Rajbansi festivals decoding indigenous knowledge system

Indigenous Knowledge System/ IKS and the set of local-levelmaterial apparatus are dependent upon non-adaptive domainsof the folk life (>folk culture>material apparatus). Altogethernon-reflective intangible part of culture (cultural values,social norms, folkways, taboo and traditional belief);reflective and tangible part (set of material apparatus) andreflective but non-tangible part (information, knowledge andtraditional technologies constituting TKS) constitute the FolkLife. Here, various aspects play major influence on the issueof Folk Life, such as, mode of communication (formal andinformal): firstly, with people via exchange ofgoods/message/women/power of word; secondly, with naturevia TKS; and thirdly, with Super Nature via performances(cultural/ social/ magical/ religious/ agricultural-seasonal)during religious festivals and other ceremonies. The networkso formed maintains connectivity among agrofacts, artifacts,sociofacts and mentifacts/psychofacts; and in this way, thetraditional social system (again highly non-adaptive) is builtup on composition of various institutions. Of variousinstitutions in traditional social system (non-adaptive); IKS(adaptive) is generally tested in the religious laboratory ofsurvival (religious institution).Within the traditional folk life of Rajbansi agrarian ruralstructure of northern West Bengal, a study has beenconducted to quarry the role of their festivals in propermanagement of IKS as they could communicate with socialsystem, nature and super-nature as well.