Future Scope

Bonbibi serves the same protective cover for both Hindus and Muslims. Folk deities have proved to be more prominent in the hearts and lives of the rural and regional people than any other gods and goddesses. The history of the culture prevalent in the Sundarban has well resulted into the rituals, fairs, worship of the deities which in return preserves the ecological balance and the dual survival among a man to man, and to that of the forest. The commonality of socio-economic circumstances and physical environments are factors that cannot be ignored in attempts to understand religious faiths and their rituals. As long as there are tigers in the forest, and there is a necessity for people to rely on the forest for their livelihood, there will be worship of Bonbibi.

References:

• ·       Engaging south Asian religions: Boundaries, Appropriations and Resistances by Matthew N. Schmalz
• ·       Infochangeindia.org
• ·       The Sundarbans: Folk Deities, Monsters and Mortals by Sutapa Chatterjee Sarkar
• ·       Sundorboner Loukik Debdebi O Murti Vabona by Krishnakali Mondal
• ·       In The Lagoons Of The Gangetic Delta- Google books
• ·       Mouley- Honey collectors of Sundarbans and their ITKs by Monanjali Bandyopyadhay
• ·       Wikipedia
• ·       Google images

Rituals

Any forest going wood cutter or honey collector first propitiates the deities of Bonbibi and Dokhhinrai, which are usually placed at the edge of forests. Importantly in spite of fast depletion and lesser dependence on forest produce for a living along with gradual rigidification of religions, the syncretic essence of Bonbibi has not receded in the remote areas of Sundarbans. For the last few years the people of the kalitala village in north 24 parganas have been encapturing the entire life history of Bonbibi by displaying a panel of clay images which is more than 250 in number.

The wood cutters, bauls, malangis, moules, boatmen and hunters try to placate the tigers and keep them happy by raising altars in the forest and offering roosters and pegions. In the Sundarban region, the tradition of worshipping the tiger under the name Dakshin Ray, Lord of the South, still persists. The moule folk of both Hindu and Muslim communities worship Dakshinray as the God of tigers.

Rakhal Gayen, a village elder from Balikhal village on Jharkhali Island, South 24 Parganas, says: “Maa’s puja does not require a priest or recitation of any mantras. Neither is there any propitious moment to perform the rituals, which are largely done as per our convenience.” The goddess’s shrines are housed beneath hay sheds and bamboo poles and are usually at the entrance to the village. The rituals involved are equally ethnic, says Chandan Giri who takes pride in the social customs of the region. “Wild flowers, creepers, certain weeds and seeds are picked from the forest and offered to her as a mark of our commitment towards saving the forest,” he says.

Among the folk rites associated with the worship of Dakshin Rai, Jatal has a special place. This ceremony is observed in the forest at the dead of night. The worship is performed by lighting torches, beating of drums and offering of wine, meat and hallucinatory drugs. Ducks and goats are sacrificed. In these folk societies various beliefs exist about the divinity and prowess of Dakshin Rai. Invocation of Dakshin Rai is also made in case of diseases of cattle. Dakshin Rai is worshipped mostly as the god who liberates humans from evil influences and helps cultivation.

The most convincing evidence of the differences is in theological orientation. The residents of the Sundarbans refers to Bonbibi as a Musalmani devi, the ritualistic approach is different in the two communities residing in that area. Bonbibi is originally identified by the Hindus as a goddess with Islamic backgrounds who help all people. The Muslims thinks that she is an embodiment sent to the ‘eighteen lowlands’ by Allah to save the people. Hindu worshippers perform ‘puja’ in local thaans, (a structure to house the clay image of the deity) which are specially placed near the edge of the forests for obvious reasons. If one is wondering by foot from villages to forests, he/she may come across such a thaan. The thaans contain a murti (clay idols) of Ma Bonbibi. Sometimes, in the absence of a thaan, locals worship simply by putting a red cloth or a mala (garland) on a tree by the forest edge.

