A Case Study of Durgāpūjā Festival of the Bengali Hindus

Abstract

Durgāpūjā is the largest popular public event in Bengal. It has also become a feature of identity of the Bengali Hindus. The complex form of divinity with the goddess Durgā at the centre with her 10 arms holding different weapons respectively and slaying the buffalo demon invokes a deep sense of devotion and condenses many symbolic meanings. The author, an insider of the Bengali culture describes in brief the contemporary practice of worship of the goddess in Bengal. Then he passes on to uncover the multiple layers of meanings and functions of Durgāpūjā in Bengali culture with a substantial review of a large number of previous works on this topic. At the end he has tried to understand why Durgāpūjā has become the most important festival of the Bengalis. He attributes this to the semiotic association between Indian categories of culture and the worship of the goddess with an emphasis on collective ethos of life. The study links the post-modern and post-colonial theoretical understanding of space, power, authority, identity, culture industry, public sphere, public and popular culture, simulacra with the more traditional understandings of the economy, polity, hierarchy, Mauss’ total prestation and Durkehim’s idea of religion.