The Sunuwar community is a community of Kirant people living in East and Central Nepal. Like many Kirant communities, they celebrate the two major festivals of Undhauli and Umbhauli, which they call 'Syandar Pindar'. This is a time to remember and worship ancestors and nature. The festivals are deeply linked with nature, agriculture and nomadic pastoral lifestyle: Umbhauli is celebrated when the animals are taken up or Umbho to the mountains to pasture, and Umbhauli when the animals come down or Undho to the foothills. The episode contains some of the music played at this time, and conversations about the festival, its links with nature, and the gradual marginalization of this lifestyle by the state.
Sangini songs are sung by women, especially Brahmin-Chhetri women, in east Nepal and adjoining north-east India. They are sung by groups of women while they are working, or during festivals, weddings, and celebrations. They depict life and the world through women's point of view. They include detailed analyses of social structures and women's place in families and societies. They also include folktales and religious stories.
Dafa Khalahs are traditional Newa music groups in the Kathmandu Valley. Maharjan and Manandhar families have Dafa Khalahs in every tole (locality), which sing traditional, devotional songs, either every day or during certain months. Hitherto, the tradition had been completely male. But that is changing as a small number of women have started entering Dafa Khalahs. Women overcome many challenges to learn and perform this ancient genre, which is helping to revive a rich, centuries-old heritage on the decline.
Mangalinis are women who sing auspicious songs for religious rituals. The tradition of women singing auspicious songs for rituals was once widespread among Nepal's Hindu communities, but is declining today. This episode is concerned with the royal Mangalinis employed by Nepal's erstwhile royal family. After the end of monarchy, the women continue to sing for Dashain rituals at Hanumandhoka. Their songs contain elements of folk traditions but were crafted to meet changing priorities of the court. The women's status as 'auspicious' stems from the Hindu reverence of women's powers of creation.
The podcast discusses the royal Mangalinis, their songs, and includes an interview with ethnomusicologist Carol Tingey who researched the Mangalinis.
The Uranws are a unique indigenous community living in South-east Nepal. The small community of just over 40 thousand Uranws is highly marginalized but their culture and language continue to flourish in their dense settlements. The Uranw language (also called Kurux or Kudukh) is Nepal's only Dravidian language, they worship nature and build no temples to worship their deities. In this podcast we discuss their songs, folklore, and mythology, which tell stories of their tenacious survival in face of dominance. Uranw mythology traces their journey though the subcontinent in the past few millennia, expressing their sense of loss of land, status, and privilege which characterizes their present life.
The Sherpas are famous all over the world for their close relationship with the highest mountains of the world - the Himalayas. This relationship is also reflected in their songs. Many Sherpa songs sing about the Himalayas, praise their beauty, and revere them as sacred places. Also, the songs sing about the relationship between nature and life, and the need to conserve and love the mountains.
Tamangs live mostly in the Central hills and mountains of Nepal, and their music is rich in rhythm and lore. In this episode, we touch upon various aspects of Tamang music. Phapare songs that are unaccompanied by any musical instruments, and may be sung to the rhytm of the quern stone - indicating that since the dawn of humanity, music has been used by humans to make work bearable. Searching for the roots of Tamang music leads one first to this purely vocal music, followed by the beat of the dhyangro - a drum used by religious leaders. How tracing the dhyangro leads one to the Tamang's religious history, you can find out in the episode. And finally, we end by enjoying the famous Tamang Selo, sung and danced to the beat of the Damfu, which has long been a staple of mainstream Nepali music.
Music not just entertains, but also has the capacity to plumb the depths of human emotions and portray the full spectrum of human experiences. An example of one such song is a bhajhan that is sung to console people after the death of a beloved ones. Singer Basanti Chaudhary brings us this and a few other Tharu songs from Dang. The Tharus are an ethnic community who live in South Nepal, spread from East to West of Terai. Tharus of each region have different and large heritage of music and arts.
