FINDING THE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES IN MARRIAGE CEREMONY BETWEEN DESHI & POLI COMMUNITY: A CRITICAL SURVEY ON THE WEDDING CULTURE OF RAJBANSHI COMMUNITY

Abstract

It is believed that Rajbanshi people are the descendants of the Royal Family of Coochbehar, from which the word ‘Rajbanshi’ has been originated. This community people belong to the entire North Bengal such as in the central part of Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Darjeeling, North & South Dinajpur and Assam districts. The Rajbanshi people speak in their own mother tongue i.e. Rajbanshi language but in different tone. There are many debates regarding their ethnographical identity. Some believe that they belonged to Indo-Mongoloid community. Whatever their origin is but there are different sub-castes under this community, like- Deshi, Poli, Koch, Kamata etc. The linguistic tone and the cultural practices are also different in nature and characteristics but they are internally linked with each other through their physical appearance, food habit, religious faith and other perspectives. If we make our journey through the wedding culture of Deshi & Poli then we will find some different perspectives regarding their marriage such as the role of the Ghatak (media), the initial part of marriage, Ashirbadi parba, Aiburo-Vat Parba, Gaye holud parba, Dress of bridegroom etc. Thus my paper seeks to explore the different perspectives in the wedding culture of Deshi & Poli community and how their ritual, customs and social environment differ from each other.