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The colonial writers have argued that history writing emerged in India only after the coming of imperial rule and that one of its first forms was Indian nationalist historiography. But this is not true, as India has been filled with a large range of rich and varied vernacular historical writings since time immemorial. And among these, one of the most important vernacular sources is the Mangalkavyas.
Mangalkavyas
The position of the Brahmins was greatly impacted by the Turkish invasion in 1191 AD. Previously, Brahmins were proud of their social status and looked down on lower-caste Hindus, scorning their gods, goddesses, and folklore. After the invasion, however, Brahmins began to reverse their orthodox stance and include lower-caste practices in mainstream Brahmanical literature. This vernacular narrative poetry, composed in Bengal during the 15th through the 18th centuries, is known as Mangal Kavyas. Mangalkayav's traditional plot or theme revolved around the trials and tribulations that led to the establishment of a certain deity's worship on Earth.
Mangal kavyas are popular among illiterate people and are part of both oral and written traditions. The manuscripts accessible are not very old, implying that they were passed down orally for many centuries before being written down. But it is seen that despite the emergence of written tradition, the oral and performative nature of this literature was not diminished or degraded until well into the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
In David L. Curley’s book Poetry and History: Bengali Mangal–Kavya and Social Change in Precolonial Bengal (2008) states that Mangal Kavya is a religious and didactic text that defends and teaches the devotion of one or more deities. With staging actors and costumes, puppets, and narrative scrolls, they were recited to musical accompaniment.
These poems range from 200 to several thousand lines, and they are sometimes recited for several hours. They're generally written in simple payar rhythm, which is a couplet form with the rhyme scheme "aa bb," etc., and is regarded a good form for oral literature. The plots of mangal kavyas, according to Curley, are quite basic and can be directly tied to the purpose of religious proselytizing. In the mangal kavyas, the vocabulary is also direct and forthright.
The Vandana, the Reasoning, the Devakhanda, and the Narakhanda were the four sections of the Mangalkavya. There is a common narrative that all poets and authors follow, but the variations differ not only in style and language, but also in detail and method, as well as in the shape of the tale they record. As a result, we can find multiple testimonies of the same mangal poetry from different authors at the same time.
The most intriguing aspect of this collection of poems is that, with the exception of one, all of the goddesses are female. The goddesses recognized now in Bengal appear to have emerged around the 5th and 6th centuries CE, as well as the 15th and 16th centuries CE.
Manasa, Candi, and Dharma. They are regarded as the most powerful of all Bengal's native deities. However, several lesser Mangal kavyas also exist, such as Ray Mangal, Annada Mangal kavya, Shitala Mangal, Kamal Mangal, and so on. In the oldest textual references, these goddesses are portrayed as a virgin, a hunter, or a warrior, with ghosts and wild animals as companions, and fighting against demons.
There are differing viewpoints on the Mangal kavyas, including how they were performed, how these performance influenced authors' work and audience receptivity, and so on, but all scholars agree on one thing: the mangal poems are old, complex, and essential for understanding the development of Hinduism in the mediaeval period.
Thus, the Mangalkabyas represented a multifaceted and intricate tradition. These poems paint a picture of Bengal's socio-economic situation at the time. They were associated with the value and function of entertainment because of its performative character; at the same time, they held society's attention and interest by telling stories about heroes and gods and their marvels. It can be seen of as a useful storehouse of social history, depicting rites, superstitions, and customs, as well as a living canvas of a bygone era
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