Punjab - Literature - Oral Literature

Oral literature compared with written literature has many distinct features of its own. Whereas written literature is the outcome of the cultivated faculties of the artists, oral literature is a spontaneous outburst of the innermost feelings which emerge from the depths of the unconscious mind of the community. It has its roots deep in tradition and is preserved in memory. It is ever fresh and ever on the move like a river.

All literature, oral or written, springs from life, but oral literature is a better projection of the innermost recesses of the social and cultural life of a society, its traditions, customs, habits, behaviour, rites, etc.

Off and on the village-folk get together to hear a minstrel, a bard, or other folk singers who may have assembled to entertain them. Ras-dhariye perform etrical plays the theme of which centres round immortal lovers, heroes and saints. Very popular with the people are the baints of Waris Shah's Heer, sad of Pilu's, Mirza Sahiban, and dohre of Hashim's Sassi Punnu. These compositions are the workmanship of famous writers in Punjabi and form part of the written literature, but the love tales for untold generations have also been a part of folklore.

Folklore is so much a part and parcel of village life that the old and the young virtually live on it. On moonlit summer nights when people sleep in the open, or during the cold nights of winter when they are wrapped up in their quilts, all enjoy listening to these folk-tales. The daily conversation of the Punjabis is so replete with proverbs and sayings that almost every fifth sentence is a saying.

The different forms of oral literature popular in the Punjab are as follows :

Folk Songs

If poetry is the expression of deeply-felt emotions, nothing can be purer than folk poetry The social, religious and cultural life of a community lies embedded in its folk-songs. Punjabi folksongs are varied and colourful. Laughter, happiness, pain, sorrow, all form ingredients of these songs. They are simple, charming, and full of the sincerity of emotion, and the purity of feeling. The entire Punjabi culture, so to speak, is reflected in them.

Devotional Songs

The Punjab is inhabited by people of different sects, religions and cults which have their own modes of prayer and worship. But since folk poetry belongs to a whole social group, only those songs become popular which are acceptable to the entire community. Religion reflected in the folksongs is religion not of a sect but of the whole community. 

Some remnants of nature worship can still be found in Punjabi culture. This worship has found expression in songs. When a Punjabi woman, especially an orthodox one, sees the new moon, she folds her hands and bows to it respectfully and recites folk songs.

Some people in the Punjab still worship trees. The peepal tree is supposed to be the manifestation of Brahma and all gods are believed to be residing in it. The peepal is thus extolled in a folk-song. 

Punjabis are very religious. Theirs is the land of the Vedas enriched by the experiences of saints aid sages. Folk-songs abound in eulogies of famous gurus, bhagats and jogis, like Guru Nanak Dev, Guru Gobind Singh, Farid, Namdev, Gopi Chand, Bharthrihari and Puran.

There are devotional folk-songs about Indra, Brahma, Saraswati, Vaishno Devi, Ramehandra and Seeta and many that narrate small, interesting episodes from the life of Krishna. But characteristically these songs are not sectarian. They are sung and enjoyed by all Punjabis, depending upon the suitability of the occasion. There are some folksongs in which Hindu gods and goddesses and Muslim pirs are invoked simultaneously.

Songs for ceremonial occasions have a great cultural significance. They are more an expression of the deeply felt emotions of the community as a whole and not of an individual. These songs are generally sung in groups. They are of great variety, and there are different songs for different occasions; for example, haria, suhag, vatna, ghorlain, sithanian and alhanian. The life of a Punjabi is studded with songs. When a baby is born, all women of the family and the neighbourhood get together and sing haria. Some even sing ghorian on the birth of a son because according to Punjabis son is like bridegrooms from birth itself. The child grows in the midst of lullabies. The theme of the lullabies is invariably a mother's dreams about her son.

The wedding songs are the most interesting and popular ones. When girls come from the husbands' house to the parents' to attend the marriage of their brothers, they sing sohile, the subject matter of which is superlative praise for the brother and the parental home. A few days before marriage, women get together daily at night and sing to the accompaniment of the dholaki. The songs sung at the bridegroom's house are called ghorian and those at the bride's house suhag. What the mother, sisters and sisters-in-law look forward to at the marriage of a boy of the family is all expressed vividly in ghorian. 

Suhag is the echo of a young Punjabi girl's feelings. It draws attention to the young girl's hopes, dreams and joys of life. In Punjabi villages a young girl has no say in the choice of her husband. It is the parents who make the selection. The girl's feelings in the matter are sung of in many of the suhags. One folk-song, Devin ve babla us ghare (Send me only to such a house, 0 father), is an expression of a Punjabi girl's desire to go into a family where the mother-in-law is good and virtuous, the father-in-law holds an esteemed position, where the mother-in- law has many sons and is always busy celebrating marriages, where there are many buffaloes and such abundance or milk that the girl will always be busy churning curd and making butter.

When the marriage partv arrives at the bride's house, sithanian are sung, which are doggerels full of wit and sarcasm. Sometimes women find them a handy medium to point out the weak points of the, bridegroom's party or of any particular member of it. These songs are packed with pungent wit but are accepted in good humour.

Similarly, expressive songs are sung on many other occasions connected with marriage. When the bridegroom is led into the bride's house before the wedding is solemnized, he has to recite chhand. This is a test of the boy's ability to speak intelligently, and also of his ready wit.

Songs are sung at the departure of the Doli. This is the time of separation. The girl has a heavy heart since she has to bid farewell to her parents and parental home; at the same time there is a subdued thrill at the prospect of her going to her husband's house. The Doli songs are very touching. 

When the girl goes to the house of her in-laws, the mother-in- law performs certain ceremonies. Songs are sung on this occasion too. 

Vain and alhania are songs for mourning. They are poignant songs which help to release the pent-up emotions of the bereaved persons by stressing the pain of the departed soul.

