Bhojpuri folk songs in Mauritius, Geet-Gawai

Overview

Geet-Gawai is a pre-wedding ceremony that combines rituals, prayer, songs, music and dance. It is performed mainly by Bhojpuri-speaking communities in Mauritius who have Indian descent. The traditional practice takes place at the home of the bride or groom and involves female family members and neighbours. It begins with five married women sorting items (turmeric, rice, grass and money) in a piece of cloth while other participants sing songs that honour Hindu gods and goddesses. After the site has been sanctified, the mother of the bride or groom and a drummer honour musical instruments to be played during the ceremony, such as the dholak (a two-headed drum). Uplifting songs are then performed and everyone joins in and dances. Geet-Gawai is an expression of community identity and collective cultural memory. The practice also provides participants with a sense of pride and contributes...

This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.

Community and Authority

Communities: Mauritius
Languages: Not specified in UNESCO dataset
Cultural territories: Mauritius
Countries: Mauritius

How the System Works

Music, Performance and Oral Literature Material Culture, Design and Technology Ceremony, Spirituality and Cosmology Ways of Knowing and Knowledge Transmission

Sources and Evidence

Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ListsDataset

Open original source record

Field-Level Provenance

title: UNESCO DataHub field title_en
preferredTitle: UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
summary: UNESCO DataHub field description_en
type: UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
countries: UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
categories: ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
relationships: UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
sourceUrl: UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
rights: UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url

Original Source Metadata

uuid90d09c64-c15e-43e2-9823-3124f8a0f08c

ich_public_ref1178

inscription_year2016

title_enBhojpuri folk songs in Mauritius, Geet-Gawai

title_frLe geetgawai, chants populaires en bhojpuri à Maurice

type_of_element_enRepresentative List

type_acronymRL

countriesMU

http_url_enhttps://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/01178

concepts_primary_namesDance, Instrumental music, Vocal music, Wedding

concepts_secondary_namesBody percussion, Caste, Costumes, Family, Hinduism, Musical instruments, Rituals, Social inclusion

main_image_urlhttps://ich.unesco.org/img/photo/thumb/10079-LRG.jpg

main_image_caption_enLagan-kholna, five married women sorting out the ingredients with women around singing

main_image_copyrightNational Heritage Fund, Mauritius, 2015 & Nipon Medhi, 2015

main_image_authorNipon Medhi

videoshttps://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/YXDOBeQQl60

images[object Object], [object Object], [object Object]

Why This Record Is Credible

This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.

Cultural Access

Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.

Relationships

Dance Instrumental music Vocal music Wedding Body percussion Caste Costumes Family Hinduism Musical instruments Rituals Social inclusion UNESCO representative list

Review and Corrections

If this record misstates authority, access, naming, language, source context or community preference, please request a review.

Suggest correction