Embodying Facts, Figures, and Faiths in Narrative Artistic Performances in Rural Bangladesh

Paper Title

Embodying Facts, Figures, and Faiths in Narrative Artistic Performances in Rural Bangladesh

Publication Info

• Topic area: Ethnographic study of rural Bangladeshi cultural practices for storytelling and moral education.
• Keywords: Ethnography, rural Bangladesh, cultural performances, Puthi, Bhandari Gaan, Pot music, narrative construction, HCI, data storytelling, visual aesthetics.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Mainstream data visualization and storytelling practices often marginalize communities with low digital literacy, failing to incorporate their cultural and ethical frameworks.
• Significance: Understanding and integrating alternative storytelling practices can lead to more inclusive, culturally appropriate data-driven systems.
• Motivation and related work: Prior research in HCI and data visualization has focused on Western-centric practices, neglecting marginalized communities’ traditions. This study addresses the gap by exploring rural Bangladeshi performances as alternative methods of information curation and moral storytelling.

Solution

• Proposed approach: Ethnographic investigation of Puthi, Bhandari Gaan, and Pot music in rural Bangladesh to understand their narrative, ethical, and aesthetic frameworks.
• Novelty:
  1. Detailed documentation of three rural Bangladeshi performance traditions as culturally situated storytelling methods.
  2. Analysis of how visual conventions, gestures, and material practices preserve marginalized voices.
  3. Exploration of the interplay between factuality, emotionality, and aesthetics in narrative construction.
  4. Design implications for inclusive, culturally grounded data storytelling systems.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Conducted a ten-month ethnographic study in three Bangladeshi villages.
  • Methods included interviews (n=44), focus group discussions (n=59), and participatory observations.
  • Thematic analysis of transcripts, field notes, and visual artifacts to identify narrative strategies and cultural practices.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Performances integrate factuality, emotionality, and aesthetics to convey moral lessons and historical narratives.
  • Visual conventions (e.g., color, proportion, gestures) and material artifacts (e.g., scrolls, costumes) play crucial roles in storytelling.
  • Performers adapt narratives to modern contexts, including political campaigns and public health awareness.
• Advantage over baselines: Highlights polyvocal, culturally embedded storytelling practices that challenge the linear, factual focus of mainstream data systems.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Study involved 76 participants (41 female, 35 male) across interviews and focus groups.
  • Observations spanned hundreds of hours, focusing on performance preparation, execution, and audience interaction.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Potential biases due to snowball sampling and participant self-presentation.
  • Future work includes co-designing interactive narrative tools, developing frameworks for plural narrative infrastructures, and creating community-centered data repositories.

Summary

This ethnographic study examines how rural Bangladeshi communities use Puthi, Bhandari Gaan, and Pot music to curate and communicate moral lessons and historical narratives. These performances blend factuality, emotionality, and aesthetics, employing culturally situated visual and material conventions. The findings reveal the adaptability of these traditions to modern contexts and provide design implications for inclusive, culturally grounded data storytelling systems. Future work aims to operationalize these insights into interactive tools and frameworks that honor plural truths and community-led governance.