A party venturing into the forest may contain both Hindu and Muslims. So, a visit by both the communities to a thaan, made by a Hindu is not an unusual sight. The Hindus perform pujas, whereas the Muslims perform duaas.

There is an annual celebration of Bonbibi around the time of Makar Sankranti, during which the Jaharnama is recited aloud. The play of dukher jatra takes place along with pala gaans. This is done to teach the younger generation about Ma Bonbibi and keeping all connected with the community, and reaffirms the relation of Bonbibi to the community and with that of the forest. Rice, sweets, and fruit offerings are made. Some offers toys to Dukhe. Muslims offer a special sweet called shirni.

A ritual specialist accompanies a team into the forest. They are called bauleys, gunins and fakirs. Their role in the expedition is to provide protection to the workers in the forest. The ritual specialist has a verbal repertoire of divine origin.

The following is a mantra by a bauley:

O Mother

Thou who lives in the forest,

Thou, the very incarnation of the forest,

I am the meanest son of yours,

I am totally ignorant,

Mother, do not leave,

Mother, you kept me safe inside your womb,

For ten months and ten days,

Mother, replace me there again,

O Mother pay heed to my words|

As evident from the mantra, Bonbibi is also looked upon as a maternal figure. Bonbibi’s clay figure can be seen in two variations as per two communities. The first one can see her dressed in pyajama, braided hair, a cap, complete with a necklace and tiara. She wears shoes. The other sees her in saree, necklace, a garland, and various jewelry complete with a crown. She carries Dukhe with her. Starting from poush-sankranti through the month of maagh, an annual jnatal puja is done and observes a grand fair. The most attractive fair can be seen at the Horinkhalir Maath, Ramrudropur, adjacent to Joynogor police station. Rituals and crowd follow as day slips into evening. Various local sweets are offered to the goddess which includes batasha made of sugar, kodma, mowa, milk, shirni, and various fruits and live animals. One of the main attractions of the fair is that of a kite flying competition among the kids and teens. Some of the ancient Bonbibi’s fairs are that of the villages of Haldia (250 years old) and Baratgarh (100 years old).

Dokkhinrai’s puja is held at Dhopdhopi on the first day of the month of ‘maagh’. It is also known as Jnatal puja. A grand fair is also organised on its occasion. Offerings made to the deity comprises of locally made delicacies of both non veg and veg platter. Many offer live animals like hens and ducks and later release them into lakes or forests. Other than Dhopdhopi, fairs are also organised at Joynagar, Koylapara and Bohdu (Adjacent to Joynagar), Ghateshwara of Mandirbajar, Raidighi of Mathurapur, Sagarer Kenatodi, Salkia of Mograhaat, Ardoh and Dhoniramchok etc.

West Bengal’s sundarban welfare development department took a step and inaugurated a Bonbibi’r Utsav from 2002. Its slogan is designed as ‘love Sundarban, care for it, save it’. The fair sees other forms of folk culture in and around Sundarban area. Kobigaan, tusu, vadu, putulnaach, jatra, gaan etc are held for the people. 

Forest Religion

In most parts of the country, ‘Maa’ invokes Goddess Shakti/Durga and her many forms. Here, strangely, Maa Bonbibi does not refer to a Hindu deity. On the contrary, she is a Muslim goddess who protects everyone irrespective of their community. Hers is the presiding “forest religion” in the mangrove delta, deeply embedded in the social and cultural mores of the villagers and passed down from generation to generation. For the islanders, Bonbibi goes against the distinctions of caste, class and religion. This is the reason why those who work in the forest as fishers and crab-collectors stress the fact that they have to consider all jatis – whether Brahmin or Malo, rich or poor, Hindu or Muslim, or even human or animal – ‘equal’. Tigers and humans ‘share the same food’, they explain, because they both depend on the forest – tigers eat fish and crabs like the villagers, and like them, tigers are greedy for wood. These facts not only make tigers equal to humans but it also ‘ties’ them to humans. “The forest and the tiger bind us together. A Muslim may pray five times in a mosque, and Hindus perform aarti in the temple, but when it is time to go into the forest we are all together in our prayers to Maa Bonbibi and her mount Raja Dakshinrai. A night in the forest is enough to teach you that,” says Kanai Mondal, a honey collector from Shaterkona village on Bali Island, South 24 Parganas district. “This tradition has deep roots in the principles of conservation,” says Pradeep Vyas, Director, Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve. “Known by many names and forms -- Bonbibi, Bonodurga or Byaghro Devi (tiger deity) -- she is a personification of the forest. The faith of the villagers in worshipping her and Raja Dakshinrai before entering the forest is a reaffirmation of their commitment to forest and tiger conservation.”

