The Untouchable Bard as Author of his Royal Patron: A Social Approach to Oral Epic Poetry in Western Nepal

• Issue: Volume 30, Number 2
• Author(s): Marie Lecomte-Tilouine
• Article: View PDF | Download PDF
• Citation: http://journal.oraltradition.org/issues/30ii/lecomte-tilouine

Abstract

The article explores the complex relationship between a bard and his patron in western Nepal, that links together individuals situated at opposite extremes of the social hierarchy of the caste organization. During the bardic performance, their relationship reverses the caste hierarchy by bestowing authority to speak in the royal patron's name to an untouchable bard. The perpetuation of a fully oral bardic tradition, as well as its specific social setting in western Nepal, presents a rare opportunity to examine in all its complexity such a relationship within its context of enunciation and its wider social context. The article draws a sociological portrayal of the bard in his relation to his patron, explores the form of his art, and examines a new oral composition—an embryonic epic of the People’s War waged by the Maoist party in Nepal between 1996 and 2006—for a final discussion of the nature of the bardic contract, and the distribution of prestige it involves.

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