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Classification and Structure of Maithili Folksongs

Dr. Kailash Kr. Mishra

From south to north and east to west India has a rich and glorious tradition of folklore study. Here, in Mithila, folk musical transmission is in vogue rather than the ethno-musical publications. It is the folksong of Bhilini that influenced Gautam, the Buddha, to draw the essence of his all-time great philosophy -Madhyama marg. Mithila has been established as a great cultural center and Vidya-kshetra. It’s cultural, mainly scholastician, history dates back to millenniums. Its pristine glory is recorded in the Vedas and the Satpath Brahmana. Mithila comprises the Gangetic plains of North Bihar and the Terai region of Nepal. Tradition of folklore has always helped the scholars of the region. Prominent ancient and medieval Maithili scholars viz., Vachaspati, Jyotirishwar, Vidyapati etc, have used the elements of folk, in their classical works.

In fact, the systematic study of Maithili folksongs, from anthropological viewpoint is relatively new. In Mithila, anthropologists and sociologists have not made any comprehensive attempt in this direction. The only substantial study was by Makhan Jha (1979) who classified the songs. But he has also not gone into the details. There is a wide range of classification of the Maithili folksongs. With the help of my respondents I have classified Maithili folksongs into seven groups elaborated below:

Songs representing the life-cycle events: There are many songs that represent life-cycle events -birth, initiation rites, marriage etc. Women start singing Sahara songs on the sixth day of the birth of a baby to please and express thanks to Mother Goddess Sastika. Literary Sahara songs are sung with the description of the birth of Krishna and Rama. These are also sung on Upnayana (sacred-thread-ceremony), Mundana (tonsure ceremony) and marriage. Some Saharas depict the husband’s anxiety to relieve his wife’s labour pains. The cradlesongs or lullabies are sung to please the child and keep him happy. These songs are ustia1l y composed of jingling rhymes. Many women sing lullabies with a high and very soft falsetto voice. Carrying a baby on her shoulder or back a woman sometimes sings the same song with a normal voice. The song usually begins with some meaningless syllables. Marriage is an important social and religious event when several songs are sung. Women most often classify wedding songs according to the name of the rituals or ritual stages. In the marriage, the auspicious day begins with the Suhag songs and concludes with Samdaun (vidai).

Songs representing the annual calendar of events: Songs that fall under this classification, are further categorized in two groups: a) Agricultural songs and b) Festival songs. Agricultural songs are sung during sowing, ploughing, winnowing, etc. Couplets and rural adages, predicting good and bad crops, according to the people’s indigenous knowledge of bio-diversity, can also be included in this category. Ghagh and Daka are two famous folk poets-cum-scientists, whose couplets and verses are often cited by the villagers. Through these verses, farmers are advised on the crops and weather. One such example is given below:

Savan shukla saptami, tah-tah rain karant,

rum Jao pia malba main jaun gujrant.

The above verse warns in advance about the famine. It says, "if at night of the 7^th day of Shuklapaksha in the month of Savan the sky is clear and easily visible, famine is bound 10 occur. My dear husband, says a wife to her husband, now I may advise you to go to Malva for earning our livelihood and I should move towards the state of Gujarat".

The cycle of festivals, begins with the month of Chiatra. Several songs are sung during the celebration of the festivals of Ramnavami, Batsavitri, Nagapanchami, Madhushrabani, Kojegra, Sama- chakeba, Bhardutia.

Seasonal songs: In a climate where knowledge system health, life and everything including comfort depend on the regularity of the seasons, songs of the whole year with specific months are particularly popular. The basic themes include frustration or sometimes disappointment in love, often due to the callous absence of the lover/ husband. The common songs, included under the category are Barahmasa, Chahomasa and Chanmasa. These songs describe twelve, six and four months of separation. Each month comes with its charms and has its individual reaction on the feelings of the separated partner. These songs may be reduced to six basic types: a) Religious, b) agricultural c) narrative, d) lamentation of deserted love e) womanhood and chastity f) new experiments.

