Performance and Identity in Jaunsari Puja Drumming A
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
PERFORMANCE AND IDENTITY IN JAUNSARI PUJA DRUMMING A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Hans Frederick Utter, BLS **** The Ohio State University 2006 Masters Examination Committee: Approved by Dr. Margarita Mazo, Adviser Dr. Daniel Avorgbedor Dr. William Conable Dr. Ron Emoff Adviser Graduate Program in Music ABSTRACT This study is based upon field research conducted in Hanoi, a Jaunsari village in the Western Himalayan region of India. The daily puja ceremonies in Hanoi are central to the social and spiritual life of the community; ritual drumming is a central component of this ceremony. During the ceremony, the Bajgis, hereditary musicians, perform a series of talas (rhythmic cycles) that bring the spirit of the deity into oracles known as bakis or malis. The temporally and spatially bounded region of performance is a field for the negotiation of identity: the Bajgis are defined reflexively and socially through their drumming, as are the Brahmins by their priestly duties. A variety of ethnographic methods are employed to analyze the religious belief systems, the performer and audience relationship, and reflexive methodologies of participation/observation. The intersubjective nature of this event results from the multiplex of interpretive frames that intersect in its bounded space. Performative activity brings together the fields of self awareness, identity, both personal and collective, the physical process of the body in performance, knowledge and belief systems, all of which culminate in the musical sound. Dedicated to my parents and Vivek 111 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Margarita Mazo for her support, advice and guidance in the processes of writing, fieldwork, and formulating a topic. I would like to thank Dr. Ron Emoff and Dr. Daniel A vorgbedor for reading my thesis, and editorial comments. I would like to that Dr. Udo Will for his insightful comments and assistance with the analysis section, and Dr. William Conable for helping me "find my feet", editing, and participating on the committee. I wish to thank my wife Richa Utter for her comments on my Hindi translations, and assistance with difficult, regional concepts. I would like to thank my son, Vivek Utter, for being a constant source of inspiration. I would like to thank my parents Don and Miriam Utter for reading my thesis, and providing advice on formatting. I would like to thank Dr. Uma Shankar Satish for his instruction in the Jaunsari language, and spending many long hours teaching me the music and dance of the region. I would like to thank Rakeesh Nautiyal for his advice in the fieldwork process, and providing contacts in the field. I would like to thank the staff at the Landour Language School for continuing instruction in Hindi and Garhwali. I wish to thank my sitar teacher, Ustad Shujaat Khan, and his father, the late Ustad Viliyat Khan, for years of instruction in sitar and the poetics of Hindustani music. lV I am grateful to the Ohio State University School of music for providing the funding that enabled me to complete this project. I am also grateful for the support and camaraderie during my time at this University. Finally, I would like to thank the people of Jaunsar Bawar India, and especially Priyia das, for kindness, hospitality, and generosity in allowing me to participate in their lives, and their patience with my attempts to learn their music. v VITA December 11, 1970 .......................Bom-Tempe Arizona, U.S.A. 1998 ......................................... B.A. Liberal Studies, The University of Iowa 2003- present .............................. Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University 1993-1998 ................................. Residence in New Dehli and Varanasi India. Received diploma in sitar from the Banares Hindu University. Studied Hindi and Sanskrit in Varanasi, India. Studied tabla with Kishore Mishra, and sitar with Dr. Raj Man Singh and Dr. Puspha Bashu. Completed yoga teaching certificate in Varanasi, India. 1995- present .............................. Student ofUstad Shujaat Khan, receiving instruction sitar technique (Gayaki Ang), performance practices in New Dehli, New York City, Los Angeles and Cleveland. 1990- present. ............................. Professional performer in a variety of musical styles, including jazz, blues, funk, Turkic, Hindustani, and Arabic. I maintain an active performing and recording schedule, including session work, film sound tracks, television, and lecture demonstrations. I have performed in India, Thailand, Europe, and throughout the United States. Recent work includes the sound track for the forth-coming film Head Space, a commissioned, multi-instrumental work for Lotus Records, and forth-coming projects with the rapper Chuck D. Vl PUBLICATIONS 1. Utter, Hans and Kachari, Bahri. 1999. Turkana: Kefemuirenden. Columbus, Oh. 2. Dr. Israel 2002 Dr. X vs Dr. Israel. New York, NY: Baboon Records. (tabla, 'ud, and sitar). 3. Dr. X. 2004. Version Emergency. New York, NY: Baboon Records. (tabla, 'ud, and sitar). 4. Chuck D. and Public Enemy. 2005. Black Superman. New York, NY: Capitol Records. (guitar). 5. Utter, Hans and Lybarger, Lowell. 2005. Raga Kirvana. Columbus, OH: Om Shante Records. AREAS OF STUDY Major Field: Music Vll TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ............................................................................................... ii Dedication ........................................................................................... .iii Acknowledgments ................................................................................... .iv Vita ..................................................................................................... vi List of Figures .......................................................................................... x Chapters: 1. Introduction .................................................................................. 1 1.1 Field Background ........................................................................ 1 1.2 Folkloric Background .................................................................. 3 1.3 Performance Studies .................................................................... 7 1.4 Identity ..................................................................................... 11 1.5 Analytical Framework: Music, Performance, and Identity ....................... 15 2. Deconstructing Insider and Outsider: Reflexivity in Issues of Personal Identity and Fieldwork in Jaunsar-Bawar .................................................... 18 2.1 Ethnography and Reflexivity ......................................................... 18 2.2 Reflexivity as Introspection .......................................................... 19 2.3 Reflexivity as inter-subjective reflection ........................................... 21 2.4 Reflexivity as Mutual Collaboration ................................................. 22 2.5 Reflexivity as Cultural Critique ..................................................... .23 2.6 Reflexivity as Ironic Deconstruction ............................................... .25 3. Geography, Ethnography and Musical Background .................................... 27 3.1 Geography, Climate, and Flora/Fauna .............................................. 27 3.2 History ................................................................................... 29 3.3 Language ................................................................................. 31 3.4 Social Structure and Family ........................................................... 32 3.5 Religion .................................................................................. 35 3.6 Summary of Musical Practices and Organology ................................... 37 3.7 Literature Review ....................................................................... 40 3.7.1 English Texts ................................................................ 40 3.7.2 Hindi and Garhwali Texts ................................................. .41 3.7.3 General Sources and Ethnographic Texts ............................... .43 viii 3.8 Conclusion of Literature Review .................................................. .44 4. Tantric Cosmology of Sound and the Dhol Sagar .................................... .46 4.1 Tantric Cosmology ..................................................................... 46 4.2 Shivite and Shaktipat Cosmogony .................................................. .48 4.3 The Dhol Sagar Gorakhnath, and the Cosmogony of the Dhol.. ................ 50 5. Caste, Social Marginalization, and Liminality ......................................... 56 5.1 Caste ..................................................................................... 56 5.2 Social Marginalization of the Bajgis ................................................. 60 5.3 Bajgis and Liminality ................................................................. 64 5.4 'Caste Consciousness' in the Field .................................................68 6. Cosmology, Environment, and Performance ........................................... 73 6.1 Introduction ............................................................................. 73 6.2 Mahasu Deota and Hanoi. ............................................................. 74 6.3 The Cosmogony ofMahasu Deota .................................................... 79