Category Archives: Music and dance

“The old villagers who have imbibed our traditional knowledge and normally make and play the Banam [fiddle] are unable to transmit their skills and knowledge to [youngsters] busy preparing school lessons and therefore get little time to sit with the elderly people of their village and learn from them. Another reason is [an] attraction to the fast and loud music from Bollywood and from other modern sources.” – Boro Baski on the purpose of organizing instrument making workshops at the Museum of Santal Culture (Bishnubati village near Santiniketan, West Bengal)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=30075

“Musical knowledge is transmitted through a collective oral-aural, participative method, in which memory and tradition are the basic principles. Music skills are acquired by listening and repeating, by assimilating formulary materials, and by participation in a kind of communal retrospection.” – Ruchira Ghose in “Cadence and Counterpoint: Documenting Santal Musical Traditions” (A virtual exhibition on Google Cultural Institute 2016)
https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/DwISi2xsSQFgKA
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=19487

“The great diversity of music in India is a direct manifestation of the diversity and fragmentation of the population in terms of race, religion, language, and other aspects of culture. The process of acculturation, so accelerated in modern times, is still not a very significant factor in many areas of the country. There remain remote pockets where tribal societies continue to live much as they have done for centuries. Even though some of these may show evidence of borrowing from higher cultures, they nevertheless manage to assimilate these elements into their own culture in such a way as to enhance their own identity.” – NA Jairazbhoy in A Cultural History of India (Oxford University Press, 1975, Chapter XVI “Tribal, Folk and Devotional Music”), pp. 212-242
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=3488

“Many of the modern day gypsies can be traced back to the nomadic tribe called Roma. In Europe, they were referred to as the goddess-worshippers. This goddess was none other than Kali. They were later referred to as gypsy, as they believed that they came from Egypt before spreading to European countries. The tribe Roma also make a claim that their ancestors were an ancient warrior class in Punjab. […] While suspicions have led to wide scale persecution, the world also acknowledges their amazing contribution, especially to music and dance. From guitar to violins in places like Hungary, the flamenco dances in Spain and Oriental dances in Egypt is said to originate from them.” – “Where do gypsies come from?” (The Times of India, Life, 14 May 2013)
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/where-do-gypsies-come-from/articleshow/18791132.cms
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=20310

“Within villages around Dang [in Gujarat], traditional instruments and artists are waning. Cultural music and dance forms among the adivasis have evolved over centuries. Beautified by elements and nuances of their surroundings, these forms depict their very lifestyles. Played for hours together in the same tempo, music is an integral part of celebrations and mourning. […] Each instrument has a purpose and belief related to it.” – Ashleshaa Khurana in “The ailing art of adivasi music” (Times of India, 30 January 2014)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=13780