Triveni Journal

1927 | 11,233,916 words

Triveni is a journal dedicated to ancient Indian culture, history, philosophy, art, spirituality, music and all sorts of literature. Triveni was founded at Madras in 1927 and since that time various authors have donated their creativity in the form of articles, covering many aspects of public life....

Some Aspects of Andhra Folklore and Folk Values

C. R. Prasada Rao & K. Radhakrishna Murty

SOME ASPECTS OF ANDHRA FOLKLORE
AND FOLK VALUES

C. R. PRASAD RAO &
K. RADHAKRISHNA MURTY
Department of Sociology & Social Work, Andhra University

Folk Values in Folksongs and Sayings

The folklore of any culture reflects a mirror-image of the governing ideals, values, beliefs and prejudices of the people consciously verbalized through folksongs and folksayings. Sociologists have always looked upon folklore as an important research tool in the study of traditional and transitional societies. And it is a common sociological observation that every important social institution acquires in course of time a body of folklore around it which provides support and justification for the institution. One such important institution is the joint family. Joint family living is a prevalent form among Andhras since remote antiquity. The stability of joint family as a complex form of family life depended to a great extent on the female members of the household who were drawn as spouses from several other families. Hence in selecting the prospective brides for the members of a joint family, the family head has to exercise great control and caution keeping in view the joint interests of the household which is regarded as a ‘trust.’ He has to select a bride who could best serve the interests of the joint family and whose examples and performance could be a source of pride to her parents as much as to her in-laws. These criteria of mate selection led to the tradition of parent-arranged marriages and certain other values of deference for elders, etc. In general, the necessary training in the requirements of joint living is imparted to the bride in her own parent’s house which in itself is a joint-household usually. Yet there is a practice of formally briefing the bride on the behaviour expected of her at the time of her departure for the groom’s place after marriage. This parting occasion is marked by solemnity and pathos which heighten the significance of the briefing given to her. The contents of this briefing are excellently portrayed in several folksongs. The following is one such:

“Selavitchi mayamma selavitchinamu
Chelagi mi athinta budhi galigundu
Evvaremaadina eduraadakamma
Vedhilo nuluchundi kurulippakamma
Palumaaru paluderachi navvabokamma
Paramaatmatho gudi velugu maayamma
Varnikadani poolu muduvabokamma
Peddala gurterigi naduvu maayamma
Aakali vuntenu adugabokamma
Athagaaritho poru cheyabokamma.”

(Fare ye well o’ young lass!
Fare ye well in thy groom’s place.
Conduct thyself with decorum and discretion
Eshew retort even if hurt,
Plait no tresses standing in street.
Laugh at none nor poke fun often
Cling to thy lord with glinting love,
Wear no blooms but for your groom,
Show reverence to elders in residence
Pick no feuds with the mistress of the house.)

This song clearly depicts the social imperatives regarding the behaviour of the newly-wed spouse in her groom’s family. The regulations and requirements of behaviour are spelled out specifically for each situation. The spouse is asked to shine in her loyalty and service to the husband, not to toilet or spruce up herself except for the sake of the husband, not to argue and retort, not to laugh or poke fun at others, and to observe reverence and reserve in her dealings with elders, and so on.

Somewhat different is another song which makes a humble supplication to the parents-in-law in such moving tones as

“E baala erugadu yemiyu naina...
me baalalo noka baalaga chudu...
mellaga nerputho paninerpavamma...
Akalerigi annamu pettinadaaka aduga neradu,
...Kodalu me sommu, koduku me sommu,
Aadavarni kanna alusinthenamma.”

(This lady knows nothing out of innocence.
Care for her as one of yours,
Train her to work with tenderly skill,
Give her food for she asks for none,
Both groom and bride are your pelf and pride,
To give birth to female,
is to lose one’s all.)

Here an appeal is made to treat the innocent bride with tender care, gentle indulgence, and understanding love. Thus while the former song imposes the values of sobriety and propriety on the bride, the latter song balances this theme by a prayerful invocation of values of love and understanding from the custodians of the girl.

Values of wifely devotion

In the folk-tradition, high value is placed on the wife’s devotion to the husband. The idea of “pativrata” is constantly dinned into the woman’s ears through various mythological stories, folksayings, etc. Accepted and internalised by the woman, this value paves the way for stable and harmonious family relations. Thus, examine, for example, the deep import of the following proverbs:

“Bharta lokamu tana lokamu,
Koduku lokamu para lokamu.”
“Aaliki adupu, intiki podupu avasaramu.”