In Hindu-dominated villages, the goddess appears as a bejewelled female atop a tiger or crocodile, with a child in her lap. Her Muslim avatar is more militant, with braided hair, wearing a cap, dressed in ghagra and pyjama (instead of a sari), and with shoes. Thatched shrines bearing icons of the goddess, accompanied by her brother Shah Jongli and mounted on the Supreme Tiger God Raja Dakshinrai, dot villages along the rivers. Chants of “Maa Bonbibi Allah, Allah” mingle effortlessly with “Maa Bonodevi Durga, Durga” as woodcutters, honey collectors and fishermen pay obeisance before venturing out into tiger territory. Muslims tuck in their beards and sit arm-in-arm with the Hindus before the idols; Hindus, in turn, have no qualms about praying to a Muslim deity.

Bonbibi'r Johurnama

Following on Dukhe’s story, the islanders of the Sundarbans, often explain that they have to identify with Dukhe, whose unfailing belief in Bonbibi saved him, and consider the forest as being only for those who are poor and for those who have no intention of taking more than what they need to survive. This is the ‘agreement’ between non-humans and humans that permits them both to depend on the forest and yet respect the others’ needs. The ‘pure heart’ means that they have to enter the forest without any greedy or violent disposition, the ‘empty hands’ mean they have to enter the forest without firearms and only if they do not possess riches or own land. It was only if they honoured their part of the agreement and left the forest and its resources to those who are dispossessed that tigers would respect their part of this arrangement worked out by Bonbibi explained the islanders.

Bonbibi’s story is not very old. The Bonbibi Johurnama, the booklet that narrates her story – was written by one little-known Abdur Rahim towards the end of the 1800s, and is written, although in Bengali, from back to front to emulate the Arabic script. The story between the Ghazi and Dokkhin Rai is more famous. The story is a version of an epic poem called Ray-Mangal composed by Krishnaram Das in 1686 (it thus predates that of Bonbibi by a couple of hundred years). The historian Richard Eaton believes that this story is a ‘personified memory of the penetration of these same forests by Muslim pioneers’ i.e. Sufi holy men (read his excellent The rise of Islam and the Bengal frontier 1204–1760 for more info on how Bengal was Islamised – not through the sword but through agriculture). Today, Dokkhin Rai and the Ghazi are always represented together – marked in Dokkhin Rai’s case by the symbol of a human head and the Ghazi through his tomb represented by a little earthen mound (these are also always present in the Bonobibi shrines). The Johurnama is clear: Bonbibi protects all God’s creatures who seek her protection and aid. After her successful battle with narayani, she permanently settled in Bhurkhunda. There is a ‘thaan of Bonbibi’ (place of worship) under a tree near Hasnabad. Somebody would worship this particular deity after the fulfillment of their ‘manat’ (wish). According to some, the real Bhurkhunda was within the Bagmara block. The ‘Kedokhali Island’, from where Dukhe was rescued by Bonbibi is not far from this place.

Let us look at the most important figures from The Johurnama.

