| Kangaleni Shuphia
is a female Baul singer. Baul songs represent
the philosophical identity of the rural Bengali
culture. Baul is not only a kind of music, it
is basically a Bengali religious sect. Bauls
dedicate their lives to music, song and meditation,
and belong to an unorthodox devotional tradition.
The Bauls themselves are opposed to institutional
practices, rites and customs, scriptures and
speculative literature. Caste, special deities,
temples and sacred places play no part in Baul
ideology. They do not set up any images of divinities
or religious symbols in their own places of
worship. They believe their own body is the
temple where the supreme resides. |
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