ORAL EPICS IN INDIA: Exploring History and Identity

Course Coordinator: Dr. Tanuja Kothial

Assignment II Hir - Ranjha

Submitted By: Shivani Dhasmana M.A History III Semester

Introduction

In this paper I am dealing with the construction of social identities in Hir Waris, and then move on to discuss the emergence of the tradition and the manner in which communities identify with the epic of Hir Waris. In this paper I have very extensively used the book of Ishwar Dayal Gaur, society religion and patriarchy. I have touched upon the Patriarchal values, the social identities of Punjabi Muslims, the language of the text etc. The Epic of Hir Ranjha is a very simple and romantic story. This is the story of Hir Siyal and Dhido Ranjha. Hir is seen as a rebellious girl, daughter of chuchak a chief (saradar) of Siyal Clan of Jhang. Dhido was son of Mauju Chief (chaudhari) of Ranjha clan of Takht Hazara Village. One day Hir and Ranjha met on a riverside and they fell in love with each other. But their love was not accepted by Hirs family and they faced a very sad ending. This Epic is versed in the Qissa form which in itself is a genre of storytelling (a Persian tradition). This epic has created a Punjabi identity over many centuries. Hir became a slogan for the Punjabi independence strugglers. William L. Hanaway expresses Hir as a form of orally recited prose romance created, elaborated and transmitted by professional narrators. 1 Qissa and Dastan had a worldwide importance, they were recited in the royal courts, and it was present in the medieval times in the Persian Follk Tradition. Qissa is a very different form of epic singing that leads to a reverse process. The role of Mirasis is not just popularizing but also they were constantly in the making. Mirasis composition was very different from Hir Waris. Qissa became a very dominant form of Punjabi tradition; these Qssas had a very high value as well as a popular entertainment. It was both in written (or print) and oral cultures. Hir Waris is a popular literary document present from the medieval times in Punjab, about the medieval Punjabi Muslims. After the division of Punjab there was also a division among Sikhs and Muslims. Within the Punjabi community there was a division of three fold, that is, Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. So the term Punjabi Muslims was used by Ishwar Dayal Gaur in his book, Society, Religion, and Patriarchy. In his book he used the term to explain the division within the Punjabi culture itself. The offense of the religious traditions of Hinduism,
1

Pritchett, Frances W., Marvelous Encounters Folk Ramance in Urdu and Hindi,, Manohar Publications, 1985, PP-1.

Sikhism and Islam posses an everlasting challenge to the concept of indigenous Punjabi Identity.2 This explains that in Punjab religious identity was very expressive in fusion with language, Script and culture. The epic of Hir Ranjha was a romantic story but it created a lot of social identities which could be encoded by carefully analysing it. For example a Muslim identity, the grazing class can be seen from Ranjhas social location, a very strict patriarchal society, etc. Hir Ranjha invokes the historical tendency of language to reduce their use of change to socio-cultural life patterns. In the society mentioned in the Hir epic is very prominently patriarchal society which was very strict in for its regulations and it even had two most pronounced features. First, any person can move or perform any function only within its social boundary, that is, one cannot step out of its social boundary and perform any task. The several layers in the relationship between different sections of social sectors were governed by lineage and Jajmani system. The economically dominant section of Punjab were not kept or determined with a single religion. In the epic of Hir is versified during the period when Mughal Empire was on the urge of decline, and also the time when khalsa raj was also clearly seen. Their cultural space was not completely dominated by Islamic or non-Islamic elements. At the level of people synthesis was emancipated in the 18th century communitarian classifications. The nature of the literature in 18th century was in the form of qissa, heroic ballads, poetic genres etc. was suitable with the participation of people under the leadership of Khalsa in the struggle against oppression and aggression. The historiographic conversations unfold Punjabi Muslims from their local cultural harbours and ignore their sensitivities and essential ways of life. Without understanding the regional level, the significant trends in the country remained incomplete. It helps us to mark a distinction between the conscious extension of a culture and its inevitable expression. The study and analysis of folklore help us to construct a new discussion in the writing of the history of the communities of Punjab which is very different from that of the understanding of a historian. Hir Waris is a very deep rooted legend of the Punjabi community. It is neutral and untouched expression of the community. Cultural history is based on the material and the history of the entire community in which the common people are seen as human beings in
2

Gaur, Ishwar Dayal, Society, Religion, and Patriarchy, exploring medieval Punjab through Hir Waris, Manohar publication, 2009, pp-19.

their lineage relationships. Many scholars have gauged Waris Shah as a master of the genre of qissa and reproduced the society the society as reflected in his Hir. The study of Hir Waris reveals the fact that the elite discourse of compound culture tends to under estimate the aspects of the Punjabi identity of Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus (as I have discussed above). Studies on Hir have moved from generally studying to the facts which are very well examined and prevalent in the day today studies. For example this love tale talks about the struggle against the Patriarchy in the society of that time, which consisted of old elements prevalent in the Punjabi society, history and literature. Hir incorporates a number of Islamic references, as we are from very long on discussing about the Punjabi Muslims, is not a very major concern. Waris Shahs Hir is a very important literary writing mainly for four reasons, 1. It was written when the Muslim Political domain had begun to shrink. 2. When Bulleh Shah (1680-1758)in his kafis had condemned the orthodox religious formalism of the Hindus and Muslims, and when Ali Haider (1690-1785) in his sihrafi had expressed his anguish over the failure of the Mughal state to confront Nadir Shah. 3. When Both Mughal and Afghan claim to Punjab were being successfully challenged by the people of Punjab under the leadership of the Khalsa; 4. During this period Shah Waliallah (1703-62) of Delhi attempted to receive Islamic Orthodoxy.3 So therefore, from my study of Hir I came to a point that from an epic we not only get the information about the culture or religion but also about the different occupations, people of the communities, about the different communities how these communities were living etc. In Hir For example we have come to know that there were communities of Siyals in one village and Ranjhas on one village both had a headman but their names differ, that is, Sarkar and Chaudhari, respectively. Herdsmen was a minial work done by the lower class of people who were appointed by the dominant section of the society, like Ranjha was a herdsman under Hirs father and their love was not accepted because he was lower to the Girl. Such kind of class division was present.

Gaur, Ishwar Dayal, Society, Religion and Patriarchy, exploring medieval Punjab through Hir Waris, Manohar Publication,2009, pp: 26-27.

Conclusion:

In the end I would like to conclude that Hir waris was not only a romantic story but also tells us about the working of the society during the medieval times in Punjab. Hir became very popular in the courts of Mughal and it also became a part of the communitarians slogans. Hir was seen as a very rebellious girl in this story who for her love went against the patriarchal values of the society. And the end signifies that the patriarchal values were so strong that it results in a very sad ending. This story is versed in the form of qissa which was a very prevalent form of reciting a dastan in a singing manner in the medieval times. This story talks about three main communities that were Siyal, Ranjha and Kheras who were mainly the Muslim Jat communities, which were very rich and powerful families of that time. As we know that Ranjha and Siyal were the village headman. I found it to be very informative and full of entertaining as it has a lot to learn and understand.

Reference
Gaur, Ishwar Dayal, Society, Religion and Patriarchy, exploring medieval Punjab through Hir Waris, Manohar Publications, 2009. Mir, Farina, The Social Space of Language, vernacular culture in British Colonial Punjab, published by Permanent Black, 2010. Pritchett, Frances W., Marvellous Encounters, folk romance in Urdu and Hindi, Manohar Publication, 1985.