Dokhhinrai: After Bonbibi, the next important figure is that of Dokkhinrai. There are many variations of opinions regarding him. Just as Bonbibi is regarded as a Hindu goddess, and some say she is a follower of Islam and its preacher. Similarly, some consider Dokhhinrai to be the descendants of Pratapadiya. Whereas some are found saying that he is the imaginary result in a Godly form by the ancient forest dwellers. Historians have argued about the emergence of Dokhhinrai to be around the same time as during the Maurya reign. His father was Dondo Rokhho. His mother was known as Raimoni. She was an occult spiritual practitioner and a great fighter. After his father’s death Dokhhinrai became the ‘odhiswar’ (owner) of the atharo bhatir desh (land of the eighteen tides). He also became an occult practitioner influenced by his mother. As legend goes, he was a gorgeous man who was as handsome as ‘Karthik’ (handsome son of goddess Parvati as per as Hindu mythology). He had glowy golden skin and was mighty. He is seen on a horse or a tiger. Has a mighty, soldier like framework. Possesses a big moustache. Armed with war weapons. He was and is the owner of the wax, honey and other forest products and every animals in the forest are to abide him. And as Sunderbans is the land of the Royal Bengal Tigers, no wonder he is worshipped as the god of the tigers. The labourers of the area, who make a living out of the forest products, bows to and worships Dokhhinrai before venturing out into the forest.

Image of Dokhhinrai

Shah Jongli: He is known to be the brother of Bonbibi. His statue is seen in seated form beside Bonbibi. He has a greenish yellow toned skin, has a red ‘chadar’ over his chest, rounded face and ears are somewhat hidden under his hair. He also has parted, shiny black hair, wears a headgear. Sometimes seen wearing a half jacket.  

Clay figure of Shah Jongli alongside Bonbibi

 

Barkhan Ghazi: Hazrat gazi is popularly known by various names such as Ghazi Baba, Ghazi Shaheb, Barkhan Ghazi and Mubarak Shah Ghazi. Said to have saved Dokhhinrai from the wrath of Ma Bonbibi.

Image of Barkhan Ghazi

Narayani: Mother of Dokhhinrai. She fought with Bonbibi and later accepted her as a friend.  

Story of Dukhe

From previous post...

Bonbibi’s story is always followed by Dukhe’s tale. Dukhe (literally ‘sadness’) was a young boy who lived with his widowed mother grazing other peoples’ animals. One day, his village uncle lured him into joining his team to work in the forest as a honey collector. Dukhe’s mother did not want him to go but finally allowed him to leave with the recommendation that he should call out to Ma Bonbibi should any harm befall him. As the boy left for the dreaded forests, his mother prayed out to Ma Bonbibi to protect her son.

Kotha raile bonobibi mai,

Abhagir putra dukhe mahalete jai,

Kangaler mata tumi bipodnashinee,

Amar dukhere ma go tarabe aponi,

Tomar kadame mata sapinu uhare,

Rane bane banabibi tarabe bachhare|

(She {dukhe’s mother} prayed to Bonbibi “where art thou oh mother Bonbibi, the son of this unfortunate mother is heading for the forest, you, the savior of all the poor ones, shall surely save my son. I put my son into your hands; protect him from the perils of the forest".)

 The team left for the forest but couldn’t locate any bee-hives. Dokkhin Rai then appeared to the uncle in his dreams, whose name was Dhonai (from dhon – ‘wealth’) and promised him seven boats full of honey and wax if he could have Dukhe in return. Dhonai cried out:

Raimoni nibedi charane,

Dinga laye ashiachhi mahal karane,

Dhup dhuna ayojone puja bali lao,

Shaat dinga pura more mom modhu dao,

Toma bhabe ashiyachhi laiya taroni,

Tomar choron bina onyo nahi jani,

Mom modhu diya mor rakho bochon,

Natuba tomar age tajibo jibon|

(dhonai the boatman prayed to dokhhinrai for his blessings and asked him for seven boats full of honey and wax from the forest. He worshiiped ray with incense and offered sacrifices. He entreated ray to fulfill his desires: ‘either you give me honey and wax or I shall lay down my life.’)

After some hesitation, the uncle agreed and left Dukhe on the banks of Kedokhali Island and his boat sailed off piled with honey and wax.

