By: Tuisem Ngakang
Le temps ne s’en a pas, mais nous nous nous en allons.
(Time does not go from us, but we from it) source, unknown
Abstract. This article will make an attempt to show the various musical stages of the Nagas and the factor responsible in for the transition in the musical culture of the Nagas. When the social structures changes, the music of the society cannot remain. The article will also focus on how the economic serve as a determining factor for the change in the musical culture. Changes in the economical status of the people changed the musical taste, the traditional notion that Christianity is solely responsible for the disappearing of the traditional music of the Nagas is partly correct and the role of missionary is just one factor among many.
Introduction:
Music, which may summed up briefly as a combination of sounds to please the human ears, has always played a vital role in human society. The music of the tribal has a myriad functions. It is a feast not only for the senses of the people but it is also a heritage of knowledge and wisdom of the tribal people.
The Naga music conveys simple thoughts pertaining to a community’s traditions, beliefs, rituals, social values, norms, festivals heroic deeds, love and hate and everyday problems in simple language and style, it present a community’s way of life. These songs are in a real sense wealth among the illiterate and under educated society handed down from generation to generation. The songs of the Nagas not only reflect the Nagas attitude to many aspects of life, they are the principal and recognized medium through which the individuals as well as the group express most intense emotions.
The simple melodious and meaningful music of the Nagas, which served them for many generations, is gradually crumbling down with their interaction with other cultural people. Their encounter with outsiders in the economic, social, political and religious field shows the acculturation in the music as well in addition to change in the other face of their lives.
Musical Culture in the Pre-Colonial Naga:
Before the coming of the British, when economy was purely an agrarian society, when no other avenues of livelihood (non-agricultural occupation) were open up to the Nagas. The old adage “time is money” is a naked reality; time is often severely restricted by subsistence requirements. Since no individual has enough time or money to spare, the task of maintaining music can rarely be undertaken by an individual. Individual efforts could not or meet with only limited success. Since the society was still non-technological, the only kind of music that meets the approval (i.e. understood and value) by the group and is maintainable by the group survived.
In the agrarian society like Naga, the transmission of folk culture is frequently incidental rather than making a conscious decision either to teach or to learn, individual accomplish the task of learning indirectly through the performance of or exposure to some other task of which music is a part. Among the Nagas the musician have not set out to become a musician (unlike in an art music system, where intensive and intentional training are undergone over a period of many years to become a professional musician) he initially absorbed the information as an incidental part of associating with his father or mother or senior inmate in the morung. The musician does not consider the learning of music as a process of learning music. Music is tied to a non-musical activity.
In the pre-colonial period, there was no stereotypically specialist of music in the Nagas. All music activity is carried out by non-specialist and non-professional members of the social group. This resulted in relatively or completely indistinct boundaries between musicians and listeners. There was no audience in itself.
Transmission occurs primarily through the communal participation
n music activities that are normally tied to specific socio-cultural events or settings.
The music of Nagas like in any other tribal society is shared and valued by the entire group and is capable of being performed by individuals, small groups or the whole tribe communally. Most musical activities are tied to lullabies, work song or songs to accompany work activities, music used for celebratory or religious purpose. In other words Naga have song for every occasion.
Because of this frequent connection with non-musical activity, folk music has often been labeled functional music. The events and the economic need to make the music memorable suggests that text will frequently be emphasized as away of providing variety and connecting certain music to certain events. The economic need to achieve consensus on the value of music suggests that group performance is a necessary condition. Individual changes in a folk tradition will always survive if there is group acceptance of their value. The consistent use of oral transmission further ensures that each generation will minutely restructure the music to fit its taste and requirements.
Folk music systems utilize the mode of transmission known as oral tradition. Music is not recorded in any fashion for storage or for comparison with future performances. In oral society, the intentional goal of the musicians and the culture as a whole is to preserve what exists. Though Nagas have music for every occasion, love is the dominant theme. Love is the primal passion delineated in words, tender and moving and often full of pathos. Their songs are direct and vivid imagery. Unwritten words are part faith, which sustain renew and inspire them from generation to generation and which have kept alive the centuries old tradition. Till the coming of the British and magnetization of economy in the Nagas area, their emotions are knitted into their daily duties in chores as well as in rituals. Nagas music are strong in symbolism, in fact symbolism is the core of oral verses. The young girl maturing is often compared to a red or white flower, breast of a young girls are compared to unripe mangoes etc. Thus the sophistication of their love songs leaves one breathless sometimes. [Joseph Athickal, “Maram Nagas: A social –Cultural Study, 1992]
For the Nagas Music is the part and parcel of life and continues as traditions. Therefore, the whole lifestyle and life cycle of Nagas is visible in their musical traditions. Besides its role as a means of amusement along with other mediums such as tales, legends, myths, riddles and proverbs, it is the storehouse of knowledge, experience and wisdom of the community. In it we see the quality of the community. It brings them unity and solidarity as well as identity and pride.
The transformation in the musical culture of the Nagas is the results obtain through cultural and social change from one side, and on the other side takes shape by the effects of the new technology and economic changes.
Musical Shift from Folk to Pop:
The transformation in the musical culture of the Nagas is the results obtain through cultural and social change from one side, and on the other side takes shape by the effects of the new technology and economic changes.
The sustenance of folk music is totally dependence in the economic and transmission support (change in the mass media technology) system of the defined society.
