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Product Identifiers

PublisherOxford University Press, Incorporated

ISBN-100199396841

ISBN-139780199396849

eBay Product ID (ePID)202488230

Product Key Features

Number of Pages236 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication NameContradictory Lives : Baul Women in India and Bangladesh

Publication Year2014

SubjectGeneral, Women's Studies

TypeTextbook

Subject AreaReligion, Social Science, Psychology

AuthorLisa I. Knight

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.6 in

Item Weight12.8 Oz

Item Length9.1 in

Item Width6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

Dewey Edition22

Reviews"The dominant tropes imagined for the Baul tradition of eastern India and Bangladesh are constructed around male models: the wandering mistrel carrying his ektara instrument who engages in esoteric ritual practices. Lisa Knight's sensitive ethnography, however, fills in the significant lacunae of the lives and practices of Baul women. She artfully analyzes the ways in which these women bridge the contradictory expectations of Baul traditions as 'wanderers' andthose of the non-Baul communities as respectable, settled Bengali householders. This study will significantly impact the ways in which readers understand Baul traditions, asceticism, boundaries ofreligious identities, and women's agency and performance in South Asia."- Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger, author of In Amma's Healing Room: Gender & Vernacular Islam in South India."Although Baul discourse emphasizes the spiritual importance of women and even celebrates women's spiritual and bodily superiority, in practice Baul women are frequently marginalized. In fact, it is often implied or explicitly stated--by Bauls, scholars, and Bengalis in general--that there are no real Baul women. This book, however, argues that Baul women exist, are important, and are worth listening to. Lisa Knight has given us an exciting, engrossing andoriginal book based on in-depth ethnographic fieldwork and meticulous scholarship."-- Sarah Lamb, Professor of Anthropology, Brandeis University, "The dominant tropes imagined for the Baul tradition of eastern India and Bangladesh are constructed around male models: the wandering mistrel carrying his ektara instrument who engages in esoteric ritual practices. Lisa Knight's sensitive ethnography, however, fills in the significant lacunae of the lives and practices of Baul women. She artfully analyzes the ways in which these women bridge the contradictory expectations of Baul traditions as 'wanderers' and those of the non-Baul communities as respectable, settled Bengali householders. This study will significantly impact the ways in which readers understand Baul traditions, asceticism, boundaries of religious identities, and women's agency and performance in South Asia."- Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger, author of In Amma's Healing Room: Gender & Vernacular Islam in South India. "Although Baul discourse emphasizes the spiritual importance of women and even celebrates women's spiritual and bodily superiority, in practice Baul women are frequently marginalized. In fact, it is often implied or explicitly stated--by Bauls, scholars, and Bengalis in general--that there are no real Baul women. This book, however, argues that Baul women exist, are important, and are worth listening to. Lisa Knight has given us an exciting, engrossing and original book based on in-depth ethnographic fieldwork and meticulous scholarship."-- Sarah Lamb, Professor of Anthropology, Brandeis University

IllustratedYes

Dewey Decimal204/.22082095414

Table Of ContentNote on Diacritics, Transliteration, and NamesList of Maps and FiguresPart 1: Multiple Sites1. Finding Baul Women2. "Real Bauls Live under Trees:" Imaginings and the Marginalization of Baul Women3. "I've Done Nothing Wrong:" Feminine Respectibility and Baul ExpectationsPart 2: Negotiations4. Negotiating between Paradigms of the Good Baul and the Good Woman5. "Do Not Neglect This Golden Body of Yours:" Personal and Social Transformation through Baul Songs6. Renouncing ExpectationsConcluding ThoughtsGlossaryNotesBibliographyIndex

SynopsisIn literature and popular imagination, the Bauls of India and Bangladesh are characterized as musical mystics: orange-clad nomads of both Hindu and Muslim backgrounds who wander the countryside and entertain with their passionate singing and unusual behavior. Although Bauls claim to value women over men, little is known about the individual views and experiences of Baul women. Based on ethnographic research, this book explores the everyday lives of Baul women. Knight demonstrates that Baul women respond to the conflicting expectations imposed on them in various ways, sometimes adopting and other times subverting local gendered norms to craft meaningful lives. More so than their male counterparts, Baul women feel encumbered by norms. But rather than seeing Baul women's normative behavior as indicative of their conformity to gendered roles (and, therefore, failures as Bauls), Knight argues that these women creatively draw on societal expectations to transcend their social limits and create new paths., Knight explores the everyday lives of women of the Baul tradition of musical mystics in India and Bangladesh. She demonstrates that Baul women construct a meaningful life as they navigate between conflicting expectations of Bauls to be carefree and of women to be modest., In literature and popular imagination, the Bauls of India and Bangladesh are characterized as musical mystics: orange-clad nomads of both Hindu and Muslim backgrounds. They wander the countryside and entertain with their passionate singing and unusual behavior, and they are especially well-known for their evocative songs, which challenge the caste system and sectarianism prevalent in South Asia. Although Bauls claim to value women over men, little is known about the individual views and experiences of Baul women. Based on ethnographic research in both the predominantly Hindu context of West Bengal (India) and the Muslim country of Bangladesh, this book explores the everyday lives of Baul women. Lisa Knight examines the contradictory expectations regarding Baul women: on the one hand, the ideal of a group unencumbered by societal restraints and concerns and, on the other, the real constraints of feminine respectability that seemingly curtail women's mobility and public performances. Knight demonstrates that Baul women respond to these conflicting expectations in various ways, sometimes adopting and other times subverting local gendered norms to craft meaningful lives. More so than their male counterparts, Baul women feel encumbered by norms. But rather than seeing Baul women's normative behavior as indicative of their conformity to gendered roles (and, therefore, failures as Bauls), Knight argues that these women creatively draw on societal expectations to transcend their social limits and create new paths.

LC Classification NumberBL1284.832.W4