Part 3 Melakkar and the breach of the Isai Vellalar borders.
As I mentioned in the previous article, there were two
distinct aspects to the Carnatic music tradition, the vocal and the non-vocal
performers, i.e. the backing instrumentalists. While both were dependent on
each other, the development of one or the other was intrinsically related to
the positioning of the caste to which the performer belonged. We saw in the
previous article how Brahmins influenced, molded, and set a clear structure
around the vocal tradition. We also saw how the public forced small changes to
make the system more inclusive to other languages and traditions, over time and
how the non-Brahminical castes, Tamil Nadu politics, and linguistic pressures
influenced the music culture. Let’s now look at how the instrumentalists fared.
As we studied in the article about dance and the Tanjavur
quartet, music was closely related to dance in the past, and temple
performances included Dasi-attam performed by devadasis, who were mainly from
the Vellalar community, originating from the Deccan districts. The musicians as
well as dancers were from the Vellala community. We had previously looked at
the Vellala Christian community and the story of Vedanayagam, now let’s look at
the Hindu Isai Vellala’s.
But let us read something
interesting, first. The tone notations for Carnatic music as we all know are
" Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni, Sa" - a complete octave on which are
based all musical sounds. These are again divided and sub-divided. An old
method of teaching the sounds is very peculiar and amusing and I had no clue
about this till I read Ellen Kelly’s article dated April 1897! This is also attributed to Chinnaswamy Mudaliar
and recounted by DB Ramachandra Mudaliar in a 1924 article.
According to Chinnasamy Mudaliar, M.A., Sa is the sound of
joy and happiness, produced by the peacock, at moments of rapture, which
generally happens when the clouds gather in the sky, indicating the
commencement of the rainy season. Ri is the troubled low of the cow in calling
to her calf dragged away from her. Ga is the puzzled bleat of the goat, amid
its flock, calling for the aid of its fellows. Ma is the unhappy cry of the
heron on the bank of a pool, uttered on seeing the gathering of the clouds, and
anticipating a flood, which would force her to flee elsewhere for safety. Pa is
the note of joy sounded by the nightingale at spring tide, the brightest period
of the year. Dha is the neigh of readiness of the horse when the rider
approaches it and Ni is the sorrowful yell of the elephant when the mahout
strikes the back of its head with an iron rod.
Strangways on the other hand mentions hearing the following
- There is an interesting comparison of the notes of the scale to the cries
of animals. Sa is the note of the peacock. Ri, of the chataka (a type of
cuckoo), the bird of the rainy season. Ga, of the goat. Ma, of the crane. Pa,
of the Koyal, generally translated cuckoo, but bearing no resemblance in its
vocal achievement to our bird; it hammers out a single note when making love in
the spring, and its mate joins in, invariably at the distance of a tone, and
perhaps a rival lover at the distance of a semitone. Dha, of the frog, and Ni,
of the elephant. This has been quoted as showing that the scale was conceived
as a matter of absolute pitch, and there is some evidence that the cries of
animals always keep the same pitch. It may be so it would require special
knowledge to decide this point.
Interestingly, these notes are also connected to castes,
though such connections would be construed as rude today. Per Mudaliar- These
seven principal notes are also divided into four main castes according to
merits, viz., Brahmans being Sa, Ma, and Pa, each of which contains four
srutis, Kshatriyas being Ri and Dha with three srutis, Vysyas being Ga and Ni
with two srutis and Sudras being sharps and flats, as unstable, being affected
by the relative value of the various notes. SE Gopalacharlu clarifies
further - The classes to which they belong are Sa, Ga, Ma of Devas; Pa of
Pitras; Ri, Dha of Rishis; and Ni of Rakshasas. The castes to which they
correspond are - Sa, Ma, Pa to the Brahmin; Ri, Dha to the Kshatriya; Ni, Ga to
the Vaisya, and the intermediate sounds to the Sudra Caste. From an
instrumental perspective, it is believed that stringed instruments were
invented to imitate the humming of bees, and drums to reproduce the sound of
thunder. The complete musical theory and analysis in the same vein is quite
interesting, but I guess we can take it up some other day.
