The Social Construction of Motherhood in Bengali Folklore
Four contexts are identified in Bengali folklore where the word mā (meaning ‘mother’) is used. The first involves a situation of basic and biologically prompted kinship. The second and the third describe situations within the extended family and the community, where the use of the same word contribu...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Sciendo
2015-06-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.jef.ee/index.php/journal/article/view/165 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832574057334177792 |
|---|---|
| author | Sraboni Chatterjee Pranab Chatterjee |
| author_facet | Sraboni Chatterjee Pranab Chatterjee |
| author_sort | Sraboni Chatterjee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Four contexts are identified in Bengali folklore where the word mā (meaning ‘mother’) is used. The first involves a situation of basic and biologically prompted kinship. The second and the third describe situations within the extended family and the community, where the use of the same word contributes to ambiguity reduction and creation of sexual boundaries. The fourth uses the word for honoring goddesses who offer protection from evil outsiders, famines, poverty, ignorance, and from snakes and diseases. The fourth context includes referring to the landmass of Bengal (before 1947) as a mā. It is then suggested that the use of the word mā is multifunctional in Bengali culture. Further, the attribution of motherhood empowers human women somewhat in a highly patriarchal society, and the storylines developed give appearances of logic in popular form. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b7c3fc1abddc433b955536585ce928cf |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1736-6518 2228-0987 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2015-06-01 |
| publisher | Sciendo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics |
| spelling | doaj-art-b7c3fc1abddc433b955536585ce928cf2025-02-02T01:09:46ZengSciendoJournal of Ethnology and Folkloristics1736-65182228-09872015-06-0191143153128The Social Construction of Motherhood in Bengali FolkloreSraboni Chatterjee0Pranab Chatterjee1University of PennsylvaniaCase Western Reserve UniversityFour contexts are identified in Bengali folklore where the word mā (meaning ‘mother’) is used. The first involves a situation of basic and biologically prompted kinship. The second and the third describe situations within the extended family and the community, where the use of the same word contributes to ambiguity reduction and creation of sexual boundaries. The fourth uses the word for honoring goddesses who offer protection from evil outsiders, famines, poverty, ignorance, and from snakes and diseases. The fourth context includes referring to the landmass of Bengal (before 1947) as a mā. It is then suggested that the use of the word mā is multifunctional in Bengali culture. Further, the attribution of motherhood empowers human women somewhat in a highly patriarchal society, and the storylines developed give appearances of logic in popular form.https://www.jef.ee/index.php/journal/article/view/165Bengali folk heroinesBengali goddessesmotherhood in Bengal |
| spellingShingle | Sraboni Chatterjee Pranab Chatterjee The Social Construction of Motherhood in Bengali Folklore Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics Bengali folk heroines Bengali goddesses motherhood in Bengal |
| title | The Social Construction of Motherhood in Bengali Folklore |
| title_full | The Social Construction of Motherhood in Bengali Folklore |
| title_fullStr | The Social Construction of Motherhood in Bengali Folklore |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Social Construction of Motherhood in Bengali Folklore |
| title_short | The Social Construction of Motherhood in Bengali Folklore |
| title_sort | social construction of motherhood in bengali folklore |
| topic | Bengali folk heroines Bengali goddesses motherhood in Bengal |
| url | https://www.jef.ee/index.php/journal/article/view/165 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT srabonichatterjee thesocialconstructionofmotherhoodinbengalifolklore AT pranabchatterjee thesocialconstructionofmotherhoodinbengalifolklore AT srabonichatterjee socialconstructionofmotherhoodinbengalifolklore AT pranabchatterjee socialconstructionofmotherhoodinbengalifolklore |