Language, Pir Cult and Temple Architecture of Bengal

Introduction

The Temple architecture of Bengal can be defined based on how the leaders or the people ruling that place can influence how the land is being used in a certain place. It explains the evolution of people’s beliefs and how a community can be created to civilise people to live in harmony. It also explains how the pir community of Bengal was formed and how it evolved the beliefs of the people of Bengal. We will also see the architectural features of temples in Bengal. It educates us about differences in the architectural language of Bengal due to the difference in cultural beliefs.

History of inhabitation of Bengal

In the 16th century, people started to migrate from the dried lands of West Bengal in search of more fertile lands. That is when they settled in the forest region of southeastern Bengal. Slowly, they felt the need to completely build their life in the forest for their agricultural needs. They started cutting down the woods and creating land for rice cultivation. From here, the language of Bengal started evolving. Before the migration of these rice cultivators, a community of fisherfolks and jhum cultivators were residing there. Slowly even they came together with the peasants to form a community. 

Influence of Mughals on the culture of Bengal

Mughals were ruling in Delhi, and during the same period of this migration and community formation, Mughals captured the land of Bengal and made Dhaka their capital. 

During their rule, they did not give importance to the rice cultivators or the fisher community, which was already occupying the land but instead, their main focus was on religion.

They used the land to build mosques all around Bengal and bring people’s attention to the religious importance. Some new religious leaders were introduced to the people who gave assurance to the one getting added to the community. The communities which were initially made based on occupations of the people of Bengal were now made based on which religious leaders they follow.

These community leaders were called pirs and were given a position of god in their respective communities.

The Pir cult of Bengal

The pir cult of Bengal was highly respected and was even sometimes considered to have supernatural powers. They were the teachers for the people of their community who would teach them the way to live life and educate them about Islam. They educated them about how they could live their lives by following God’s rules. The saints or Sufis and other critical religious personalities were often referred to as pirs. The pir community of Bengal and the pir culture of Bengal became very popular, and people started trusting and believing them and followed the path of life shown by them. Even though there was a huge influence of Islam on the people of Bengal, some Hindu leaders were also very powerful.

Temples of Bengal

The temple architecture of Bengal has a rich cultural appearance due to its facade of terracotta walls and detailing. A sustainable kind of architecture was practised even in the past where clay, which is a local material, was used to construct the temple as it is an alluvial site. Bengal is not a rich reserve of stone; therefore, construction materials like wood and brick were used in the Architecture of the local structures. The planning of the temples 

Its dome is in a square shape, and this trait is expected in the temple architecture of Bengal. The plastering is dome using lime and mortar, and the bricks are made of stone, wood and basalt. The influence of the thatched huts is seen in the temples of Bengal due to their double roofed structures. The thatched hut is a kind of hut in which the roof is made with plant materials like straws or dried leaves. In the case of four roofed structures, a pointed roof is created by placing four triangular roofs on the four walls and then converging them to form a pointed yet curved roof.

The temple’s interior walls were plain with small detailing of bricks, but the temple’s exterior walls were decorated with paintings depicting stories of the Hindu culture. This helped in educating the people through graphical representation of the Hindu culture’s history as many people in that period or even today are unable to read and write.

Vishnupur in West Bengal is the best example of the temple architecture of Bengal, where these features are still preserved for the education of the people of today’s generation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we learned about the migration of the people of Bengal and how they became rice cultivators and peasants. Then we saw how the religious influence of the Mughals brought an evolution in the communities of Bengal and how it led to the Bengal architecture and shrines of the pir community of Bengal. We also learned how the pir community of Bengal educated the people of Bengal. Then how the temples of the Hindu community were built and who built them. Further, we saw how the local architectural style influenced the Language of the temple architecture of Bengal.

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