Ayyangar explains that the primary aim of all instrumental
music was to approximate, if not imitate, the human voice. But he says that
developments in the field have proved otherwise, and each has a distinct personality
of its own, totally unrelated to the human voice in the matter of pitch,
volume, timber, appeal, and capability. He adds - To expect all of them to
toe the line to vocal music wore to misjudge their function and defeat their
purpose.
Let’s get back to the historical settings and see how the
community developed, by checking what Anthropologist Thruston had to say (based
on inputs on the Tanjore Gazette prepared by Hemmingway)- He clarifies that
there were two musician castes in the Tanjore Vellalar community, the Tamil and
Telugu Melakkarans (of whom the latter were barber musicians). While the Telugu
community practices only Periya melam and has nothing to do with dancing, the Chinna
Melam Tamils have dancing at its core, and perform both Chinna melam and even Periya
melam. Chinna melam, originally known as nautch music, comprised vocal music
performed by a chorus of males and females to instrumental accompaniment and
included Nattuvans, i.e., instructors of the dancing girls. The Vairavi, or
temple servant, should always be chosen from the Melakkaran community.
CR Day adds - The players in these bands are mostly taken from a caste of Telegu-speaking barbers called " Mangala-vandlu," who make this their special profession and provide the music, so-called, commonly heard at temple ceremonies, weddings, festal gatherings, and all street " tamashas." The composition of these bands varies greatly, the number of instruments in some cases being as many as thirty and in others perhaps only three or four; generally, one or two nagasaras, a sruti or drone—a drum such as the dhol—and a pair of cymbals (called Jhanj), about ten inches or a foot in diameter, are found. Sometimes a mela, consisting of a single mukavina, a flute, a flageolet, a drone, and a small side-drum called Dhanki is employed. The dancing men and women of the Melakara caste, who together form a complete chorus, constitute what is called a Chinnamela (or smaller music), in distinction to the Peryamela (big music), which is a band of male musicians who play upon the Nagasara with drums and accompaniments differing from those of the dancers.'' The Peryamela, or Pathamelam as it is also called, is the ordinary native band formed by the Mangalavandlu caste and already described.
How did barbers get involved in this business in Telugu-spoken
areas? Apparently, by day or when it was not the music season, they were
barbers (their wives were sometimes, midwives). In Deccan, this was not
considered an unclean caste. Inscriptions at a temple in Kamalapuram going back
to the 15th century attest to the connection between instrumental
music and barbering. Researchers opine that it was their finger and arm
dexterity that allowed barbers to excel on musical instruments.
There is always a discussion if the Periya melam instrument
is called Nadaswaram or Nagaswaram, though considered a Rajavadyam (royal
instrument) or even a Mangalavadyam (auspicious instrument). Since it resembles
a snake, some prefer to call it Nagaswaram; maybe the name Nadaswaram is more
appropriate.
Periya Melam was always part of rituals and festivities in
temples as well as weddings. The instruments involved were the nadasvaram
(melody), the tavil (rhythmic accompaniment), talam (cymbals for indication of rhythmic
cycles), and sruti petti (to provide a drone background. Periya melam music is also
believed to be the sonic manifestation of the Hindu deity and is believed to
make the deity's presence immediate and real to worshippers.
Note here that while Mridangam accompanies vocal artists or
artists playing violin, veena, flute, or mandolin, Thavil is the standard
accompaniment for the nadhaswaram, clarinet, and saxophone played at other,
usually open venues. The Chinna melam and its instruments over time were
developed and tuned to the concert hall acoustics and the microphone, whereas
the Periya melam instruments are louder and perhaps tuned for outdoor
performances. The Thavil which produces a powerful sound matching the rich
volume of the nagaswaram has its player using a stick to play one side and
hands (with rings on playing fingers) for the other side as against the
Mridangam player using hands on both sides. The craft of thavil-making in the
nineteenth century moved from Tanjore to Panruti, located some 75 miles north
of Tanjore around the middle of the twentieth century. The cymbals for talam
were mainly of two types, Periya melam version is much larger than those used by
the Chinna melam.