Raimoni mokam korila sendu bone,

Pujila rayer pado nana ayojane,

Chini pheni malom sandesh kato ar,

 Dhup diye gondho puja nana upohar,

Shanibare rayer puja dilo dhona naiya,

Ekkhani chaak shese lailo katiya,

Mone mone bole dukhe dilam tomare|

(Dokkhinrai made forest of sendu trees his home. Dhonai made all the arrangements for his worship with incense, sweet meats etc. On Saturday after worshipping Dokkhinrai he cut down a hive and mentally declared “I offer you Dukhe as a sacrifice”.)

  Just as Dukhe was about to be devoured by Dokkhin Rai, he called out to Bonbibi. She took him in her arms.

Echham ajam pariya mata gaete phukila,

Samalia dukhe tokhon uthia bosila|

(The mother Bonbibi chanted hymns in the name of Allah and blew into the pores of his body. Dukhe got back his senses.)

She then rescued him and sent her brother Shah Jongoli to beat up Dokkhinrai. Dokkhinrai ran away from the forest.

Darete osthir rai kapite lagila,

Gaji jendar hujurete hajir hoila,

Bose achhilo barkhagaji kalu dosta jora,

Samnete shaat bagh rohiyachhe khara,

Pingal boron tanu sonar shamiyana,

Nuner putul moto sorir kancha sona,

Saha sikandar badshah Allah jare raji,

Tahar beta chander chhata shah barkha gaji,

Duniya beria tambu dilo jei jon,

Manik poros adi besumar dhan,

Chouda hajar bagh ache sahar prahari,

Mayur murale kalu rai kare gai,

Henokale upanita dokkhiner rai|

(Dokkhinrai began to shake with fear. He went for shelterto the place where Barkhan ghazi sat with his friend kalu. Seven tigers stood up right in front of him. Gorgeous to look at, he had a soft golden halo around him. Shah sikandar was a devotee of Allah, and his son was no other than Barkhan Ghazi himself. His umbrella was unfurled over the whole world and his wealth had no limit. The handsome ghazi sat there with fourteen thousand tigers to guard him. Kalu, decked with peacock feathers was in attendance when Dokkhinrai arrived there.)

In fear for his life, Dokkhin Rai ran to his friend the Ghazi. Ghazi, who is a pir, suggests Dokkhin Rai ask forgiveness from Bonbibi by calling her ‘mother’.

Shuno nek mai,

Tomar hujure mago ek bhiksha chai,

Dokkhinrai pare kop koro dur,

Ei khatire ailam tomar hujur|

(Ghazi asked Bonbibi, ‘good mother, grant me this wish. Don’t be angry with Dokkhinrai. Pardon him.’)

 He then takes him to Bonbibi and pleads on Dokkhin Rai’s behalf. Bonbibi, heeding the Ghazi’s intervention, accepts Dokkhin Rai’s apology and accepts him as her ‘son’.

Atharo bhatir madhye ami sabar ma,

Ma bole je dake tar dukh thake na,

Sonkote poriya jeba ma bole dakibe,

Kadachit himsa tai kabhu na karibe|

(I am the mother of all beings within these eighteen lowlands. Anybody who hails me as mother gets relief from all sufferings. You must not cause injury to anybody who appeals to me in danger.)

Hearing these words, Dokkhinrai filled with remorse, and made a solemn promise.

Shuno shuno mata arjo amar,

Satya satya tin satya satya angikar,

Banete asiya jeba ma dakibe,

Ama hote himsa tar kadacha na hobe|

(Mother, listen my vow, ‘I shall never cause harm to anyone who appeals to you for protection.’)

