TODAY -
Lai Haraoba - Discursive Practices & Cultural Contestations - Part 1 (Introduction) |
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By: Rekha Konsam * |
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Collective rituals characteristically observed in the public domain call forth the participation of the community as a whole. Beyond their specifically ritualistic intent, they quite often come to assume centrality in social life beyond the religious.
Globalization has thrown open many new alternatives including the need for constant stress on identity, re-instating identity, re-identification, re-formation of identity and formation of new identities. The use of the sphere of the public, that is to say the public culture, takes on new meanings. Herein, the case of those specific rituals which occupy or have come to occupy a privileged position for that particular society assume significance that cannot simply be explained with reference to their ritualistic content or their places within ceremonial wholes. It is within this frame that the present essay is located. This essay attempts to examine Lai Haraoba within the context of the articulation of Meitei ethnic identity. It addresses two concerns. Firstly, Lai Haraoba as it figures in popular as well as academic discourses. This is contextualized within the Meitei ‘lifeworld’ [ 1 ] taking into account native categories of thought according to which the Lai Haraoba tradition embodies the very essence of that which is truly Meitei. As such, it comes to occupy a position that can only be described as paradigmatic in the re-instating of a distinct ethnic identity. Secondly, the jealously guarded physical space of the festival. It attempts to direct attention towards a public culture within the sanctified ‘non-ritual’ space of the Lai Haraoba.[ 2 ] The Lai Haraoba has been posited as the prime ritual, the ultimate source from which originates not only dance and music but also marks the birth of man, of lais,[ 3 ] of the cosmos and of the whole creation. The festival exemplifies the very essence of the community. An aspect that is constantly brought to the fore is its resilience to change under the impact of the eighteenth century religious conversion orchestrated by King Garibniwaz (1709–1751). The process of mass sanskritization is something which remains associated with forcible conversion in popular memory.[ 4 ] The emphasis on the resilience of the Lai Haraoba in the face of this impact could be seen as a statement in itself, a reflection of a growing consciousness and a struggle of a people to assert autonomy by re-establishing/re-affirming their ethnic rooted-ness. As such it is also a struggle against cultural (and political) homogenization that is per-ceived as threatening to local interests. [ 5 ] Related Articles/Pictures:
to be continued ... * Rekha Konsam wrote this article for Eastern Quarterly . This article was webcasted with written permission from Eastern Quaterly on August 07th, 2007. |
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