Madan Meena : From shrine to stage: the challenges of archiving ritualistic performances with reference to the Tejaji Ballad of Rajasthan.

Duration: 21 mins 19 secs

Description:	The Ballad of Tejaji occupies an important place in the sung oral tradition of agrarian folklore over large tracts of Rajasthan and into Madhya Pradesh. Tejaji is glorified for the manner of his death in which he gave up his life to fulfil his promise to a snake. In return, blessings are bestowed upon him so that any snakebite victim who ties a thread in his name will be saved. Men come together at night to sing this ballad during the monsoon months, when the possibility of encountering snakes is highest. The author is in the process of recording the 20-hour ballad in its entirety for the first time, with funding from the World Oral Literature Project. The ballad will be transcribed in Hadoti, translated into Hindi and English, and published in book form. These audio-visual and written records will document this cultural heritage for the future, but will also constitute a fossilised archive of a constantly changing tradition. In my presentation, I will consider the challenges of archiving ritual performances that are gradually shifting from the shrine to the stage.

Description:

The Ballad of Tejaji occupies an important place in the sung oral tradition of agrarian folklore over large tracts of Rajasthan and into Madhya Pradesh. Tejaji is glorified for the manner of his death in which he gave up his life to fulfil his promise to a snake. In return, blessings are bestowed upon him so that any snakebite victim who ties a thread in his name will be saved. Men come together at night to sing this ballad during the monsoon months, when the possibility of encountering snakes is highest. The author is in the process of recording the 20-hour ballad in its entirety for the first time, with funding from the World Oral Literature Project. The ballad will be transcribed in Hadoti, translated into Hindi and English, and published in book form. These audio-visual and written records will document this cultural heritage for the future, but will also constitute a fossilised archive of a constantly changing tradition. In my presentation, I will consider the challenges of archiving ritual performances that are gradually shifting from the shrine to the stage.

Created:

2011-01-20 17:01

Collection:

World Oral Literature Project Workshop 2010

Publisher:

University of Cambridge

World Oral Literature Project

Language:

eng (English)

Keywords:

Tejaji; Rajasthan; Madhya Pradesh; ballad;

Credits:

Actor:	Madan Meena
Editor:	Glenn Jobson

Format	Quality	Bitrate	Size
MPEG-4 Video	640x360	1.84 Mbits/sec	295.39 MB	View	Download
WebM	640x360	412.48 kbits/sec	64.20 MB	View	Download
Flash Video	484x272	568.97 kbits/sec	88.76 MB	View	Download
iPod Video	480x270	506.13 kbits/sec	79.02 MB	View	Download
MP3	44100 Hz	125.05 kbits/sec	19.33 MB	Listen	Download
MP3	22050 Hz	62.52 kbits/sec	9.66 MB	Listen	Download
MP3	16000 Hz	31.26 kbits/sec	4.83 MB	Listen	Download
Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF)		1.34 Mbits/sec	213.05 MB	Listen	Download
Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF)		689.31 kbits/sec	106.53 MB	Listen	Download
Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF)		250.09 kbits/sec	38.65 MB	Listen	Download
Advanced Audio Coding (AAC)	44100 Hz	126.37 kbits/sec	19.53 MB	Listen	Download
Advanced Audio Coding (AAC)	22050 Hz	63.12 kbits/sec	9.76 MB	Listen	Download
Advanced Audio Coding (AAC)	16000 Hz	31.76 kbits/sec	4.91 MB	Listen	Download
RealAudio		582.25 kbits/sec	89.98 MB	View	Download	Stream
RealAudio		95.91 kbits/sec	14.82 MB	View	Download	Stream
RealAudio		32.07 kbits/sec	4.96 MB	View	Download	Stream
Auto *	(Allows browser to choose a format it supports)