However, Dokkhinrai starts arguing that if humans are given a free reign there will be no forest left. So, to be fair and ensure that Dokkhinrai and his retinue of tigers and spirits stop being a threat to humans, and humans stop being a threat to non-humans (i.e. wild animals and spirits), Bonbibi elicits promises from Dukhe, Dokkhinrai and the Ghazi that they are all to treat each other as ‘brothers’. She does this by forcing Dokkhinrai and the Ghazi to part with some of their wood and gold respectively and by making Dukhe promise that he and his kind heed the injunction that they are to enter the forest only with a pobitro mon (pure heart) and khali hate (empty handed). She then sends Dukhe back to the village a rich man so that he does not have to work in the forest again.

The personification in the above mentioned songs is virtually transparent. We all get to know at once that Dokkhinrai is none other than the man eating tiger of the Sunderbans, whereas Bonbibi is the spirit of the forest in its benign aspect. Bonbibi saved Dukhe from the clutches of the tiger and sent him home on the back of a crocodile. Dokkhinrai is the fierce spirit of the tiger who must be propitiated. Bonbibi, on the contrary, is the embodiment of the forest itself, cast in a feminine form. The personification of the forest as a kind mother who protects all woodcutters and honey-gatherers is evident in the manner in which Bonbibi allays Dukhe’s fears regarding the crocodile.

Bibi bole ore dukhe,

Kumbhire na khabe toke.

Ei bate nahi daro tumi.

Kumnhirer pith pare,

Jaite Jodi bhoi kare,

Kole niya bosibo j ami.

Sunia tobe dukhe koi,

Se hoila kiser bhoi,

Thaki Jodi jononir kole,

Kahe hin kobikar,

Amon nasib kar,

Bonbibi beta jare bole|

(Mother Bonbibi said: ‘my poor Dukhe, the crocodile will not eat you, don’t have any fear on that score. If you are afraid to ride on the crocodile, I shall take you on my lap.’ Hearing this Dukhe said: ‘if I am on my mother’s lap then I have nothing to fear.’ The poor poet says, whoever had such good fortune as to be called a son by Bonbibi herself.’)

Typical clay figure of Bonbibi with her brother Shah Jongli and Dukhe at her feet.

History and Emergence of Bonbibi

Emergence of Bonbibi:

In the archipelago of islands that are the Sundarbans a little-known goddess graces its forests. The story goes that Bonbibi, the ‘woman of the forest’, was chosen by Allah to protect people who work in the Sundarbans against a greedy man-eating half Brahmin sage half tiger-demon, Dokkhin Rai. Dokkhin Rai, ‘King of the South’ (in this case to be understood as referring to Lower Bengal – i.e. the entire region that was once part of the Sundarbans) was a Brahmin sage who lived in the forest.

One day, in a fit of greed he decided to feed on humans. For this, he took the form of a tiger. This was possible for him as, through his ascetic powers, he could magically transform himself into anything. His greed increased and soon the sage was refusing to share any of the forest resources with humans. He also started legitimising their killing by calling these a ‘tax’ (kar) – one they had to pay with their lives for the products they usurped from what he had come to consider as ‘his’ jungle. Soon his arrogance and greed knew no bounds and he proclaimed himself lord and master of the Sundarbans mangrove (badabon) and of all the beings that inhabited it: the 370 million spirits, demons, god-lings, spirits and tigers.

Picture of  Ma Bonbibi idol

With time he became a demon (rakkhosh) who preyed on humans. Tigers and spirits became the chosen subjects of Dokkhin Rai and, emboldened by him, also started to terrorise and feed on humans. The trust that had existed between tigers and humans has now been broken. But Allah, on noticing the frightening deterioration in relations between tigers and humans, decided to take action. In his compassion for the people of the ‘land of the eighteen tides’ (athero bhatir desh – another name for the Sundarbans) he decided to put a stop to Dokkhin Rai’s reign of ‘terror’ and insatiable greed. He chose for this task Bonbibi, a young girl who lived in the forest. Bonbibi’s father, Ibrahim, following his second wife’s wishes, had abandoned his first wife Gulalbibi in a forest while she was pregnant. Gulalbibi had given birth to twins but had decided to keep only her son, Shah Jongoli, as she feared not being able to raise them both. A passing deer took pity on the abandoned daughter Bonbibi and became her surrogate mother.

