#bhopas

[vidyaksha-blog]

Faces of India - 5 by Alireza202 on Flickr.

[musicalmeaning]

Another documentary on the Bhopas!  Of Bards and Beggars, made by Yask Desai and Shweta Kishore.

[musicalmeaning]

The bhopas are professional musicians from Rajasthan.  They perform martial epics, like the one in this video, The Epic of Pabuji.  Some members of the bhopas are from the Bhils (Adivasis, or indigenous, tribal peoples), but most are of the Nayak caste. 

The Epic of Pabuji tells the story of Pabuji, the son of a Rajput and a celestial nymph, who is killed while trying to rescue his relatives' cattle from being stolen.  This epic is performed at nighttime.  It is about 12 hours long, but is never performed in full.  The bhopa sings with his wife (bhopi) or a caste brother, using a beautifully painted scroll (called a par) to illustrate parts of the story. 

The performance of The Epic of Pabuji is both entertainment and ritual.  It is used as a memory aid to help people remember the important story and it is sometimes performed to bring good luck to patrons.