Banam Raja from adivaani on Vimeo.

At the end of the day, Santals return to music to become whole again. They bring out their instruments into the courtyard and music, lyrics and song turn into stars in the night sky. Our musical traditions are millennial.

The banam is a stringed instrument. Banams are the lutes and the fiddles of the Santal people. They are made from locally available material–wood, vegetables and animal hide. The most common banams still made and played by Santals are the Dhodro Banam, the Reta Banam and the Phentor Banam.

This video is a tribute to our artists, who have kept our culture alive through generations.

For more: adivaani.org

Film credits: Joy Raj Eric Tudu (direction and camera), Luis A. Gomez (sound recording), Saheb Ram Tudu (editing and art work), Ruby Hembrom (executive producer)

See also

Audio | Santali Traditional and Fusion Songs: Ghosaldanga Bishnubati Adibasi Trust – West Bengal

Crafts and visual arts | Masks

Cultural heritage

India’s tribal, folk and devotional music: Secular and ceremonial songs

Memory of the World Programme – Unesco

Modernity

Music and dance | Musicology | Adivasi music and the public stage by Jayasri Banerjee

Performing arts

Revival of traditions

Seasons and festivals

Success story

Video | Banam lutes and fiddles of the Santal people – Jharkhand & West Bengal

Video | Celestial Dancers of Manipur

Video | Cultural traditions of the Halakki people – Karnataka

Video | Khasi musical heritage of Meghalaya

Video | Kota women’s dance: Shivaratri celebrations – Nilgiris – Tamil Nadu

Video | More than simply a theatre company, set up for a total experience: Trimukhi Platform – West Bengal

Video | Santali video album “Ale Ato” (Our Village, Part 1 of 2) – West Bengal

Video | South Gujarat tribal music documentation by Bhasha – Gujarat

Video | Tribes in Transition-III: “Indigenous Cultures in the Digital Era”

Video | Safe contents for educational use on many topics (music, visual arts and more)

Research the above issues with the help of Shodhganga: A reservoir of theses from universities all over India, made available under Open Access >>