SOME ASPECTS OF ANDHRA FOLKLORE
AND FOLK VALUES
C. R. PRASAD RAO &
K. RADHAKRISHNA MURTY
Department of Sociology & Social Work,
Folk
Values in Folksongs and Sayings
The
folklore of any culture reflects a mirror-image of the governing ideals,
values, beliefs and prejudices of the people consciously verbalized through
folksongs and folksayings. Sociologists have always
looked upon folklore as an important research tool in the study of traditional
and transitional societies. And it is a common sociological observation that
every important social institution acquires in course of time a body of
folklore around it which provides support and justification for the
institution. One such important institution is the joint family. Joint family living
is a prevalent form among Andhras since remote
antiquity. The stability of joint family as a complex form of family life
depended to a great extent on the female members of the household who were
drawn as spouses from several other families. Hence in selecting the
prospective brides for the members of a joint family, the family head has to
exercise great control and caution keeping in view the joint interests of the
household which is regarded as a ‘trust.’ He has to select a bride who could
best serve the interests of the joint family and whose examples and performance
could be a source of pride to her parents as much as to her in-laws. These
criteria of mate selection led to the tradition of parent-arranged marriages
and certain other values of deference for elders, etc. In general, the
necessary training in the requirements of joint living is imparted to the bride
in her own parent’s house which in itself is a joint-household usually. Yet
there is a practice of formally briefing the bride on the behaviour
expected of her at the time of her departure for the groom’s place after
marriage. This parting occasion is marked by solemnity and pathos which
heighten the significance of the briefing given to her. The contents of this
briefing are excellently portrayed in several folksongs. The following is one
such:
“Selavitchi mayamma selavitchinamu
Chelagi mi athinta budhi galigundu
Evvaremaadina eduraadakamma
Vedhilo nuluchundi kurulippakamma
Palumaaru paluderachi navvabokamma
Paramaatmatho gudi velugu maayamma
Varnikadani poolu muduvabokamma
Peddala gurterigi naduvu maayamma
Aakali vuntenu adugabokamma
Athagaaritho poru cheyabokamma.”
(Fare
ye well o’ young lass!
Fare
ye well in thy groom’s place.
Conduct
thyself with decorum and discretion
Eshew retort even if hurt,
Plait
no tresses standing in street.
Laugh
at none nor poke fun often
Cling
to thy lord with glinting love,
Wear
no blooms but for your groom,
Show
reverence to elders in residence
Pick
no feuds with the mistress of the house.)
This
song clearly depicts the social imperatives regarding the behaviour
of the newly-wed spouse in her groom’s family. The regulations and requirements
of behaviour are spelled out specifically for each
situation. The spouse is asked to shine in her loyalty and service to the
husband, not to toilet or spruce up herself except for the sake of the husband,
not to argue and retort, not to laugh or poke fun at others, and to observe
reverence and reserve in her dealings with elders, and so on.
Somewhat
different is another song which makes a humble supplication to the parents-in-law
in such moving tones as
“E
baala erugadu yemiyu naina...
me baalalo noka
baalaga chudu...
mellaga nerputho
paninerpavamma...
Akalerigi annamu pettinadaaka aduga neradu,
...Kodalu me sommu, koduku me sommu,
Aadavarni kanna alusinthenamma.”
(This
lady knows nothing out of innocence.
Care
for her as one of yours,
Train
her to work with tenderly skill,
Give
her food for she asks for none,
Both
groom and bride are your pelf and pride,
To
give birth to female,
is to lose one’s all.)
Here
an appeal is made to treat the innocent bride with tender care, gentle
indulgence, and understanding love. Thus while the former
song imposes the values of sobriety and propriety on the bride, the latter song
balances this theme by a prayerful invocation of values of love and
understanding from the custodians of the girl.
Values of
wifely devotion
In
the folk-tradition, high value is placed on the wife’s devotion to the husband.
The idea of “pativrata” is constantly dinned into the
woman’s ears through various mythological stories, folksayings,
etc. Accepted and internalised by the woman, this
value paves the way for stable and harmonious family relations. Thus, examine,
for example, the deep import of the following proverbs:
“Bharta lokamu tana
lokamu,
Koduku lokamu para lokamu.”
“Aaliki adupu, intiki podupu avasaramu.”
