RAS question
In Rajasthani folk tradition, a 'Bhopa' is a:
Correct answer: (A) Priest-singer who narrates folk epics with Phad.
In Rajasthani folk tradition, a Bhopa is a priest-singer who narrates folk-deity epics using the painted scroll called a phad.
Explanation
A Bhopa is the ritual performer in the phad tradition, not an artisan, organiser, or guard. Government Women Polytechnic College, Udaipur, Nayanima 2018-19 describes phad painting as a Rajasthan religious scroll and folk-painting tradition made on a long cloth or canvas. The narratives of folk deities, especially Pabuji and Devnarayan, are depicted on phads, and Bhopas are priest-singers who traditionally carry painted phads and use them as mobile temples of the folk deities. The Bhopa narrates the epic through the phad, plays the ravanhatta, and is accompanied by the Bhopi, who illuminates the phad with a lamp. Option A captures both the role and the medium.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) A potter makes objects such as idols, while a Bhopa is a priest-singer linked to narration and worship through the phad.
- (C) A merchant who organises fairs performs a commercial or managerial role, but the Bhopa's role is to carry and use the painted phad for folk-deity narratives.
- (D) A warrior guarding temples is a protective role, whereas the Bhopa is a narrator-priest who uses the phad as the ritual focus for folk deities.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan folk culture, especially the link between oral epics, folk deities, and phad painting. RAS often asks such terms because they connect performer, object, and ritual context in one compact fact.