The conversion of a folk music system to a pop system is a substantial transformation. This change is an inevitable one resulting from economic and transformation factors rather than from any individuals behavior. This is demonstrated quite clearly by the musical history of Nagas. by changing the support system, the way is left open for changes in musical content. Besides the role missionaries in the Naga areas, it is due to the economical needs or changes in the society that compelled to change the mode of musical style in the Naga society.
Recently tribal music of the North-East is fill with examples of this process. They provide or picture a fundamental characteristic of this shift; that is the division of members of the social groups into one of three roles: listener/ consumer or performer.
In a folk tradition society, non-specialists perform for entertainment and for social functions, since there is no alternative. The essence of the folk-pop distinction is based on the existence of economic and transmission support system that remove the burden of musical performance from the shoulders f the collective group and place it in the hands of specialist, musicians and merchants.
Musical Culture of the Nagas in the Post-British Rule:
Recently a new musical trend has been emerging in the Naga areas. The use of folk-tunes for the popular music’s (as a result of revitalization). The most important method of using folk-tunes as the bases of Naga pop music is that in which a composer, taking a certain folk-tune considers it as a musical kernel from which ultimately to develop a beautiful and significant musical style.
There are many cases, in which composers have taken folk-tunes as the musical strands from which to weave a composition, but their interest in the mechanical and purely musical side of their task has so absorbed their attention and captured their interest that they have blindly ignored the emotional or spiritual character of the folk tunes.
Inmost cases folk music has a decided and recognizable effect upon Naga pop music. This consists not in using a genuine folk-tune as theme but in composing an imitation folk-tune and using that. This composed imitation folk-tune has the character and spirit of a genuine folk tune and frequently is built from melodic and rhythmic particles, which occur in real folk-tunes. Such themes therefore are really inspired and suggested by folk music.
The compositions built from such themes largely dependent on folk music, thus most of then faithfully reproduce the folk-spirit.
Encounter between local and western culture have not always been positive. The British came to Nagas area bringing rational, secular western capitalism, which was characterized by a tendency toward concentration of wealth expression and free competition. Encountering an unequal rival the culture of the Nagas failed to hold its own.
Music has long been an important medium of Nagas communication. In contrast with modern life in Europe and America where behavior is individualistic and segmented (i.e work from eight to five, dance on Saturday) Music in many traditional Naga society was communal and almost ubiquitous, a part of significant occasions in an individuals life cycle........Today, Naga traditional music has lost its key position in society. Why has this change occurred? The answer simply is that Naga traditional music performed religious and socio-economic functions, which recent changes in Naga have either caused to disappear or have altered. Before European contact changes in music generally came from stimuli within the indigenous cultures. However in the 20th century indigenous Naga religions have been buffeted by the forces of change launched by European occupation. This includes Christianity, western education, improved communication and transportation systems, improved, improved in economic condition, Christianity supplemented indigenous religions or caused them to be transformed in accordance with changing needs. Because of the intimate relationship between Naga traditional music and socio-religion, the new religion and change in the social and economic structure destroyed or distorted the music of Nagas.
The Christian missionaries with the cooperation of the imperial administrators probably were most directly responsible for the modification, suppression or disappearance of traditional music. These Europeans missionaries, who first came into contact with Naga societies, recognized that traditional music was a part of indigenous socio-religion. The European missionaries considered music of the Nagas simply as the manifestation of savage, heathenism and therefore are antagonistic to the ‘true faith’.
As well as trying to stamp out indigenous music on religious grounds, the Europeans passed secular moral judgments. Within the Victorian frame of morality, which existed during the early period of British rule, most Nagas music was branded as licentious. Most Europeans chose to condemn Naga music as immoral, objectionable in content. Furthermore it was the “white man’s burden” to bring his civilization to the Nagas. This “moral” civilization had no room for the expressive and topical music of Nagas, for they were deemed too childish, primitive, noisy and inferior. Nagas music was in other words, threatening to the European superego. This defensive condemnation was passed on to Nagas, who were taught and learned too well that most things Nagas were inferior to their European counterparts.
The purpose and occasions of contemporary Naga traditional music have some of their original meanings and functions, but along with fusion and substitution, there is continuity. Traditional music continues to be performed on many significant occasions, to be enjoyed as recreation, to be appreciated as cultural heritage. Singing which was part of their daily activities, now become things of the past. In contemporary Naga, performing of traditional singing takes place only on gala occasions, such as, welcoming for honored guests, marriages etc. Often the students and employees who are in the town or in metro cities use to organized events where they can perform their traditional singing and dancing. It gives them sense of belonging and warmth, and reaffirms their tribal identity in the alien urban environment.
(Because Naga have embraced much of Western culture and partially rejected their own, efforts are now being made to resuscitate elements of traditional culture, which do not conflict with the programs for modernity. Music is one such cultural element)
Conclusion:
Traditions are indispensable, but they are seldom adequate. Traditions change because they are never good enough for all of the people who have received them. Some traditions dies other grow. Change does not always mean that something is destroyed or decaying. Nagas music is subjected to change and development. Like other traditions, a musical tradition does not change by itself. It contains the potentiality of change; it instigates human beings to change it. Tradition change for better or worse, when their circumstances change. The pressure of alien tradition is one such circumstance. The encounter between the western culture and Nagas ended in a cultural synthesis.
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