Indigenous or folk music traditionally performed while celebrating harvest festivals, weddings, or childbirth is now being appreciated by a wider audience. Across the country, tribal musicians are gaining recognition as contemporary artists and are being empowered to do stage shows, record their performances and even release their Indigenous music albums.
At the 11th edition of Samvaad, the annual tribal conclave organised by the Tata Steel Foundation in Jamshedpur (November 15 to 19), indigenous music soared high. Launched in 2014, the event witnessed 3500 tribal delegates, 282 artists, artisans, craftsmen and healers belonging to 26 tribes from across the country come together to reflect on issues that impact India’s tribal community and celebrate the timeless allure of traditional folk music. The tribal conclave’s initiative, ‘Rhythms of the Earth,’ has been a platform for mentors to train indigenous artists from across the country on composition skills, nuances of music and showmanship. The idea behind the Rhythms of the Earth concept has been to make indigenous music popular globally.
As part of the collective, participating artistes and musicians undergo rigorous workshops to learn compositions, the spirit of showmanship, and the ability to create new songs for international audiences. Until 2022, Rhythms of the Earth was mentored by the Bangalore-based band Swarathma. Last year, Dashugs, a Ladakh-based band, took to mentoring tribal musicians.
The current cohort of the Rhythms of the Earth has 75 artistes belonging to different tribes, such as the Oraon, Santhal, Munda, Ho, Bhumij, Toto, Lepcha, Rabha, Karbi, Bodo, Mavilan, Malavettuvan, Kunbi, Bhil, and Boto tribes. They represent seven states: Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, West Bengal, Sikkim, Kerala, and Gujarat, and the union territory of Ladakh.
Basubi Rabha, a folk artiste from the Rabha tribe in Assam, has participated in Samvaad since 2018. Speaking about her experience, Basubi said she has learnt something new by being a part of the collective: “Folksongs are usually already available as they are an old tradition. In most cases, people learn it from their parents or family. Even though my father writes songs, I have never written songs. However, after being a part of the Rhythms of the Earth, I have learnt how to write songs for a larger audience.”
Participating tribal artists have not only composed but have also written new lyrics in their own language, moving ahead from their already existing compositions that have been passed from generation to generation.
“There are three primary things involved here – preservation of the dying music, nurturing it and its promotion for a larger audience. This initiative is to add the special and unique element for the wide musical market that exists,” said the head of Tribal Identity, Tata Steel Foundation, Jiren Topno.
Early this year, Rhythms of the Earth released its first album at the Kala Ghoda Festival in Mumbai. The album was a collection of 12 songs in five tribal languages. The inauguration of Samvaad also coincides with the Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, which celebrates the birth anniversary of tribal leader Birsa Munda, who devoted his life to protecting the rights of tribal communities.
Copy Editor: Dipta A Joshi