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The Food Of Love
Music, it is said, is in man's nature. The Greek philosopher, Pythagoras,
heard it in the orbit itself where celestial bodies moved in the
predestined paths. Indian philosophers heard it deep within the very
being: 'Nad', the primal sound. And in various ways and at various times,
this music emanated from the lips of human beings
In Arunachal Pradesh too, the sense of melody and rhythm are among the
most ancient of developments. As evidence, the verse below is recited by
the bard before he begins any prayer or ceremony. It is an invocatory
piece through which the traditional bard introduces himself before
beginning any exercise.
In the high heavens
I am the flute and the pipe
In hell and deeper down
I am the flute and the pipe
Spanning all three worlds
Filling it with music.
In the bird's call
I am the notes
In nature
I am her song
I am the priest's inspiration
The philosopher's guide.
I descend to spread the lore…
Music is thus in the soul of Arunachal Pradesh, not to mention the fact
that the idea of using instruments to make music too seems to be as
ancient as the vocal cords.
An Interesting Tale
A story goes that somewhere in this land, was a mythical city Calle
Ddoje. A certain people who were called the "Niti-Nites" lived
in this city. They cultivated sugarcane and bananas. One season, as the
harvest was almost ready, people began to dream of the days of plenty. But
even as they watched their crop and waited for it to mature, they found
that just one night before the crop was to be harvested, it would all get
mysteriously eaten up. The whole field would be ravaged and not a single
plant would remain. Still they kept on wondering that who ate the crops.
Making of The Trap
Different representatives kept a tight vigil all night, but just when
their eyelids blinked, the field was destroyed and the culprit was nowhere
to be seen. It was then that Tapen, the bat suggested they make a trap to
catch the criminal. The people of Arunachal are very good at making traps
for animals.
The trap was made, and lo and behold the miscreant was also caught! But
the figure in the trap made no sense. Nobody had seen a creature like the
one in the trap ever before. People from all over the city came, looked at
the animal and nodded their heads. They did not know.
So finally Tapen, the active Bat carried the body on his back to a
hilltop. He felt it there and came back. Just then Buro Tapu, the spirit
of water splashed against the hill. The second wave was bigger than the
first and this time Buro Tapu could see atop the hill. Guess who he saw
lying on the hilltop? His very own son! He flew into such a rage that he
cursed the people of Doje. The city will be ravaged by flood and storm, he
declared and lost no time in huffing and puffing out the waters.
Even as his fury was building up, flying past were two birds, Betum Bello
and Lido Kango. They got ever so worried hearing Buro Tapu's rantings.
Their children were still too small to fly and they feared a storm and
flood would destroy their little home. Betum Bello's nest was on a low
tree and she feared it would be washed away when the waters rose. Lido
Kango's nest was on a tall tree, and she feared it would break and fall to
the ground. Just as she feared, the storm began to rage, the tall tree
broke and down came the nest.
The storm quientened, the water spirit calmed down, and poor Lido was the
only one still crying. It was at this time Abo Tani wanted to go out for a
walk to collect the animals killed in the storm. His mother told him not
to, but Tani was at that age when he felt he must be assertive and so did
not heed her advice.
As he ventured out over fallen branches and broken trees, he heard a
plaintive. It was very beautiful. Very sad, but so charming and sweet that
Tani went in the direction from which he heard this ode. He walked on and
on in the direction of the music even overlooking the many dead birds and
broken twigs on the way- the treasures he had come out to collect.
Then he came to Lido Kango. Tani told lido that the song enchanted him
and asked the bird if she could give him a part of it as gift. But Lido
denied his request and continued to cry. Insistent Tani asked again and
again. This time, Lido told Tani that he must not ask for the song because
along with the song he would get the sorrow too. She told him that even if
the song sounds sweet to the ear, but it carries the burden of a bereaved
mother.
Tani rushed home and swallowed the tear with a piece of ginger. With the
ginger teardrop, man learnt the art of singing. It is with this art that
the descendents of Tani sang their many oral epics.
Guga - The Bamboo Instrument
That was also when he fashioned the first instrument called the "Guga".
In a Guga, string to is attached to a small bamboo stick, which is like a
tongue within a flat bamboo base. One end of the string is held with the
mouth while the other is ties to the bamboo. By strumming it, music is
made and the vibration of the bamboo provides an interesting dimension.
Three Types Of Musical Instruments
All musical renditions and dances are accompanied with instruments.
Instruments can be divided into three categories: the Wind Instrument, the
Solid Instruments and the String Instruments.
Wind Instruments:
The 'Ujuk Tapu' are all names of wind instruments. The Ujuk Tapu is made
of bottle gourd. There are four perforated cane flutes fixed in the hole
of the gourd. It is very similar to the bin that snake charmers play.
It is played when a bride reaches her husband's house; her father-in-law
felt she was very sad. To entertain her, he made the 'Ujuk Tapu' and told
his son to play it for her. Hearing that music, a monkey came down a tree
and started dancing. The young bridge forgot all her sorrow and enjoyed
the music and the dance.
'Pupe' and 'Tapu' are reed flutes made of locally available bamboo.
'Jingre Tapu' is an important instrument made partly of goat bone and
partly of bamboo. The bone and the bamboo are joined together in a certain
measurement. The bone-end is wider and opens up like a cone. The player
blows through the bamboo-end into the instrument.
Solid Instruments:
Among the solid instruments, 'Ame Bali' is a metal plate, but very heavy
and made of a metal, which has tremendous resonance. It is struck with a
stick and keeps beat. 'Ponu Yoksi' is a unique instrument. It looks like a
sword, about two inches long and one and a half inches broad. One edge of
it is sharp. Two iron plates with holes are fixed in the centre, and when
the player moves his sword, they clang together and make interesting
sounds. This is another way in which the priest keeps rhythm during
ceremonial dances.
'Kiring' is yet another instrument very much like the Ghunghroo (also
spelt as Ghunghru). Metal beads are bound together and the player jingles
it with his hand. The most significant instrument is the Emul, which is a
group of star shaped metal pieces. Their sound is born when they clang
against each other.
String Instruments:
Among the string instruments, the 'Pui' is a common one. It is made of
bottle gourd for its base, bamboo and string.
As the heart and the eyes fill with joy when seeing the beautiful
landscape of Arunachal, it is but natural that many interesting
instruments such as these are fashioned to express the joy. 