The nadaswaram is a double-reed wind instrument and one of the
world's loudest non-brass acoustic instruments. In South Indian culture, the
nadasvaram is very auspicious and is a key musical instrument always played in
almost all Hindu weddings and temples. Each part of the Nadaswaram is related
to a deity. The bottom circle to Surya, the upper hole to Goddess Sakti, the
inner holes to Lord Vishnu, the body to Lord Brahma, and the seven holes are to
seven mothers. The music emanating is related to Lord Siva. Narasinganpettai, 10
miles from Kumbakonam, is home to great Nagaswaram makers. The nagaswaram of
the south and the shehnai of the North are of the same musical family and look alike.
The Bari is the bigger version, whereas the Thimiri is smaller. The ottu, Thoottu,
or Mukhavina belong to the drone family and provides the sruti. Like the
nadaswaram, the ottu is a double-reed instrument but has no holes and produces
a single long note after it is tuned and sealed.
According to Terada - Brahmans not only constitute the
vast majority of Karnatak musicians and patrons but also the most important
group of connoisseurs and patrons for Periya Melam music. Their artistic
predilection and patronage for "traditional" Periya Melam music has
been largely responsible for the survival of the genre. The ritual pollution
associated with the instruments used in the Periya Melam ensemble has allegedly
kept Brahmans from becoming performers themselves, and this inhibition has made
them depend on Isai Vellalar and other non-Brahman musicians for temple worship
and lifecycle rituals calling for Periya Melam music... For this reason, Periya
melam is considered an essential element of temple rituals and festivals, as
indicated in a statement commonly made by Periya melam musicians: "There
is no village without a temple, and there is no temple without the
nagasvaram."
Chinna Melam was traditionally the art form of temple dance performed
as part of worship at Hindu temples. The Nattuvan or choreographer was
accompanied by a Mukahvina/Thootu, replaced later by a clarinet or flute,
smaller cymbals, a drone, the Thavil, etc. Interestingly in Telugu areas,
during olden times, some troupes even had a couple of Muslims handling bigger
drums! This form also developed into an on-demand performance art for rich
patrons, at their homes and eventually was transformed in the 1930s into a
concert hall art form known today as Bharata Natyam.
We can conclude therefore that the Telugu community of
Tanjore who held themselves superior were temple performers, specializing in
the Periya melam or Nadaswaram playing, whereas the Tamil community were
offspring of the Devadasi families and took up the Chinna Melam or dance-music
combo. In the Thanjavur district, Isai Velalars were the practitioners of both
traditions. They were as colloquially termed the sadir (Chinna melam) people or
the nadaswaram (Periya melam) people.
Amit adds - Professional divisions such as Periya and Chinna
melam reflected an involution and greater sophistication of the artistic
services rendered by the community under the influence of the Bhakti temple
institution. The performance of the nautch, the Chinna melam or sadir kacheri
as it was variously called in old Madras, was obligatory and a matter of
etiquette at society occasions. The requirement for both heredity and skill in
temple positions was evident in that it was not enough to be born into the
community, one had to be competent as well. In Tamil Nadu today, the art of
Sadir/Bharatanatyam is monopolized by Brahmins who clearly see themselves as
having `rescued' it from the fallen 'prostitute', the devadasi.
Per Soneji - Isai Vellalar - The birth of the “icai velalar” jati in the 1920s signaled a reinvention of masculinity within devadasi communities in the Tamil-speaking regions... Before the political mobilization of these communities in the 1920s, men who were relatives of devadasıs identified themselves using a range of caste names and occupational titles. The broadest and far-reaching of these was melakkarar (“one who plays in the melam”), which functioned as an umbrella term for the various subgroups that made up the community.
In and around Tanjavur, the “barber-musicians,” as they
were called in the 1901 census, were divided into Tamil- and Telugu-speaking
groups. The Tamil-speaking barber-musicians were known as ampattan (“barber,”
from the Sanskrit ambastha), napitan (“barber,” napita), or parikari
(“remover,” pariharin). These communities performed music for lower,
non-Brahmin patrons and at temples dedicated to village deities.
In Tanjavur, men from this community who were “full-time”
nagasvaram and tavil players often distinguished themselves with the title
maruttuvar (meaning “practitioner of medicine,” a common epithet for “barber”).
