Cultural Hybridity: Negotiating Origin of Khuliya - Bhaoriya Folk Theatre
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55544/ijrah.5.6.29Keywords:
Cultural hybridity, folk theatre, hegemony, Khuliya-bhaoriyaAbstract
This paper investigates the emergence of Khuliya-bhaoriya folk theatre from Assam, which is extant in some pockets of Darrang district, within the rich landscape of Indian drama. The scholars on Indian dramaturgy have offered four main theories on the origin of folk theatres in India, which, however, overlook the role of cultural hybridization in creation of folk theatre. Such hybridisation is also brought out to serve distinct socio-religious objectives. Addressing that gap, this study reveals that Khuliya-bhaoriya came to existence as a product of cultural hybridisation, which helped in propagation of bhakti-faith among the masses, defying ‘hegemony’ which the concept of ‘hybridity’ entails.
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