The gender paradox: professionalisation of a form of traditional martial arts, Lathi Khela, in the sociocultural context of Bangladesh

Abstract

In the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic-struck India, this paper was born as an autoethnographic and analytical inquiry; it presents qualitative and multimodal research into a martial arts dance tradition, Lathi Khela, conducted from 2017 to 2018. This practice developed as a martial art, with little or no patronage, during the colonial days of the still undivided Bengal. Indeed, it still lives on as a popular martial arts dance tradition in many districts and rural communities of Bengaluru, Bangladesh. Compared to other districts, the Lathi Khela group from the Narail district has continued this practice through innovative methods. The distinctive character of the district is governed by the multi-generational practitioners of Lathi Khela and their creative choreographies, as well as the knowledge it articulates and embodies. Moreover, in Narail, this previously male-dominated profession has also included women since 2008. The focus of this work was the role of gender in the continuity of the Lathi Khela tradition in this district. This was achieved through five semi-structured, demonstrative interviews intuitively applied in the field. The research also drew on an ongoing conversation on Facebook with Rahat, a veteran Lathi Khela practitioner, who took stock of the current cultural landscape in the context of COVID-19. On the one hand, the women of this district occupy a contested space when representing this male-dominated tradition, and on the other, they physically embody lives within the patrilineal boundaries of kinship and marriage. The performativity of gender is thus directly connected to the symbolic meaning of maan, that is, the prestige attributed to the female body within the sociocultural contexts of the Lathi Khela.