They also used the term pajantiri (“musician”) to identify themselves. Among
the Telugu-speaking barber-musicians in Tamil Nadu, the surnames Nayudu and Reddi
were very common. They usually claimed superior status to the Tamil-speaking
barber-musicians but were still considered much lower than “professional”
nagasvaram artists and nattuvanars, who were employed by larger temples and
patronized by elites during marriage functions.
Daneil, Harp, and Sankaran
conclude - Though music and dance have long been the profession of the Isai
Vellalars, the Brahmins have been a parallel music caste, particularly as
composers, vocalists, vainikas, and violin vidwans with a sprinkling of
drummers, but carefully keeping away from nagasvaram and dancing. The stigma of
higher castes learning leather percussion instruments was lessened when Brahmin
Palghat Mani Ayyar became a mridangam maestro… The Isai Vellalar caste of
traditional music was somewhat akin to the gharanas as guardians of tradition
but now the tables are turned against them.
The Melakkar community thus, reclassified themselves as Isai
Vellalar or the Vellalar’s connected to music and typically added a Pillai as
their surname. After the ban on Nautch and the Devadasi culture took effect,
the dance was rebranded as Bharata Natyam and set to a structure mainly by the Tanjore
Quartet. After the restructuring, many a girl from the community took to vocal
performances as well as the new dance styles, while the musical performers
continued with instruments. The dancers and the vocalists moved to Madras from
Tanjore, since the new patrons and concert hall events were all in the great
metropolis while the royal patron of Tanjore had been replaced by the British
state. The rich individual patrons were situated in Madras and worked for or
with the British bureaucracy. However, the instrumentalists were in a quandary,
since in addition to supporting dance performances, they also performed for
temple events, weddings, and other occasions such as processions, and festivals
– most of which were connected to the temples of Tanjore.
Encroachment by Brahmins and the takeover of the
Mridangam scene
Violin – Though it made its entrance much earlier through
Baluswami and Vadivelu, it was popularized by Varahapayyar, opening the doors
to Brahmins who could now substitute the yazh or the veena. A news report
explains - A Brahmin Fiddler -The "Madras Government Gazette," of
January 1831, celebrated the performances on the violin, of a descendant of the
ancient Gymnosophists-a Brahmin named Verapiah, in the service of His Highness
the Rajah of Tanjore, who had lately made his appearance before the musical
public of Madras. He was said to play at first sight, with correctness and in
exact time, the most difficult pieces of printed music… See
Violin in Carnatic Music article.
Animal skin and saliva–caste-polluting substances kept
Brahmins out of percussion and reed instruments for many centuries. Thamburu or
Veena, as well as the violin, were thus the Brahmin forte, but it was their transgression
into the field of Mridangam playing that created a revolution, mainly because
this drum unlike a flute, stringed instruments, or the mud pot ghatam, was made
up of skins from the cow, buffalo and goat on the contact sides. Though a
Brahmin Mridangam player can be identified in a 1915 Tyagaraja festival
photograph, it took many more years for the brilliant Palghat Mani Iyer to
break the borders.
It was his search for the perfect ‘nadam’ or tone from the
drum he had already mastered, that led Iyer to collaborate with the Christian
makes of Mridangams. TMK narrates the fascinating tale between his two books
which are great reads and explains how Mani Iyer rose to the top despite fierce
competition from Isai Vellalar percussionists.
TMK explains that for a very long time, playing the mrdanga was mainly associated with the Chinna mela vidvans and other isai vellalars, and quite linked with the tavil tradition. There were a few Brahmin mrdanga vidvans but they were connected with teaching or playing for Namasankirtana and Harikatha. In the 20th century, the Tanjavur style was connected to the Brahmin players whereas the Pudukotai style with the isai velella. Strangely, the Tanjavur style was influenced by the non-Brahmin Maratha Appa’s. Everything started to change with the arrival of the maestro Palghat Mani Iyer. Quoting TMK - The one domain within the kutcheri that they dominated had now been taken over. Once Palghat Mani Iyer made his breakthrough, the floodgates opened and there was no stopping the Brahmin monopoly over the mrdangam…. The Isai Vellalar community is said to have resisted the Mani Iyer invasion but ultimately succumbed to a great musician backed by a dominant community. So far, the Brahmin mridanga vidvans had never been considered at par with the non-brahmin ones — neither as mathematically sharp nor as physically strong as the Isai Vellalar. The Isai Vellalar community too believed in the superiority of its own skills. All of this collapsed with Palghat Mani Iyer. He was, therefore, feted as the greatest, as Nandi himself (the lord of the mrdanga). Pazhani or Murugabhoopathy were never referred to as Nandi.