In lucid yet forceful tone the proverbs drive home the essentials of a wife’s relation with the husband. The wife has to regard the husband as the centre and breath of her life, identifying herself closely with his interests and experiences. She has to stand by him through all vicissitudes of life, even forsaking the interests and welfare of her own offspring, if need be. She has to realise that the welfare of her grown up son is the province and privilege of another lady whom he weds. This imposition again has the effect of cementing the husband-wife relationship strongly together, preventing untoward possibilities of friction.

This, however, should not be interpreted as a value which relegated the wife to a subordinate or inferior position making way for exploitation by the husband. There are in the folk-tradition certain other counter-balancing themes or imperative norms which seek to check and regulate husband’s exploitative propensities. Thus the adage that:

“Kalakanthi kanta kanneerolikina, Siri inta nundabodu”

emphasizes the supreme importance of the wife in the house whom the husband has to treat with utmost love, tenderness and attention. Elsewhere in the literature a clear warning is sounded to the husband not to strike a woman, the crown of creation, even with a flower.

Values of kinship obligations

Certain values have emerged in the tradition which make kinship obligations imperative. Tradition lays down that a bride’s brother or father continues to have duties toward her even long after her marriage and departure. Thus the following song reveals what a brother or father owes the bride:

“Illu viruchuku pommu O’ muddugumma
ede dhaanyambunde ethukonipomma,
vandina vantakammu ethukonipomma,
kaalla mattela jodu ethukonipomma
kattukonubatta okate unchakumi.”

(Plunder the house O tender lass
Clear the stock and carry it off
The whole of puddings, snatch them off
The two anklets grab them away
Leave no cloth nor a trace of wealth anyway.)

This is a song actually sung by the brother’s wife at the time of bride’s parting for her in-law’s house after occasional revisiting. The song echoes the ire and envy of the brother’s wife. Such outburst of ire and envy are an index of what strong and emotionally charged kinship values existed. The importance of these kinship values is understandable in our society which in the past lacked any well-developed system of public welfare services. The individual was dependent upon kinsfolk for a vast array of his needs ranging from mate selection to assistance in times of calamities like death, disease, etc.

Occupational Values

The institution of Varna Dharmas was devised to regulate the economic life of the people by an occupational division of the community. There are a few proverbs which disclose the folk convictions about the matter of occupations. These are as quoted below:

“Baapana sedyam baadugula nashtam,
Kaapula chaduvulu kaasula chetu.”

The proverbs reveal people’s convictions about relative occupational skills of two different castes. In sharp tones the proverbs express the folk disapproval of abandonment of traditional occupations by the concerned castes. That occupational mobility was disvalued is evident from other sources also. Thus there is a stanza in “Guvvala chenna satakamu” extolling the virtues of caste occupations: “kulavidyaku saatiledu”. However, though tradition prescribes adherence to caste occupation, more value is placed on a person’s nature than on his caste or occupation.

Values of motherhood

The Dharmasastras as well as folklore attach great importance to motherhood. Many proverbs are available to indicate society’s derogatory attitudes towards sterility of women. The following proverbs show what emotional significance and spiritual merit are given by the folks to motherhood.

“Pillalulenidi illukaadu,
Pittalulenidi thota kaadu.”

“Biddalanu kannamma, bikshamettinamma chedadu.”
“Lebaramu kade biddaluleni bratuku?”

Sterility is stigmatic for a lady and such lady suffers from undefinable feelings of guilt and inadequacy.

Again the folk tradition places greater emphasis on male issues. This can be seen from the following proverbs:

“Tinte gaarelu tinaali, vinte Bhaaratamu vinaali
Kante kodukune kanaali.”
“Magapilla lunna illu, modugulunna vanamu chedavu “

Values of female education

Tradition did not give much importance to female education. Though the ladies underwent some amount of schooling, formal education of females was not considered a necessary equipment for their mission in life. Mostly, the ladies of the upper sections of society were well versed in the spiritual lore of the society which was held more desirable than formal schooling. It is no wonder then that certain strong prejudices emerged against woman’s education. The following proverb illustrates the typical attitude of the folks.

“Chaduvu nerchina aadavaarithonu,
Vandanerchina magavaarithonu opalemu”

Even today higher education of women is not considered necessary or desirable by many people, including educated girls. In fact some highly educated girls find difficulty in contracting marriage and remain unmarried till late in life.

Thus the foregoing discussion illustrates how folklore could be used as a historical source material for fruitful sociological perspectives of social life of the people concerned. Sociological studies of folklore of Andhras, rare as they are, will blaze a fresh trail in Social Research.

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