Women’s Inner Voice in Folklore/ লোকসাহিত্যে নারীর অন্তঃকথা

Abstract

Folklore is a collage of the lived realities of ordinary people, providing valuable insights into the social position of women. In the earliest stages of human civilisation, women held a significant status in society. They actively participated alongside men in the struggle for survival and were industrious contributors. However, with the progression of civilisation, women’s autonomy and societal roles began to diminish, while male dominance steadily increased. Over time, the belief took root that women were incapable of participating in physically demanding activities. Consequently, men consolidated their authority, relegating women to subordinate roles confined within the domestic sphere. This confinement created an intense yearning within women to express their unspoken anguish. Much of Bengali folklore, predominantly oral in nature, was composed by women. Their oral literature naturally reflects their lived experiences, encompassing their struggles, sorrows, unfulfilled desires, and aspirations. Through their inherent creativity, women have crafted fairy tales, composed ritualistic bratakatha, soothing lullabies, and folk songs tied to various customs. Regardless of the themes, these works invariably carry the imprint of women’s personal experiences and inner reflections. Women’s repressed hopes and dreams found fulfilment through the female characters in their tales, where the heroines, despite enduring hardship and oppression—often at the hands of co-wives in a patriarchal society—reclaimed their dignity and fortune by the story’s end. Such narrative twists reveal the latent desires of women’s hearts. Similarly, the ritualistic rhymes of women’s vows (bratakatha) serve as reflections of their direct lived experiences. These verses express the hopes, aspirations, and contemplations of both unmarried and married women, capturing their achievements and disappointments. Across various branches of folklore, rural Bengali women have vividly and spontaneously articulated their life’s struggles, emotional turmoil, and suppressed sighs with masterful skill. Over time, as patriarchal oppression intensified, women—confined within the domestic sphere—grew vengeful, became aware of their individuality, and began to recognise the language of their subjugation. This awareness compelled them to portray their deprivations and grievances in the mirror of folklore, giving voice to their marginalised existence.