異教の神を語り,社会課題を歌う : インド・ベンガル地方の絵語りポトゥアにみる経年変化と社会的レジリエンス

Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB), vol. 49, pp. 311–388

Abstract

The Patua of Naya village, located in the West Medinipur district of WestBengal, India, is a small community of storytellers who sing using scrollpaintings. Traditionally Muslim, until approximately 30 years ago, they travelledto neighbouring Hindu villages with pata （scrolls） depicting Hindumythology and contemporary social issues. This paper examines changes in the Patua tradition by comparing earlierfieldwork conducted by cultural anthropologist Kim Ki Sook in Nayabetween 1988 and 1991 with the author’s own research from 2022 and 2023.The analysis focuses on three aspects: 1） the aspect of ‘bearer’, focusing onthe individuals who serve as both painters and storytellers, singing with melodies;2） the aspect of ‘content’, exploring the pata and songs that convey bothtraditional and socially enlightening themes; 3） the aspect of ‘practice’, whichconsiders the settings of picture storytelling and the relationship between thestorytellers and their audiences. Through a longitudinal perspective, this study reveals how the Patua communityin Naya, as painters and storytellers, has managed to sustain its traditions.Additionally, it explores how this community has persisted despite facingadverse conditions such as rapid social change and shifting demands since the1990s between Islamic and Hindu societies. Furthermore, by employing ‘socialresilience’ as an analytical concept, this study concludes that the Patua’s abilityto flexibly adapt to change and skillfully balance individualism and collectivismis linked to the attainment of well-being in both economic and personal/collectiveidentity dimensions, as well as to the revival of their tradition.

Authors 1

1. Emi Okada corresponding Aachen National Museum of Ethnology

   National Museum of Ethnology · National Museum of Ethnology

   Affiliation as printed

   National Museum of Ethnology