One day, when she had grown up, Bonbibi heard Allah bidding her to free ‘the land of the eighteen tides’ from the exploitation of the Brahmin man-eating sage Dokkhin Rai who took the form of a tiger. At the same time, Ibrahim returned to retrieve his first wife and children from the forest. But as her mother and brother prepared to leave Bonbibi called out to her brother and told him to accompany her on an urgent task – they had to go to Mecca and Medina. Her brother decided to follow her and together they leave for Medina to receive the blessings of Fatima and from there continue to Mecca to bring back some holy earth. When they arrive in the infamous land of the eighteen tides they call out Allah’s name and mix the holy earth of Mecca with the earth of the Sundarbans. Dokkhin Rai hears their call for prayer and resenting their intrusion and their invocation of Allah decides to drive them away. But Dokkhin Rai’s mother Narayani appears and insists that it is better for a woman to be fought by another woman and decides to take on Bonbibi. As she starts to lose the conflict, Narayani calls Bonbibi ‘friend’ (soi). Bonbibi, gratified by the appellation, accepts Narayani’s ‘friendship’ and they stop warring. 

                                                                                                                                 ... to be continued.

sunderbans and its relation with Bonbibi

The geographical location, varied topography, physiography, flora and most importantly the fauna of this area has given rise to some popular beliefs and cultures among the population. Before learning about the folk, rituals and cultures of the place, we must know and understand the natural attributes and geographical features and barriers of the land.

"The Sundarbans (Bengali: সুন্দরবন, Shundorbôn) is a natural region in the Bengal region comprising Eastern India and Bangladesh. It is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world. The Sundarbans covers approximately 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi) of which 60 percent is in Bangladesh with the remainder in India.The Sundarbans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site."

The name of the area 'sundarban' literally means and translates into 'Beautiful forest" in Bengali script. The most accepted view is that the name is derived from the 'sundari' trees, a species of mangrove that are found here in large numbers.

The mangrove-dominated Gangetic Delta – the Sundarbans – is a complex ecosystem comprising one of the three largest single tracts of mangrove forests of the world. Situated mostly in Bangladesh, a small portion of it lies in India.

The Sundarban forest lies in the vast delta on the Bay of Bengal formed by the super confluence of the Ganges, Padma,Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers across southern Bangladesh. The seasonally flooded Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests lie inland from the mangrove forests on the coastal fringe. The forest covers 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi) of which about 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 sq mi) are in Bangladesh. It became inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1997. The Sundarbans is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests. The interconnected network of waterways makes almost every corner of the forest accessible by boat. The area is known for the eponymous Royal Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), as well as numerous fauna including species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes.

The land of the Sundarbans can be divided into two Ecoregions: Sundarbans fresh water swamp forests and Sundarbans mangroves.

This area presents a wide range of flora and fauna. The Sundarbans provides a unique ecosystem and a rich wildlife habitat, which is rich with predators, avifauna, aquafauna, reptiles etc.

Coming down to the important part is the economy of the area. People of this region depends mainly on natural resources for their daily livelihood. The forest provides raw materials for wood based industries. In addition to traditional forest produce like timber, fuelwood, pulpwood etc., large scale harvest of non-wood forest products such as thatching materials, honey, bees-wax, fish, crustacean and mollusc resources of the forest takes place regularly. Therefore, even if for their daily income or to live in such a land where people can meet their death in every turnings of the roads, where fear dominates any other feelings, in such a situation a godly figure became necessary to fend off their own fears. this is when Ma Bonbibi, a multicultural goddess came into being. In the land of the Sunderbans, ruled by tigers, tides, and the uncertainties of nature, there is a unique tradition of conservation and communal harmony. It is based on the villagers’ unflinching faith in Maa Bonbibi (forest deity) who is believed to bestow them with strength and protection against Raja Dakshinrai (tiger god) as they struggle to eke out a living in the mangrove swamps.

Satellite image of the Sundarbans.