The music of the Hindus at the present time is an inheritance from remote antiquity, many centuries before the Christian era, and is essentially different from that of the European nations. To the ordinary listener from western countries, the singing of the Hindus at first seems shrill and out of key, and their orchestral and band music a blare of inharmonious noises. It is said by that eminent authority on the peoples of the Orient, Dr. W. E. Griffis, that, broadly speaking, all Oriental music is sad. Certain it is that the impression which most Hindu music makes upon the European ear is that of repression and sadness, even in the case of that music which is used upon joyful occasions. The singing is always in minor keys and pitched so high that it is painful to listen to. Many of the melodies are very sweet, but it is impossible to reproduce them upon the piano or organ. The reason for this is the peculiarity of the Hindu scales. From the earliest times, the Hindu people have used a method of musical notation believed by them to be divinely inspired and most elaborate and interesting in construction. It contains many intermediate tones not represented in our scales. It recognizes the recurrence of the seven intervals which make up one octave, and divides these intervals not only into half-steps, as in our music, but into quarter-steps or into thirds. So it is plain why their singing seems to us either sharp or flat and very evident that their tunes cannot be played on our instruments without alteration of many of the notes.
The divisions of the Hindu octave are variously given as twenty-two and sixteen. The number of the divisions is given as twenty-two by the following authorities : On the Musical Modes of the Hindus, Sir William Jones' works (1784), vol. I. p. 426. Music of the Most Ancient Nations, Carl Engel (1864), p. 146. The Study of National Music, Carl Engel (1866), p. 45. History of Music, Emil Nauman, vol. p. 21. A popular History of Music, W. S. B. Mathews, Chicago (1891), p. 71.
This is declared to be an error, and sixteen is given as the correct number of tones in the octave by Rev. Edward Webb, Lincoln University, in a paper on " Hindu Modes and Tunes," read before the American Oriental Society at their annual meeting in Columbia College, New York City, March 30, 1894.
At the present time, the Hindu people are so largely influenced by the contact with the English that Christian church music takes its place as a part of the music of the people. Translations of English hymns into the vernacular are set to English tunes, and, in addition, Christian lyrics are set to their own native tunes ; but the effort to adapt these tunes is not very successful.
In a recent editorial on " Native Church Music," in a bilingual paper of North Ceylon, a Tamil gentleman writes : " The present decadent state of Tamil music in our churches is very largely due to the inharmonious effort to effect an alliance between the genius of the Tamil lyric music and the do-re-me-fa of the harmonium. East is East and West is West even in music. In the churches where lyrics are sung, the singing is either most murderously unmusical, or is sung to a tune which is best described as a hybrid. The inevitable harmonium cuts and hacks the tune to such an extent that it is neither Tamil nor English. The effort to suit the lyrics to the somewhat masculine melody of an instrument constructed for western airs and, therefore, constitutionally unadapted to the soul-stirring sweetness of Tamil lyrics, results in an undesirable compromise."
The violin lends itself more readily to the melodies of the Hindus ; indeed, that instrument had its origin in the ravanastron of Ceylon, said to have been invented by a king who reigned there about 5000 B. C. The ancient vina, a purely Hindu invention, was a strip of bamboo with a large gourd near the end, and six strings of silk and wire stretched from end to end, with an elaborate system of frets ; such was the instrument from which could be called forth all the tones of the intricate scales. Even at the present it may be seen carried about the streets by a saniyasi, a strolling wise-man and singer.
In addition to the fundamental difference in scales, Hindu music differs from European in that there is almost no effort for harmony. There is no four-part singing. The singing is in unison or responsive, two persons simply taking turns. Their accompaniment is only the air played by one instrument, usually the violin. If there are more, the others simply give a monotonous beating or droning. As the drone is the holding of the basal note of the melody, it does produce some-thing of harmony, but it is rude and imperfect.
As to the subject of their songs, we find some limitations which are simply the reflection of the history and customs of the people. If martial or patriotic songs ever existed, they seem not to have survived the subjection of the country to foreign rule, at least, they are unknown to the writer. Custom forbids courtship or even acquaintance before marriage; so without love-making or patriotism a wide range of motive to song is cut off.
The old Vedic tunes are adapted to different occupations, different localities, different seasons of the year, and different hours of the day. Religion provides the chief source of subject matter, and much of the music is connected with religious observances of some sort. Among the Hindus almost every act of life has some religious significance or is regulated by some rule or superstition, which has its root in their religious belief, and this religiousness gives a wealth of motive to musical expression.
