Bhopa
Encyclopedia
The Bhopas are the priest singers of the folk deities in Rajasthan
state of India
. They perform in front of a scroll, known as phad
or par in Rajasthani
that depicts the episodes of the narrative of the folk deity and functions as a portable temple. The Bhopas carry this phad traditionally, and are invited by villagers to perform in their localities during times of sickness and misfortune. Traditionally, the phads are kept rolled in transit. After reaching a village or town, the Bhopas erect the phads between two poles in a suitable public place shortly after nightfall. The performance goes on throughout the night and terminates only in early morning
mostly belong to the Nayak
community. A ravanhattha, a bowed stringed instrument with a resonator formed from a coconut-shell covered with a raw-hide provides accompaniment to vocal singing. The Bhopa sings various episodes from the narrative of Pabuji and his wife known as Bhopi holds an oil lamp near the visual being described. The Bhopi also sings some parts of the episodes. Mohan Bhopa (who performs along with his wife Patashi Bhopi) is a celebrated present-day singer-priest of Pabuji.
namely the temple Bhopas, the Jamat Bhopas and the Par Bhopas.The Jamat bhopas of Deity Devnarayan can only be from Gurjar community as the jamat is related to Devji sect, however par bhopas and temple bhopas belong to different castes incluidng Gurjars, Rajputs, Kumbhars and balais. During the performance, a jantar
(a type of fretted veena
with two resonators of gourd or wood) is played to accompany the songs. Usually there are two Bhopas who recite the epic, one is the main Bhopa, the Patavi, and the other is his assistant, the Diyala. When the Patavi Bhopa sings a particular episode of the epic, his junior partner, the Diyala Bhopa lits an oil lamp and illuminates the particular part of the phad, where the particular episode which is being sung is depicted. He also sings some parts of the episodes.
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
state of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. They perform in front of a scroll, known as phad
Phad painting
Phad painting is a popular style of folk painting, practiced in Rajasthan state of India. This style of painting is traditionally done on a long piece of cloth, known as phad. The narratives of the folk deities of Rajasthan, mostly of Pabuji and Devnarayan are depicted on the phads...
or par in Rajasthani
Rajasthani language
Rajasthani Rajasthani Rajasthani (Devanagari: , Perso-Arabic: is a language of the Indo-Aryan languages family. It is spoken by 50 million people in Rajasthan and other states of India and in some areas of Pakistan. The number of speakers may be up to 80 million worldwide...
that depicts the episodes of the narrative of the folk deity and functions as a portable temple. The Bhopas carry this phad traditionally, and are invited by villagers to perform in their localities during times of sickness and misfortune. Traditionally, the phads are kept rolled in transit. After reaching a village or town, the Bhopas erect the phads between two poles in a suitable public place shortly after nightfall. The performance goes on throughout the night and terminates only in early morning
The phad vacnos (performances) by the Bhopas
The epical narratives of the folk deities are told by the Bhopas during the jagarans (night-wakes). The purpose of these jagarans are to evoke the prakas (presence) of the folk deities. The sequence which a phad vacno (performance) follows can be summarized as follows:- Purificatory rites are carried out before setting up the phad, which include sweeping the ground beneath the phad clean and burning incense sticks.
- The phad is set by fastening the rope that runs through the red band sewn on at the top to wooden poles set at each end.
- The Bhopa wears the special costume, known as baga.
- Grains and money are offered for consecrating the phad.
- The deities, whose images are depicted at the top of the phad are invoked.
- The Bhopa begins prosimetric narration of the epical narrative which consists of verse sections, known as gavs and followed by prose sections known as arthavs (explanations). The gavs consist of a number of karis (couplets). The Bhopa points out each scene on the phad with a stick and narrates the episode.
- Donations are collected during frequent pauses for food, tea, tobacco or rest. The Bhopa blows a conch-shell, one blast after receiving each donation. The name of the donor is announced by the Bhopa.
- An arati for the deities and the characters on the phad is carried out at the end of the performance.
- Offerings are again made at the end of the performance, when the phad is rolled back again before sunrise.
Bhopas of Pabuji
The Bhopas of PabujiPabuji
Pabuji is a folk-deity of Rajasthan in India. He lived in 14th century in Rajasthan. He was one of four children of Dhadal Rathore of village Kolu, two boys and two girls...
mostly belong to the Nayak
Nayak (ethnic group)
-History and origin:The word nayak means a head of a regiment. This word is derived from the Sanskrit senanayaka, which means head of a regiment. The community trace there descent from the Vaghela Rajputs who converted to Islam in the 12th Century. They established a number of petty states in...
community. A ravanhattha, a bowed stringed instrument with a resonator formed from a coconut-shell covered with a raw-hide provides accompaniment to vocal singing. The Bhopa sings various episodes from the narrative of Pabuji and his wife known as Bhopi holds an oil lamp near the visual being described. The Bhopi also sings some parts of the episodes. Mohan Bhopa (who performs along with his wife Patashi Bhopi) is a celebrated present-day singer-priest of Pabuji.
Bhopas of Devnarayan
There are three different types of Bhopas of deity DevnarayanDevnarayan
Shri Devnarayan , an ancient Gurjar warrior from Rajasthan who is believed to have been an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, is worshipped as a folk deity, mostly in Rajasthan and north-western Madhya Pradesh.According to tradition, he was born to Sri Savai Bhoj and Sadu mata Gurjari on the seventh day...
namely the temple Bhopas, the Jamat Bhopas and the Par Bhopas.The Jamat bhopas of Deity Devnarayan can only be from Gurjar community as the jamat is related to Devji sect, however par bhopas and temple bhopas belong to different castes incluidng Gurjars, Rajputs, Kumbhars and balais. During the performance, a jantar
Jantar
*jantar - amber in old Polish language*jantar - amber in Croatian language*jantar - amber in Slovenian language*Jantar, Poland - a village in Poland*a series of Polish gliders:**SZD-37 Jantar**SZD-38 Jantar 1**SZD-41 Jantar Standard**SZD-42 Jantar 2/2b...
(a type of fretted veena
Veena
Veena may refer to one of several Indian plucked instruments:With frets*Rudra veena, plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music*Saraswati veena, plucked string instrument used in Carnatic musicFretless...
with two resonators of gourd or wood) is played to accompany the songs. Usually there are two Bhopas who recite the epic, one is the main Bhopa, the Patavi, and the other is his assistant, the Diyala. When the Patavi Bhopa sings a particular episode of the epic, his junior partner, the Diyala Bhopa lits an oil lamp and illuminates the particular part of the phad, where the particular episode which is being sung is depicted. He also sings some parts of the episodes.