Rajasthani Music Week 1

Question 1

Langa

Answer 1

Hereditary professional musicians from Rajasthan who perform the Sindhi sarangi. Traditionally employed by Muslim rulers in the region.

Question 2

Manganiar

Answer 2

Hereditary professional musicians from Rajasthan. The word “Manganiyar” comes from “maangan-haar,” literally meaning “one who begs.” Perform the dholak and the kamaicha.

Question 3

Jajmani system

Answer 3

Patronage system where one caste supports an entire caste of musicians rather than hiring individual musicians. Those musicians are then expected to perform for the higher caste when needed.

Question 4

Sindhi sarangi

Answer 4

Instrument of the Langa community. This instrument is similar to the sārangī used in Hindustani classical music. The word “Sindhi” refers to the Sindh region, which is now in Pakistan. The Thar desert lies between Sindh and Rajasthan, and before India and Pakistan were separated in the 1947 Partition, there was a great deal of cultural interchange. Uses a pulsing style of performance.

Question 5

dholak

Answer 5

Twin-headed drum, a staple of folk music in N. India.

Question 6

kamaicha

Answer 6

Bowed instrument from the Manginar community. Though its name is taken from a Persian instrument, this instrument is unique to the Manganiar and not traditionally played by other castes. The kamaicha plays a solo before the song intro before the singing starts.

Question 7

Mirabi

Answer 7

Poet- Saint from Rajasthan, devotee of Krishna and Bhakti saint. Wrote many poems used in Rajasthani folk traditions.

Question 8

Borderlands

Answer 8

Humanly constructed systems, imagined boundaries between communities. Political, social, and nationalistic divisions between these two communities.

Question 9

Historiography

Answer 9

History of History, study of how histories have been written

Question 10

Great and Little Traditions

Answer 10

Classical vs Regional Musics/folk traditions/not standardized music

Question 11

Jajman

Answer 11

patron of the Jajmanji system

Question 12

Caste

Answer 12

Social divisions in Indian culture. The conflation of two indic concepts: Varna, 4 tier system of social divisions in early Hindu texts and cultures, and Jati, endogamous groups ostensibly associated with occupations. It primarily defines who can marry, interact with, etc.