Contradictory Lives - Baul Women in India and Bangladesh (Hardcover)

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.

General

Imprint:	Oxford UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	July 2011
First published:	June 2011
Authors:	Lisa I. Knight (Associate Professor of Religion & Asian Studies)
Dimensions:	237 x 162 x 22mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover - Cloth over boards
Pages:	232
ISBN-13:	978-0-19-977354-1
Categories:	Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Islam Books > Arts & Architecture > Music > Contemporary popular music > Rock & pop > World music Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Hinduism Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Gender studies > Women's studies > General Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions > Islam Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Hinduism Books > Music > Contemporary popular music > Rock & pop > World music
LSN:	0-19-977354-8
Barcode:	9780199773541

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