In
lucid yet forceful tone the proverbs drive home the essentials of a wife’s
relation with the husband. The wife has to regard the husband as the centre and
breath of her life, identifying herself closely with
his interests and experiences. She has to stand by him through all vicissitudes
of life, even forsaking the interests and welfare of her own offspring, if need
be. She has to realise that the welfare of her grown
up son is the province and privilege of another lady whom he weds. This
imposition again has the effect of cementing the husband-wife relationship
strongly together, preventing untoward possibilities of friction.
This,
however, should not be interpreted as a value which relegated the wife to a
subordinate or inferior position making way for exploitation by the husband.
There are in the folk-tradition certain other counter-balancing themes or
imperative norms which seek to check and regulate husband’s exploitative
propensities. Thus the adage that:
“Kalakanthi kanta kanneerolikina, Siri inta nundabodu”
emphasizes the supreme importance
of the wife in the house whom the husband has to treat with utmost love,
tenderness and attention. Elsewhere in the literature a clear warning is
sounded to the husband not to strike a woman, the crown of creation, even with
a flower.
Values of
kinship obligations
Certain
values have emerged in the tradition which make
kinship obligations imperative. Tradition lays down that a bride’s brother or
father continues to have duties toward her even long after her marriage and
departure. Thus the following song reveals what a brother or father owes the
bride:
“Illu viruchuku pommu O’ muddugumma
vandina vantakammu
ethukonipomma,
kaalla mattela
jodu ethukonipomma
kattukonubatta okate
unchakumi.”
(Plunder
the house O tender lass
Clear
the stock and carry it off
The
whole of puddings, snatch them off
The
two anklets grab them away
Leave
no cloth nor a trace of wealth anyway.)
This
is a song actually sung by the brother’s wife at the time of bride’s parting
for her in-law’s house after occasional revisiting. The song echoes the ire and
envy of the brother’s wife. Such outburst of ire and envy are an index of what
strong and emotionally charged kinship values existed. The importance of these
kinship values is understandable in our society which in the past lacked any
well-developed system of public welfare services. The individual was dependent
upon kinsfolk for a vast array of his needs ranging from mate selection to
assistance in times of calamities like death, disease, etc.
Occupational
Values
The
institution of Varna Dharmas
was devised to regulate the economic life of the people by an occupational
division of the community. There are a few proverbs which disclose the folk
convictions about the matter of occupations. These are as quoted below:
“Baapana sedyam baadugula nashtam,
Kaapula chaduvulu kaasula chetu.”
The
proverbs reveal people’s convictions about relative occupational skills of two
different castes. In sharp tones the proverbs express the folk disapproval of
abandonment of traditional occupations by the concerned castes. That
occupational mobility was disvalued is evident from other sources also. Thus
there is a stanza in “Guvvala chenna
satakamu” extolling the virtues of caste occupations:
“kulavidyaku saatiledu”.
However, though tradition prescribes adherence to caste occupation, more value
is placed on a person’s nature than on his caste or occupation.
Values of
motherhood
The
Dharmasastras as well as folklore attach great
importance to motherhood. Many proverbs are available to indicate society’s
derogatory attitudes towards sterility of women. The following proverbs show
what emotional significance and spiritual merit are given by the folks to
motherhood.
“Pillalulenidi illukaadu,
Pittalulenidi thota kaadu.”
“Biddalanu kannamma,
bikshamettinamma chedadu.”
“Lebaramu kade biddaluleni bratuku?”
Sterility
is stigmatic for a lady and such lady suffers from undefinable
feelings of guilt and inadequacy.
Again
the folk tradition places greater emphasis on male issues. This can be seen
from the following proverbs:
“Tinte gaarelu tinaali,
vinte Bhaaratamu vinaali
Kante kodukune kanaali.”
“Magapilla lunna illu, modugulunna vanamu chedavu “
Values of
female education
Tradition
did not give much importance to female education. Though the ladies underwent
some amount of schooling, formal education of females was not considered a necessary equipment for their mission in life. Mostly, the
ladies of the upper sections of society were well versed in the spiritual lore
of the society which was held more desirable than formal schooling. It is no
wonder then that certain strong prejudices emerged against woman’s education.
The following proverb illustrates the typical attitude of the folks.
“Chaduvu nerchina aadavaarithonu,
Vandanerchina magavaarithonu opalemu”
Even
today higher education of women is not considered necessary or desirable by
many people, including educated girls. In fact some highly educated girls find
difficulty in contracting marriage and remain unmarried till late in life.
Thus
the foregoing discussion illustrates how folklore could be used as a historical
source material for fruitful sociological perspectives of social life of the
people concerned. Sociological studies of folklore of Andhras,
rare as they are, will blaze a fresh trail in Social Research.