Scarcely to be classed as music is the chanting of the coolies as they work together; and the songs of the palanquin bearers and the oarsmen on the boats. One, apparently the leader, will begin the chant alone and the others will respond in unison. Some of the words are meaningless, as " Humgo-gum, oh-ho ! " repeated, then followed by an improvised verse of a personal nature in which they make comments on the passengers whom they are bearing, or the circumstances of the day, and speculation as to the present they will receive.
A recent Tamil writer upon the subject of Hindu music gives a three-fold classification which we may adopt, grouping it under the heads of auspicious music, funeral music and concert music. The so-called " auspicious music " corresponds to our band music, and is used on all sorts of joyous occasions, as temple festivals, marriages, the ceremony of boring the ears of children for earrings, the first feeding of children with boiled rice, and many other functions of a happy nature. At all such times the same class of music is used, the instruments are the same and the musicians are men of a certain caste. There is only this difference, that at the temple festivals less variety of music is given, while at weddings a great variety of selections and lively airs may be heard. This music is never learned or practised by the upper classes.
The instruments of auspicious music are: a large drum; cymbals ; a sort of clarinet, which plays the air but has only a limited range; the drone-pipe, which gives a continuous sound on a single key; and an instrument which consists of two half-drums joined together. Of these, the clarinet requires the greatest skill and when well played the player is allowed a silver or even a golden pipe, and the music is very sweet if heard without the accompaniments. The movements of the musicians while playing are no less interesting than the music itself. The drummers shake their heads and their bodies in a most energetic manner, and the other players go through motions which seem to us like ludicrous antics, though they perhaps are not so intended.
An example of one of the marriage-songs which have existed from the earliest times may be translated as follows :
The bridegroom is coming, he is coming in glory.
The would-be bride is a lady of inexpressible grandeur.
The bridegroom is coming in joy to marry her.
He is bringing with him good jewels, and a golden necklace.
He is bringing the wedding-dress and many kinds of shining silk.
Our bridegroom is as handsome as Munmuthan, god of love and beauty.
Those who see him say that he is a noble gentleman.
May he thrive like the banyan-tree, may he grow like Arugam grass.
The funeral music of the Hindus could never be mistaken for anything else. Instinctively, one listening would know that such dismal sounds belong to the place of mourning. The instruments used for funeral music consist of three kinds of double-headed drums, two kinds of half-drums shaped something like kettle-drums, cymbals and a drone. As soon as a death occurs, these tom-tom beaters are called to proclaim the fact to the neighborhood. Sometimes, when death is apparently near, these men are called beforehand to be ready to announce it as soon as life ceases. In former times, the tom-tom beating was limited to three occasions : first, the announcement of death; second, just before bathing the corpse preliminary to the religious rites ; and third, when the remains are conducted to the burning-ground.
Now, however, it is the custom to beat the tom-toms almost continuously all day and night, as this is considered a mark of great honor to the deceased.
Nor are Hindu funerals destitute of vocal music. The wailing for the dead is one of the most interesting rites in the Orient. There are sometimes hired mourners, but some-times it is just the women of the neighborhood who gather together to wail. With hair disheveled and faces distorted they link their arms about each other's necks forming a circle of several together, and then sway back and forth crying, " Heigh-oh-h-h, Heigh-oh-h-h," drawing out the last tone in a piercing wail, with a peculiar sound made by wagging the tongue sidewise from cheek to cheek inside the mouth. Alternating with the wails, they chant a lamentation in verse. The curious thing is that each woman, unless a near relative, bewails not the present dead but her own lost relatives, though it may be many years since those relatives died. The men have no part in this strange musical mourning. A funeral scene at night, with the compound dimly lighted by torches, the air filled with the wailing of the mourners and the beating of tom-toms, makes an impression truly weird and uncanny.
The following lines are a specimen of the dirges sung by a mother for her son:
How is it, O my dearest son, that cruel disease took hold of thy golden body?
How is it that thy fair body should become subject to a bad disease?
We thought the clever doctor would not let thee die.
We thought thou wast an iron fortress and so invulnerable.
We thought thou wast a stone fortress and not to be demolished.
But thou hast been to us a fortress of clay washed away by rain.
Is the jungle to be thy habitation, O my dearest son?
Is the barren ground to be thy majestic seat?
It is not just, O pupil of my eye, that sparks of fire should fly over thy golden body.
It is not just that fire should be kindled to burn thy fair body.
