Divya & Nishant

TRIBAL MUSIC OF INDIA

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ABSTRACT

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• Need to study tribal music as a special field.

• The peculiar Instruments: Santhals.

• Contribution of tribal music to Indian music.

• Current Scenario

WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT?

• It can never be studied in isolation from the social and

ritual contexts of the people concerned.

• The instruments used are not as refined as the ones

used in classical/western music.

• Music amongst tribals are not conceived as exclusive

property of its individual members, but of the

community as a whole.

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TRIBAL MUSIC POSSESSES A WELL-BUILT

COMMUNITY BASIS.

• For this very reason, tribal music even if framed by individual

composers remain anonymous.

• A hereditary process of learning. There are no finishing schools

the music is passed down from generations to generations.

• There is no formal period of apprenticeship where the student is

able to devote their entire life to learning the music.

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Troisi (1979) : “ From the time a girl can toddle, she joins the line of dancers, while little boys ape

the antics of the drummers.”5

INSTRUMENTS

• Tribal musical instruments are generally manufactured by the

musicians themselves, making use of materials like coconut

shells, animal skin, etc.

• Skin, peritoneum, bamboo, coconut shells, and pots are but a

few commonly available materials used to make musical

instruments.

As you shall observe in the coming slides…

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Tuntuna or Chohokhode

Found among the Bhil, Kukna,

and Warli people of Western India.

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Kashth tarang or marimba india’s xylophone

Wooden resonating Bars.

Unlike Xylophone, there are no resonating chambers.

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Charchari

• Mundas of North East India and Santhals.

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Timki: Gond, Baiga, and Bharia peoples of Madhya Pradesh

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LANGI TRIBE OF RAJASTHAN PERFORMING, RIFF 2009,

Instruments: Sarangi, Dholak, Morchang, Algoza, Shehnai, Khartal, Jal Tarang, Murli.11

Santhals

Largest tribal community in India, who live mainly in the

states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and

Assam.

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Dhodro banam: A bowed instrument carved out of a single log

of wood of a tree which according to santal story, grew out of the

flesh of a human being.

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Tirio: The instrument most favored by santals, is bamboo flute

with seven holes. It is viewed as a symbol of love and seduction.

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SONGS

• The Santali word for song is “Sereng”.

• Songs which accompany the events of the life-cycle-birth, initiation, marriage, and

death.

• Agricultural songs have an element of ritual associated with them, and there is often a

real fear that the harvest may not prove fruitful unless great care is taken over the

formalities.

• Songs to propitiate their deities, in the belief that this will ensure the success of their

ventures, and songs to give thanks at the successful conclusion of the hunt.

• In festivals and celebration, one may also hear songs describing their ancestry and the

origin of the tribe.

• Even when things go wrong, in times of disease, drought, or shortage of food, the tribal

shaman is often invoked, and he generally has his own repertoire of songs.

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CONTRIBUTION TO INDIAN MUSIC

• Pannalal Ghosh (1911-1960) is credited with the introduction of the bānsurī (North Indian bamboo flute) into Hindustani classical music in the twentieth century.

• He was the first to introduce the seven hole flute or as Santals would call it the Tirio.

• The PhD thesis by Carl Clements refers to the influence of Santali culture on Pannalal Ghosh:

“While he worked hard all day, he spent much of his free time with the Santhal villagers. One of the more interesting points in this story is the fact that the Santhals played a kind of bansuri, as well as a drum known as madal, along with their singing and dancing. PG very much liked the

music and dancing of the Santhals, and in turn, the Santhals enjoyed his bansuri playing. ParulGhosh notes that, despite the many concerts he played for cultivated audiences, in later years

he looked back to his days playing for the Santhals as his greatest joy.“

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LEGENDS TOGETHER.

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CURRENT SCENARIO

• A workshop for the Santal flute called Tirio and Murli was held 16th September

2012 at Ghosaldanga near Santiniketan.

• The workshop marked the beginning of a major effort, namely to actively

involve Santali villagers and youths in the revival of their musical heritage.

• It agreed to follow the traditional way of preparing Santal instruments.

• Credits: Gokul Hansda, Santal flute player, educator and President (2012) of

the Ghosaldanga Bishnubati Adibasi Trust.

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IN A TOI-AHMEDABAD NEWS DATED OCT 2008

• To document and preserve unique musical instrument, Bhasha Research and Publication

Centre is undertaking a project with support from ministry of tribal affairs .

• The plan is to convert material in all Tribal Research and Training museums (TRTIs) to

digital format and form a National Consortium of Indian Tribal Arts and Culture.

And today, 2012 The National Consortium of Tribal Arts and Culture

created by Bhasha is the single largest digital resource for adivasi

art expression in India.

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THATTINMELKALI KERALA

Kolkali = Kol(stick) + Kali(dance); Mesmerizing rhythm with sticks.21

DAFFLI

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