Wisdom songs: Every song reflects wisdom of the people but there are some specific songs that explain how people retain their knowledge system consciously and there are some dietic and social restrictions to be followed every month. Such proscriptions are being retained through songs. One such example is given below in a Barahmasa:

Do not consume leafy vegetables in the month of Savan and curd in Bhadab.

Keep away from the dewdrops in Aswin and avoid eating buttermilk in Kartik

Avoid the use of cumin-seed in Agahan and Coriander in Pusa.

Avoid sugar candy in Magh and gram in Phalgun.

Do not consume raw-sugar in Chait and rub mustard oil in Baishakh.

Keep away from the direct sun-heat in Jetha and avoid eating wood-apple in Asadha.

Those who follow these proscriptions strictly never need to consult a doctor and get the medicine, says the great doctor Dhanwantari.

Devotional songs: Devotional songs are then further categorized as follows:

a)      Bhajan and Kirtan ‘"-- sung generally in praise of Lord Vishnu, Ganga, Shiva and Shakti.

b)      Prati (Morning songs) -Reverential songs sung in the morning in praise of gods and goddesses. The major varieties of the Prati include Bhairavi, Jajamanti, Vihaga etc.

c)     Gosaunik-git and Bhagabati-git -sung generally in praise of the family deities.

d)      Songs of Shiva -These are further classified as i) Nachari, in which a devotee by singing and dancing explains her helplessness to the Lord and ii) Mahesbani, in which the story of Shiva and his family members are narrated.

e)      The mendicant’s songs: These are the songs of the beggars or helpless. The texts express the disabled condition and distress of the singer.

Songs of love and beauty: Some songs express the inner most feelings of a lover or beloved. The most important type of such songs is called Iirahut. These are sung on ritual occasions as well as in leisure time. All aspects of love affairs are unfolded through these melodious sweet and touching songs. Iirahuts are songs on separation as well as union. The songs of this category include: Batgamani: It portrays the beloved in abhisara mainly during the point of time when she goes to meet her lover. It is sung in a peculiar melody; Gwalari: Thes are the songs of Gopis, the cowherd women that depict the sports and youthful pranks of Krishna in their company; Raasa: These are again songs that deal with Krishna’s sportive Lilas with Gopis,. Maana: These songs represent a sort of dramatic lyric and also depict the annoyance of Strimaana and request to mend matters with the Purushmaana. Besides this, Caravan songs, and folk - dramatic songs etc., also fall under this category.

Songs of glory: These songs describe the glory, history, beauty of the land and the people etc. Glorious deeds of historical and mythical characters are sung and performed on the stage or in the street through drama and storytelling. These lyrics, known as Katha-gathas, give a detailed account of the incidents.

These classifications and descriptions unfold the immense significance of Maithili folksongs in the understanding of the structure and function of society. These folksongs are representative of the universal creativity of humanity. The society retains total system of knowledge through these songs. Mithila is a great cultural land where this significant tradition of the folksong has been flowing like the sacred water flows in the supreme Ganga.

The Author is a Research Fellow in the JS Division

Maithili folk songs

The Classification G

The most important and common type of lyrical folk songs in Maithili is Tirhuti.It represents the most popular and successful indigenous lyrical expression of Tirhut and is the richest of all classes of Maithili songs.All aspects of love affairs are unfolded therein.They sing of separation as well as of union.The Tirhuti has following classifications:-

(I)Batagamani--It portrays the nayika(heroine) in abhisar, when she goes to meet her lover.It is sung out in a melody.Most of the songs are attributed to have been written by Vidyapati.

(II)Goalari--It depicts the sports and youthful pranks of Krishna in the companies of Gopis of which poet Nandipati is most successful.

(III)Raas--It deals with Krishna'ssportive lilas with Gopis.The most important writer of Ras is Sahebram Das.The influence of Brajabhasa is conspicuously perceptiblein such songs.

(IV)Maana--It represents a sort of dramatic lyric depicting the annoyance of the beloved and the request of the lovers to mend matters .Umapati is the best writer of Maana.

Other important songs are
 Samadauni,Lagani,Chaitabara,Malara,Yoga,Uchiti,Sohara,Choumasa and devotional songs like Nachari,Maheshvani,Gosaunik geet and Visnupada.

