Gopalpur Essay, Research Paper
- According to people in Gopaplur, the Gauda"s
grandfather once lived in the ruined house, and ruled 17
villages. Daily he rode his horse through the villages under his
control, punishing immodest women, and chastising those who
quarrelled or misbehaved. – The Gauda no longer possess great stores of grain and no
longer distributes vast quantities of cloth. Nowadays, people are
turned away from the Gauda"s house when they ask for jobs
or loans of grain or money. – The Gauda is active in politics and has had to establish a
household in Yadgiri, where he lives for a good part of the year.
The Gauda"s wife is unhappy in Gopalpur and presses
continually for opportunities to return to the town where there
are electric lights, running water and people worth talking
to. – When a man"s field is robbed, he goes to the
Gauda"s house to complain. If a man"s wife runs
away, he reports to the Gauda. Whatever the Gauda"s faults
may be, people regard him as the father of the village. He may
not be a great warrior, he may not be a great giver of feasts,
but he is a Brahmin and an educated man. He is "our
Gauda". – The truth is that the Gauda is the creation of t
Gopalpur. He exists, because his existence is necessary to the
pattern of life in the village. The basic configuration of the
Gauda"s character is the result of training given to the
Gauda during his childhood by the people of Gopalpur. – Gopalpur creates its Gauda because the village has a need
for a superior being, one beyond the ordinary. Someone is needed
who can deal with the mysterious higher gods. That the life of
the Gauda is one of loneliness, misery and fear is of little
concern to the men and women who gather around his child. – The Gauda faces peculiar problems in the modern age. He must
send his children to the university in order to prepare them for
the government jobs they so earnestly desire. He requires a large
income.Since money that is spent upon the education of the
Gaud"a schildren cannot be loaned to or used to provide
jobs for people in Gopalpur, the Gauda lends relatively little
money and holds few ceremonies.
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? Case Studies: Pg 256- The Kwaio "Big Manî (Keesing 1978)
Pg 258- Trobriand Political Organisation (Weiner 1976)
Pg 310- Kwaio Social Structure and Religion (Keesing 1970)
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