1. TRIBAL MUSIC OF INDIA
Divya & Nishant
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2. ABSTRACT
• Need to study tribal music as a special field.
• The peculiar Instruments: Santhals.
• Contribution of tribal music to Indian music.
• Current Scenario
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3. 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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4. 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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5. 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

6. 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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7. Tuntuna or Chohokhode
Found among the Bhil, Kukna,
and Warli people of Western India.
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8. Kashth tarang or marimba india’s xylophone
Wooden resonating Bars.
Unlike Xylophone, there are no resonating chambers.
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9. Charchari
• Mundas of North East India and Santhals.
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10. Timki: Gond, Baiga, and Bharia peoples of Madhya Pradesh
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11. LANGI TRIBE OF RAJASTHAN PERFORMING, RIFF 2009,
Instruments: Sarangi, Dholak, Morchang, Algoza, Shehnai, Khartal, Jal Tarang, Murli.
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12. Santhals
Largest tribal community in India, who live mainly in the
states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and
Assam.
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13. 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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14. 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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15. 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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16. 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. Parul
Ghosh 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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17. LEGENDS TOGETHER.
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18. 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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19. 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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21. THATTINMELKALI KERALA
Kolkali = Kol(stick) + Kali(dance); Mesmerizing rhythm with sticks.
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22. DAFFLI
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