Songs of the Bauls: Voices from the Margins as Transformative Infrastructures

Abstract

Bauls, the rural minstrels who sing songs of transformation, are a socio-economically and politico-religiously marginalized cultural population from rural Bengal (both from eastern and north-eastern, India and from Bangladesh). They identify themselves outside of any organized religion or established caste system in India, and therefore are constituted at the margins of contemporary global South. Voicing through their songs and narratives of emancipation, they interrogate and criticize material and symbolic inequalities and injustices such as discrimination and intolerance (including class and caste hierarchies, and other forms of disparities) perpetuated by hegemonic authorities and religious institutions. Embracing a critical communication lens, this paper pays attention to material and discursive marginalization of Bauls and Fakirs, foregrounding voice as an anchor to communicative interrogation of structural and cultural inequalities. Through voice, Bauls and Fakirs foreground reflexive spiritual and humane practices that raise societal consciousness and cultivate polymorphic possibilities.

Marching to Her Own Beat: Asynchronous Teamwork and Gender Differences in Performance on Creative Projects

“…Gender norms within Baul musical teams are likely similar to those of other cultures to the extent they are gender egalitarian in ideology but not necessarily behavior. Baul beliefs focus on transcending identities like gender and caste (Dutta and Dutta 2019), and Baul women and men are considered equal in theory (McDaniel 1992), although the reality often diverges (Ghosh 2016). Such disparity between gender ideology at the cultural and individual levels is prevalent in many Western cultures as well (Otterbach, Sousa-Poza, and Zhang 2021); thus, our Baul musicians may align more closely with Western cultures than might seem apparent at the outset.…”

Music and Culture in Entertainment-Education

“…Music celebrities are recognized opinion makers who can mobilize the public through their songs and their activism for social change (Pratt, 2009). Through a combination of participation of local music artists and public engagement, music presents an alternative form of entertainment-education to dominant forms of EE that replicate Western values and behavioral models that are not rooted in local culture (Dutta & Dutta, 2019).…”

“…In a context in which traditional music is under threat from dominant forms of commercial music and socio-political control, enabling the creation of songs by marginalized social groups can enable their voices to be heard and counteract the dominant discourses present in other forms of communication. These cultural performances can play a transformative role in raising consciousness and elevating the voices of the socially disenfranchised (Dutta & Dutta, 2019).…”