Ritualistic Performance of Women Pilgrims in the Makhdum Shah Shrine, Sirajganj, Bangladesh

Md. Rifat-Ur-Rahman, Mehedi Hasan

Abstract:

Ritual is such an issue based on material culture as manifestations of structured symbolic practices. These practices endowed with an interrelated set of ideas, which establish a common mood to assert identity through performing the function. In the context of Bangladesh, a Shrine-based ritual has been performing for almost a thousand year, which put up heritage and identity by creating a kind of interrelationship between the Shrine and the followers. One of these remarkable shrines is located in Shahjadpur of Sirajganj district, known as Makhdum Shah Shrine. This study was conducted through a close-ended based questionnaire survey on 350 women who visited Makhdum Shah Shrine in 2020 to investigate the reasons. This study has been carried out to keep the questions in mind- why women followers visit Shrine; what they offer; how the ritualistic performance is conducted during their visit; and scrutinize their relationship with Shrine through ritualistic performance. The attempt is to explore the reason of visiting women participants at Shrine-based cultural heritage. The present study was conducted to understand ritualistic performances of the women pilgrims in Makhdum Shah Shrine.

Keywords:

Cultural heritage, Performance, Pilgrims, Ritual, Shrine, Women

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