According to Krishna’s book, the reduced influence of
Brahmins in temples after Periyar’s self-respect movement in Tamil Nadu
eventually culminated in the takeover of temples by the government of Tamil
Nadu. While the movement was a necessary social awakening, he notes, “it did
not lead to a more egalitarian Karnatic music environment, instead spurring it
to become even more insular… The government, which took control over the
temples, hardly contributed to the development of quality nagasvara or tavil
vidvans. The end result has been tragic – lack of support for those Karnatik
musicians who once breathed musical life into the temple and society.”
References
Reform or Conformity? Temple 'Prostitution' and the Community in the Madras Presidency - Amrit Srinivasan
A Southern Music: the Karnatik story - Krishna, T. M
Sebastian & Sons: A brief history of mrdangam makers – Krishna TM
Reform and Revival: The Devadasi and Her Dance - Amrit Srinivasan
Musings of a Musician – R Rangaramanuja Ayyangar
The Voice in the Drum: Music, Language, and Emotion in Islamicate South Asia - Richard K. Wolf
Unfinished Gestures Devadasis, Memory, and Modernity in South India (South Asia Across the Disciplines) - Davesh Soneji
Temple Music Traditions in Hindu South India: "Periya Mēḷam" and Its Performance Practice - Yoshitaka Terada
T. N. Rajarattinam Pillai and Caste Rivalry in South Indian Classical Music - Yoshitaka Terada
From the Tanjore Court to the Madras Music Academy – Lakshmi Subramaniam
The Life of Music in South India - Neuman, Daniel, Allen, Matthew Harp, Sankaran, T.
The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia: The Indian Subcontinent - Ed Alison Arnold
The music and musical instruments of Southern India and the Deccan - C. R. Day
Images – acknowledged with many thanks
1-
Nautch Party Tanjore - Victoria and Albert
museum collections
2-
A ‘Nautch Scene’ with dancers and accompanists.
(Collection of the University Cote d’Azur; originally from the archives of the
Ancien Musee des colonies)
Please note – I am tracing all this from a historical aspect –
No disrespect or offense is directed to any community in any comment, or
statements made. Should any reader feel so please send a specific note with
suggested corrections to the author for review. As such the article is based on
historical events, and referenced sources, with effort put in, to make it
readable and provide some brevity.
Related articles
Part 1 Caste
ingress into the Musical Realm, The story of Vedanayagam Sastri
Part 2 Caste
conflicts – Carnatic Music, Brahmins and Carnatic music
Part 3 The Music of the Melakkar - The Melakkar and the breach
of the Isai Vellalar borders.
2 comments:
You have revealed your politics through this series.
The facts above could have been interpreted in other ways.
Thanks for the comment.
I do not have any political interests or inclination, I am not a Tamilian, nor do I belong to any of the castes mentioned, to have any vested interest, political or otherwise. All I did was trace the trajectory taken by Carnatic music in the last century and see how caste had an impact, after perusing works of acclaimed music historians. That said, I must also mention that due to a lack in diversity and several other reasons, there has been a proportionately weak development in this art form beyond the contributions of the Tanjore stalwarts (and others of that era), with very few new compositions. Maybe you can question this and wonder if it could have been otherwise, even after its move outside temple precincts.
The music form is also being offered for studies as an art form, in academic institutions, sans religion and caste. Several musicians have already started to adapt old kritis and kirtanas, adding modern instruments such as the guitar, drums, and electric violins. So, changes are on the way, no doubt. One may like to retain the pristineness of yore and disregard the many challenges at its borders, but with new generations growing up, explaining caste will become overtly difficult.
Just my point of view...
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