THE ROLE of MUSIC in the HINDI Sillksha SANGH (SOUTH AFRICA
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THE ROLE OF MUSIC IN THE HINDI SIllKSHA SANGH (SOUTH AFRICA) A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment ofthe requirement for the degree of Master ofArts in the Dep~rtment ofMusic , ~ .... ' University of Natal by SWASTHI MAHABEER DURBAN December 1999 The whole thesis, unless otherwise indicated, is my own original work. 11 ABSTRACT The promotion of the Hindi language by the Hindi Shiksha Sangh (South Africa) has dominated the cultural life of the majority of Hindi-speaking Hindus in South Africa for over fifty years. This study concerns itself with the role of music in the construction of a local Hindi identity in the Sangh. It examines the factors that created and sustained the Hindi identity. Areas that come under focus in the research include: the history ofthe Hindi-speaking Hindu and their language in South Africa; the promotion of the Hindi language; the role assumed by the Hindi Shiksha Sangh . (South Africa) ; the function and significance of music and the socio-historical context of music that informs the cultural identity of the Hindi-speaking Hindu. The theoretical basis for this research has been drawn from principles in musical ethnography. The study locates the cultural identity of a linguistic group within the premise ofsocially meaningful music. III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to : Dr David Smith for bringing life to this research and making it a lived experience, and for proof reading as well. This moment will indeed be a 'marker' engraved in my memory. Professor Beverley Parker for her patient and conscientious supervision of the thesis, and for allowing me the space to grow as a researcher. Melvin Lloyd Peters for proofreading this thesis with serious attention and thought. All the participants of this research, most especially Bal Ganesh for his patience and belief in me, and Saraswathee Ganesh for co-ordinating the musicians for the recording ofthe video. Sri Thevi Padmanathan for providing computer facilities and support. My husband, Sarvesan, for inspiring me, giving me the freedom and the support in bringing this research to its completion. IV In dedication to my mother and my late father v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract 11l Acknowledgements IV CHAPTER ONE Subject of Study Introduction 1 The Hindi Diaspora in the South African Context 3 Precedents in Parallel Studies 4 Methods in Research 6 Notes 11 CHAPTER TWO The History of the Hindi-Speaking Hindu in South Africa The Arrival ofthe "Oriental-like" People 12 "Natalie Hindi" 14 The Need to Learn One's Mother-Tongue 15 The Contribution ofHindu Theologians 16 Pandit Nardev Vedalankar 18 Notes 22 vi CHAPTER THREE The Role Assumed by the Hindi Shiksha Sangh The Promotion ofthe Hindi Language 23 The Activities ofthe Sangh 27 The Musical Genres 32 Video Recording 37 Notes 39 CHAPTER FOUR Significance and Function of Music in the Sangh 50th Anniversary Musical Show: An 'Ethnographic Moment' 41 Perceptions ofCultural Status 45 Music in Relation to the Historic Socio-Cultural Context of the Hindi Community The Dynamics ofChange in Local Hindi Identities 49 Notes 54 vii CHAPTER FIVE Contemporary Issues of Identity Hindvani 56 Resynthesized Identity 57 APPENDIX A 60 APPENDIXB 61 GLOSSARY 63 REFERENCES CITED 65 viii •I CHAPTER ONE SUBJECT OF STUDY Introduction It is my intention in this study to explore the interpretation of certain events in the history of the Hindi-speaking Hindu in Durban, South Africa. The aim is to evaluate the formation of the local Hindi identity through the means of musical activities within the Hindi Shiksha Sanghl (South Africa) (hereafter called "the Sangh,,2). It investigates the relationship ofthe Sangh to the Hindi-speaking community and reports on the music performances and activities organised by the Sangh. On the basis of the observation of . these activities, the examination of historical records, and by means of interviews with members of the Sangh and the Hindi-speaking community at large, it attempts to indicate possible ways in which music may be related to the construction of a local Hindi identity. Three historical paradigms have been distinguished within the field of music : reflexive, interpretive and immanent (Neuman 1991 :269). This study incorporates elements ofall three paradigms. The main body ofthe study (chapters 2 and 3) is interpretive, or "what is conventionally thought of as music history in which music culture itself is the subject ofhistory and the history is externally constructed and conducted" (Neuman 1991 :269). The introduction (chapter 1) relates to the reflexive mode, or the author's personal standpoint and how it may affect the interpretation ofthe study. The remaining chapters 1 (chapters 4 and 5) incorporate the