(I)Samadauni:-On the occasion of the Navaratri,it is sung to bid adieu to goddess Durga.It is sung to bid farewell to ones own daughter when she goes to her husband's house after marriage.All important functions end with the singing of this song,popularly known as Bidai song.Gananath Jha and Vindhyanath Jha have made important contributions in this field.

(II)Lagani:--It is sung by village women folk in the early hours of morning while grinding grains.The classical type of Lagani embodies 4-5 stanzas.Gananath Jha has used it as a medium of fine poetry.

.(III)Chaitabar--It represents a class of foik poetry and conveys emotions of love in the month of Chaitra.(March-April) It is also known as Chaiti.

(IV)Malara--It is a seasonal song,sung generally in the dry and rainy seasons,having a distinct raga.

(V)Yoga--It is sung to bind the bridegroom and thebride,even lover beloved,by divine incantations.

(VI)Uchiti--It is sung to convey the courtsey of the host to the distinguished visitor.The Yoga and Uchiti are the two peculiar classes of Maithili songs.These two songs have both literary and folk types.The Yoga songs can be traced back to the days of Vidyapati.

Sohara,Barahmasa and Choumasa are the familiar types of all vernacular poetry and are found in almost all the languages of Bihar.

Sohar represents the birth songs.

Barahmasa represents the state of separation during the course of twelve months;

Choumasa during the course of four months.These have both literary and folk forms.

In Mithila,the ordinary people have to eke out their livlihood with great difficulty and as such long separation from the near and dear ones is a common feature.These songs are the products of such separation and various poets ,now unknown ,composed or contributed to the development of these songs.

Nachari indicates songs representing direct prayer to Siva.

Mahesvani is a song about Siva. Nachari and Mahesvani are often confused and kept in common parlance but the difference between the two is real and marked.Nachari refers to the estatic dance of Siva whereas Mahesvani is sung in praise of Siva and is addressed to Manain (Menaka, the mother of Gouri).It represents the life of Siva and more specially his marriage.Vidyapati,Lalkavi,Kanharam Das,Chanda Jha and others have composed some of the best Nacharis and Mahesvanis.

The Gosaunik geet is sung in praise of Shakti and the people have been composing such songs since the days of Vidyapatis.

(Coutesy--Mithila in The Age of Vidyapati by R.K.Choudhary Pp.418-419)

Festival of Songs

This is the season of festivals in Mithila. After Durga puja this is the festivals of lights - Diwali then Bhratri dwitia, Chitragupta Puja (dawat puja), Godhan (Sukrati), Nav anna, Deo Uthaan and the great legend of Sama Chakeva and Chugla is 'played' by the women and then Chhath, when the sun god is worshipped and is asked to remove all the miseries in life. They remain standing in rivers and ponds, half submerged in water, from the wee hours and wait for Sun to rise, they offer him sweets, sugar cane, beet roots, sweet roots, citrus fruits, banana, milk etc. During this time seasonal folk songs are sung by the women folk of the sweet memory of their father's house i.e. their Naihar, their benevolent and kind brothers who posses all good qualities in the world. This is the time when Sun is worshipped. They observe fast and ask from Sun to fulfill their desire to have son, good health, for their husband, brother and every one in the family & self. Then there is festival of Godhan -the welfare of cattle and those who rear cattle.

Some samples of Folk songs :


Chhath: J

(1)
Angana mein pokhri khunayal, chathi maiyya aeithin aye
dooara par tamua tanayal, chathi maiyya aeithin aye
anchra sa galia baharab, chathi maiyya aeithin aye
kerva aanab daala bheri tei par piayari oodhayab, chathi maiyya aeithin aye
hathia par kalsa baisayab, tei par diya dharayab, chathi maiyya aeithin aye