Women and Folk Songs

A woman's sentiments are deftly woven into the fine fabric of the folk-songs of the Punjab. The main supposition at the back of these songs is that a woman has two lives and two minds, one for her parents and the other for her in-laws. She draws strength from both families. In her new home after marriage, she leans on the husband, whereas in the parental home her attention is concentrated more on the brother than anyone else. In all her childhood games, she idealises her brother, and after marriage, on all occasions of family celebrations, her brother brings her home from her husband's house. A Punjabi girl almost worships her brother. She is proud of him and custom has taught her to look forward to his visits, because on all festive occasions it 1$ the brother who brings gifts to her house.

And though she would like to show an extravagant hospitality towards her visiting brother, the inhibitions of the joint family stand in her way. She is afraid of the taunts of her mother-in-law. 

Next to the brother it is the mother who is remembered most by the Punjabi girl for she is the sharer of her daughter's sorrows. A mother having borne much the same sort of suffering in her own life can understand her daughter's predicament best. The daughter comes to her and talks freely about the injustice and cruelty which she receives at the hands of her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law.

In her husband's home she is afraid of the mother-in-law's conventional tyranny. If the mother-in-law is good, life becomes a heaven, but what happens more often is that the cruel mother-in-law makes life a hell for her. She taunts her over small things, passes scathing remarks on her parents, brothers and sisters, and irritates her so much that her heart is filled with hatred for her. This dislike for the mother-in-law is expressed in many folk-songs of the Punjab.

Songs of Trinjan

Women seldom sit idle in the Punjab. When they are free from household chores, they bring out their spinning wheels and sit out in the open under a tree. Women of all ages and from all houses of the locality sit together and spin, and as they spin they sing. This is a common sight in the villages. Sometimes on a winter night they all assemble at someone's house and keep spinning and singing throughout the night. These spinning sessions are called trinjan -the day session is known as Chiri Chirunga (sparrows big and small) and the night session is called Rat Katni (spinning at night). Sometimes there are spinning competitions among young girls with a chain of songs in the background. Spinning is seldom independent of the song. Spinning goes on accompanied by spontaneous, unrestrained music.

 

Trinjan songs cover all aspects of life particularly the long cherished dreams of a woman, her aspirations, fears, love longings and tuggings at the heart. These songs combined with the drone of the spinning wheel create an enchanting atmosphere. 

Songs of Teeyan

The festival of Teeyan is an occasion for all married girls to visit their parents for a few days, and thus enjoy again the carefree days of their childhood. They run to the swings on the peepal trees.



It is fascinating to see the earth all round becoming green again, the welcome drops of rain falling, and the youthful girls in colourful dresses. The girls sing songs and dance Giddlia. Songs of Teeyati mostly speak of love, and are highly charged with emotion.

Folk Tales

Story telling is a very popular pastime with the Punjabis. During months of extreme winter, groups of men, women and children sit near the fire-place, or lie akimbo in their beds under cosy quilts, or in summer, sit out in the open under the sky and tell or bear stories and thus beguile time. Stories are not told during daytime because of the belief that if that is done, poor travellers tend to lose their way. The tales told are a well-preserved valuable treasure handed down for ages from generation to generation. Old people relate them with special relish. Every village has its own expert story tellers. Their narration is so dramatic that even kids stay awake till a story comes to its end. Sometimes a story goes on for a whole night, and sometimes the narrative is so linked that it is kept up night after night for a long time. The world-famous Panchatantra is actually in anthology of tales which were popular in the Punjab in earlier times when the Aryans were settled there. 

The oldest and most famous book of fairy tales, Vad Kaha, composed by Rishi Gunadhya was written in the Panjab in the then prevalent dialect, Paishachi. This collection is not available now but Katha Sarit Sagar based on it and written in Sanskrit by Somadeva is available. 

The famous Arabic collection of fables, Kalilawa Dimnah, is based on the Panchatantra. Similarly, most of the tales of Alif Laila are said to have originated from Katha Sarit Sagar or Vad Kaha. The Punjab has thus been an ocean whence innumerable gems of folk-tales have spread all over the world.

Legends form the most interesting and inspiring part of the folk-tales of the Punjab. They are mostly about lovers, warriors, saints, devotees and pirs. Tales like Heer Ranjha, Sassi Punnu, Sohni Mahiwal, Mirza Sahiban, Roda Jalaii, etc., are still listened to with great relish.

Some legends are heroic in content, and they sing praises of the warriors who sacrificed their lives for the country. Raja Rasula the most famous character of this heroic cycle. He was the son of King Salvahan of Sialkot and is supposed to have lived towards the end of the first century A.D. In Pothohar and Sialkot, there are many places associated with Raja Rasalu. The marks of the hooves of Raja Rasalu's horse and the lunge of the sword which he is supposed to have aimed at a witch are still preserved at 'Cheer Par'.

There are many legends about pirs, fakirs and jogis, with supernatural elements playing an important role in them. Prominent among the tales of jogis are those of Bhartrihari, Gopinath and Gorakhnath. Among the followers of Gugga Pir and Sakhi Sarwar also some very interesting legends are prevalent.

Punjabi fairy tales are extremely fantastic. The heroes and heroines of these tales pass through various difficulties but by virtue, of their intelligence and physical prowess they defeat the antagonistic forces and succeed in achieving their object. The stories always end in the victory of the hero. Among the important fairy tales of the Punjab are Phulan Shahzadi, Mirchan Shahzadi and Baingan Shahzadi. 

Anecdotes called batan in Punjabi, are an essential part of folklore and are very popular. They are entertaining as well as instructive, they throw light on social injustice and inequality, make sarcastic comment on the weaknesses of human nature, and are used as proverbs on appropriate occasions.