immanent mode : "music constructing history : the ethnic group is the 'other,' and the authors are the co-authors" (Neuman 1991:270). One of the assumptions that form the foundation of this research is that mUSIC performance, along with religion, language, and traditions of dress and cuisine is strongly related to people's sense ofethnic identity or 'belonging' to a particular culture. In speaking about the Hindus in South Africa, on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary ofthe arrival ofIndians in South Africa, Ranji S. Nowbath succinctly stated that: The linguistic groups are distinctly defined in matters of detail in worship, religious rites, social customs, food and dress although there is considerable overlapping. (1960:17) Evidence of both group differentiation and 'overlapping' will be discussed in the course ofthis thesis. In other words, music as a group of characteristic social practices can aid in the structure of a cultural identity within a linguistic group. Martin Stokes confirms this when he writes that music is socially meaningful ... largely because it provides means by which people recognise identities and places, and the boundaries which separate them. (1994:5) 2 Also, Peter Manuel substantiates the claim that "musical tastes, practices, and ideas can serve as particularly salient indices of the complex multiple identities of migrant communities" (1997/1998: 17). In the case ofthe Sangh, musical activities consist of (i) categories ofitems presented at the annual eisteddfod, (ii) musical shows and (iii) musical tuition. The Sangh, which teaches spoken and written aspects of Hindi concurrently, also uses music to promote the Hindi language. Participants in the musical activities are thus all speakers of the Hindi language. Hence their linguistic identity - Hindi identity - is deepened by music, be it consciously or unconsciously. At the same time, a distinct social process ofgroup self-identification is produced. The Hindi Diaspora in the South African Context With the implementation of apartheid policies by the South African government in the 1950s, the various race groups were forced to live separately. New areas were established, such as Soweto for Blacks outside Johannesburg, and Chatsworth and Phoenix near Durban for Indians. People were displaced and relocated into such areas as these, where transport and domestic supplies became problematic. For many, dependence on relatives was the only means of survival: extended family structures enabled 'the many' to live offthe skills and income of'the few'. Judging from the social engineering of the state, the assumption ofthe legislation seems to have been the essential homogeneity of the Asian 'group'. Hence, they were 3 3 concentrated under the Act without any regard for religious or other differences . In fact, contrary to the 'group' classification, the "separate consciousness of each [linguistic] group [Gujerati, Hindi, Tamil and Telegu]" strengthened. Nowbath confirms this when he states that [w]here fifty years [1910], even thirty years[1930], ago the common adjective in the cultural social religious activity was Hindu, or even Indian it is now Tamil, Telegu or Andhra, Hindi, Surtee Hindu and Kathiawadi Hindu [the later two are Gujerati]. (1960:22) Further, Nowbath concurs that, with the implementation of the English education system, a "greater fragmentation and isolation [occurred] and yet there is the remarkable recognition ofthe fact that all are Hindus" (1960:22). Forty years later, at the dawn of a new millennium (2000), the specificity of each linguistic group remains a reality. The Hindi Shiksha Sangh (South Africa) is a reflection of this fact among the Hindi community. This study concentrates solely on the changes in the local Hindi identity. Precedents in Parallel Studies The province of KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa, boasts the largest Hindu (and Indian) 4 community within South Africa • Yet studies ofthis group have mainly been concerned with economic, historical, political and religious issues rather than with musical scholarship. 4 This study lies within the field of musical ethnography, as it is a written representation and description of a specific "music-culture". The term "music-culture", as defined by Titon and Slobin, implies a group ofpeople's total involvement with music: ideas, actions, institutions, artifacts - everything that has to do with music. (1996:1-2) In the case ofthe Sangh, musical activities ofvarious forms - annual eisteddfod, musical tuition and musical shows - are documented in relation to its historical role as a social organisation. Similar noteworthy studies conducted on local Indian music have been undertaken from the 1980s (Jackson, 1988; Goodall, 1991; Mahabeer, 1992; Pillay, 1994 and Veeran, 1996). Melveen lackson's Masters thesis, "An Introduction to the