Though I eat rice hereafter, O my darling! it shall not be savory.
The term " concert music " is applied to a number of kinds of music which may be loosely grouped as the music of the people. Any one who is musically inclined may learn and practise this music. Its performance is not limited to a single low caste, as in the. case with auspicious and funeral music. It is accompanied by a special set of instruments ; a double flute with a single mouthpiece, small cymbals, a violin, a drone, a small drum-like instrument held in one hand and thrummed with the other, and a long slender drum beaten by the hands, one end being thickened by wax so as to sound a note an octave lower than the other. Additional instruments are sometimes used.
To this class belongs the music of the theatre, and also the music sung by the dancing-girls or nautches. In large temples, there is a decorated hall in the outer portion of the temple, called the " Hall of Beauty." Here concert music is rendered on festival nights, to amuse the crowds of people who throng the precincts of the temple, waiting for the procession which carries the idol in the car, the chief feature in the festival program. This singing and dancing of the nautches in the " Hall of Beauty " is one of the most effective attractions to the festivals. The greater the fame of the performing nautch as a singer or dancer, the larger the crowds attracted to the festivals. This music is not a necessary part of the temple worship and is given only as a festival adjunct. The dancing of the nautches with accompanying music is often a feature of the entertainment at weddings in high life, or on occasions of special honor to some great guest or distinguished person. The invited guests are only men, and money and presents are lavishly bestowed upon the dancers.
Under the head of concert music would also be classed the so-called lyrics or songs of which there are thousands; comparatively few of them, however, being of an enduring quality. On all special occasions, such as marriage ceremonies, anniversary occasions, meetings of welcome or farewell to distinguished guests, special songs of a personal nature are composed and sung in honor of the party. Such songs are written with a surprising ease and readiness, and many local poets have gained reputations for these personal and short-lived verses. These are sung usually by two boys with very shrill voices taking turns in a sort of recitative, accompanied by a violin.
In addition, the people have many beautiful lyrics of a religious nature and of enduring merit. An interesting feature of their singing is the variation of tune in the different verses. It is considered a mark of great cleverness to be able to sing a song carrying the same general tune through all the verses and yet with many variations in each. They are apt to end a melody upon a note of unrest, which produces a feeling of dissatisfaction in the mind of the European listener. Their closes are habitually imperfect and drawn out, and interminable repetition is very characteristic.
It remains to speak of the musical literature of the Hindu people, and the chanting of Puranas and temple songs. One great peculiarity of their literature is the fact that almost every work extant of note is in verse. The poetry is musical, and is never read as we read English poetry, but is sung or chanted. Even in mission schools, the children are taught to chant the poetry in their own vernacular.
There is probably no country in the world where the language of the highly educated scholars differs so widely from that of the common people as in India and Ceylon. It is considered a mark of great learning to be able to use language above the comprehension of the common people.
How then are the songs of the learned poets, the classics and Puranas to be used so as to entertain and instruct the people? They are not used for congregational singing but are rendered usually by two singers, accompanied by the concert instruments. One man sings a few lines of the poetry, and the second sings an interpretation of it into the common language of the people. The clever singer is not the one who sings the original poetry, but the one who understands it well enough to be able to interpret it in song to the people. To sing these sacred songs, to interpret them and even to listen to them, are all considered acts of great merit.
Various kinds of songs are sung in the Hindu temples. Those known as " divine songs " are most esteemed. They are truly excellent in composition and exercise a potent and marvelous influence on the religious thought of the people. It is not an uncommon thing in the temple to see some good singer rendering these songs with the greatest emotion, tears flowing in streams down his cheeks, before a large assembly of men and women equally affected, who believe in the efficacy of merely hearing the favorite songs as a help to the attainment of divine blessings.
Following are two stanzas of a lyric sung to the accompaniment of the instruments of concert music. It is an invocation to the god Kandaswamy, whose valorous deeds fill volumes of the Kanda Purana, and one of the most famous Tamil epic poems.
Come riding on a peacock, O thou six-faced god, to give me grace!
O thou god of light, son of Siva, the god of wisdom.
Who could not be comprehended by the god Brahma of the lotus flower.
Come!
Hast thou not always heard me tell thee my distress? Hast thou not?
Hast thou no mind to grant thy grace to me, a poor sinner? Hast thou no mind?
O thou twelve-handed god dwelling at the fair Nellore,
Surrounded by fertile fields where thrives the sugar-cane,
Come!
