Bonbibi
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Bonbibi, is a
The narratives of Banbibi
The narratives of Banbibi are found in several texts named as the Banbibir Keramati (the magical deeds of Banbibi) or the Banbibir Jahuranama (glory to Banbibi). Amongst its earliest poets, Bayanuddin and Munshi Mohammad Khater are well known and their texts in the Bengali verse meter known as dwipodi-poyar (the two-footed line) are almost similar and are heavily influenced by Persian and Quranic Arabic.[2] These texts consist of two major episodes, her battle with Dakkhin Rai and the narrative of Dukhe.
In The Hungry Tide, his 2004 environmentalist novel,
Battle with Dakkhin Rai
Banbibi is believed as the daughter of Berahim (Ibrahim), a fakir from Mecca. When his first wife Phulbibi could not bear any child, Ibrahim (locally known as Berahim) married Golalbibi with Phulbibi's permission tagged with a condition of fulfilling a wish of her in future. At the same time, God decided to send Banbibi and Shah Jangali from heaven for a divine mission. He instructed them to take birth as the children of Golalbibi. When Golalbibi became pregnant, Ibrahim left her in a forest to satisfy his first wife's wish, as he promised her earlier. Banbibi and Shah Jangali were born in the forest to Golalbibi. Allah sent four maids from heaven to take care of them. Golalbibi abandoned Banbibi in the forest left with Shah Jangali in her arms.[4] Banbibi was raised in the forest by a doe. After seven years, Ibrahim understood his mistake and took back Golalbibi and her two children to Mecca.
Once, while praying at the
Narrative of Dukhe
Once, there were two Moule (honey collector) brothers, Dhona and Mona (or Dhanai and Manai) in a village named Barijhati. Dhona planned to go for an expedition with a fleet of seven boats to collect honey in a mahal (dense forest) of the country of the eighteen tides but his brother Mona opposed it. He took a poor shepherd boy, Dukhe along with him. Before leaving, Dukhe's mother told him to remember Banbibi in case of any serious trouble. When the fleet reached the Kendokhali char, which was a part of the kingdom of Dakkhin Rai, Dhona forgot to give an offering to Dakkhin Rai. As a result, he was not able to collect any honey or wax for three days. On the third night, Dakkhin Rai appeared in Dhona's dreams and asked him for a human sacrifice. After some arguments with Dakkhin Rai, greedy Dhona agreed to sacrifice Dukhe in exchange for honey and wax. So, after collecting enough wax and honey, he left Dukhe there and returned to his village. When Dukhe was about to be killed by Dakkhin Rai in the disguise of a tiger, he started chanting prayers invoking Banbibi. On hearing his chant, Banbibi came along with her brother Shah Jangali to save him. Shah Jangali defeated Dakkhin Rai. After his defeat, Dakkhin Rai took refuge with Bara Khan Ghazi (Gazi Pir). Banbibi and Shah Jangali followed Dakkhin Rai there. Finally, Bara Khan Ghazi was able to convince Banbibi not to harm Dakkhin Rai. In return, Ghazi gave Dukhe seven carts full of precious items, while Rai gave him a sufficient amount of wax and honey. Banbibi ordered her pet crocodile, Seko, to drop him to his village. After his return to the village, Dukhe popularised the worship of Banbibi in the neighbouring areas. Later, Dhona married his daughter Champa to Dukhe, who had become the Chaudhury (chief) of the village.[2]
Iconography
Banbibi is worshipped by her Hindu followers as Bandurga, Bandevi or as Banbibi, and her predominantly Hindu images are found as wearing a crown and garland, carrying a club and
Shrines of Banbibi
In most of the shrines of Banbibi in the Sundarbans, Banbibi is worshipped along with her brother Shah Jangali and Dakkhin Rai.[1]
Appearances in literature
The story of Bonbibi is prominent in Amitav Ghosh's The Hungry Tide, Jungle Nama and also referred to in the same author's The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable.[7][8][9]
See also
- Bangladeshi folk literature
- Gazi Pir
- Jungle Nama (2021 verse adaptation)
Notes
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4384-3323-3.
- ^ ISBN 81-7215-301-5, pp.73–82
- ^ Ghosh, Amitav. The Hungry Tide: A Novel., Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005: pp. 84–88, 292–97.
- ISBN 978-0-520-25896-9.
- ^ Banerjee, Manini (10 February 2008). "Trouble in tide country". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- ISBN 81-7612-296-3, pp.29–34
- ^ Amitav Ghosh, The Hungry Tide. A Novel (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2005).
- ^ Amitav Ghosh, The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (London: Penguin, 2016), 28-29.
- ^ Yadav Sumati, 'The Hungry Tide: Climate Sustainability en Route from Ancient Texts to Modern Fiction to Humanity', Caesura 2.1 (2015), 31-54.
Further reading
- Jalais, Annu (2014). Forest of Tigers: People, Politics and Environment in the Sundarbans. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-19869-4.