little tradition of folk islam: A study of marefati folk songs in Bengal

Abstract

Islamic contact with Bengal is as old as the role of the religion is significant in the historical development of this region. Its importance does not simply consist in the fact that the undivided Bengal saw the largest concentration of Muslims (about 34 millions) in the Indian Subcontinent and that their present aggregate in divided Bengal makes them the second largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia. It is rather paradoxical that the phenomenon of Islamization in Bengal has drawn far less academic attention than what would seem warranted by its historical significance. The aim of the present paper is to investigate and explore the folk elements in the Bengali culture and its impact on the Bengali Muslims. While exploring folk Islam or little tradition of Islam in Bengal along with its syncretistic traditions I have tried to use the theory of 'Great Tradition' and 'Little Tradition' propounded by Robert Redfield while studying Mexican peasant culture, which later on applied by Milton Singer and Mckim Marriott to the Indian society. Since folk elements have multiple strands, therefore, I have confined my discussion in reviewing contribution of Bengali Muslims in Bengali folk songs like Sufi devotional songs - Marefati and Murshidi with a special emphasis on Marefati.