(2)
Kanchahi baans ker gahabar hey, aahey sobaran lagal kebaar
tahi ma sa nikuli surujmani hey, aahey kon dai ukham dolaoo
aragha ker ber bhel hey.
biheney key pahar ma domin bitiya hey
bitiya dhaniya dauriya ley aau
aragha ker ber bhel hey.
beti piayar supvaa ley aau
purab ranthi thar bhel hey.
bihaney ke pahar me baniayan bitiya hey,
baniayain navka kasailiya lai aau
aragha ker ber bhel hey.
bihaney key pahar mey tohi maalin bitiya ,
maalin satranga haar ley aau:
aragha ker ber bhel hey.
bihaney key pahar mey tohi babhan bhaiyya hey
baabhaan piayari janeuua ley aau
aragha ker ber bhel hey.
Sama Chakeva: r


SAMA SONGS sama songs are very popular among the Young girls of Mithila.It is an interesting festival and it begins on the seventh day of the bright half of Kartik(November) and ends on Kartik Purnima.These songs describe the pathetic story of Sama.Its origin has been traced to the Padma and the Skanda Puranas.One mischievous Shudra made a false charge of Sama's illicit connection with an ascetic to her father Krishna.Krishna grew furious and cursed her to become a Sama bird.With the help of her brotherSamba she was emancipated on the day of Kartik Purnima.Saptarshi and Vrindaban attested her virtue.Sama's husband was Charuvaktra or Chakeva. The festival is celebrated throughout Mithila with great gusto.Clay toys are made on the occasion and characters are represented by them.The last day is the saddest day when Sama is believed to have left the life of a bird and sent honourably to her husband's home.These songs ridicule the slanderer and praise the brother. This is a very interesting game,where plenty of songs and actions are exhibited. Here are a few songs showing sentiments,emotions and plenty of memories of the chidhood spent at father's house.

(Courtesy-A Survey of Maithili Literature--R.K.Choudhary.)


(1)
Koney bhaiyya aanthin aaler jhaler, koney bhaiyya aanthin pator
koney bhaiyya aanthin sankha churi, koney bhaiyya aanthin sindoor
koney bahino pinhthin aaler jhaler koney bahino pinhthin pator
koney bahina pinhthin sankha churi koney biahino pinhthin sindoor
badka bhaiya aanhthin aaler jhaaler majhla bhaiyya aanhthin pator
sainjhla bhaiyya aanhthin sankha churi chhotka bhaiyya aanhthin sindoor
badki bahino pinhthin aaler jhaler manjhli bahino pinhthin pator
sainjhli bahino pinhthin sankha churi chhotki bahino pinhthin sindoor


(2)
Gaam key adhikaari tohen majhlaa bhaiyya ho
bhaiyya haath das pokhri khunai deho
champa phul lagai deho hey
phulwa lorhei ta bahini ghami geli hey
aahey gham gelani sir key sindoor naina ker kajar ghamali hey
chhatwa lana doudal ailkhin badka bhiyya hey
baiso bahino eiho judi chhahari ki hamaro key ashish diyo
kathi bajhayab ban tittir hey
aahey kathi bajhayab raja hans chakeva
jaaley bajhayeb bahino tittir hey
aahey raub sa bajhayeb raja hans chakeva
khel karu hey bahino khel karu hey
bhaiyya jhatayal phool bahino haar guthu hey
aahey seho haar pinhthin bhaujo
bahino khel karu hey


(3)
Chanan birhich tar thath bheli bahino sey falna bahino
taakathi bahino bhai ke batiya
ehi baat aauta bhayya sey falna bhaiyyahey
dekhi lebinh bhari aankhiya
bahinya pasaari janu kanhak hey falna bahino
fatat bahino bhai key chatiya

(4)
Chaur, chaur, chaur
hamra bhaiyya kothi chaur.
chhaur chhaur chhaur
chugla ghar mein chhaur
chugla karey chugli
bilayyia karey meow
chugla key jeebh ham
nonch noonch khaun


(5)
Brindaban ma aagi laagey
koi na mijhaavey hey
hamar bhaiyya falna bhaiyaa
daud daud mijhave hey



(6)
Sama hey chakeva hey
nahiraa nai bisraiha hey
sasura ma puja pai ha hey
koral khet mei rahi ha hey
jotal khet mei rahi ha hey
rangei rang patiya oochhabhi ha hey
dhepa forhi forhi khai ha hey
os pibi pibi rahi ha hey
hamar bhai ka aasis diha hey
aagila saal pher aaiha hey