Abstract
In the past, the Hau-Tangkhuls musical practices were always in the lived moment. Words, in the form of songs, had no tangible visual presence—they were primarily sounds, albeit pregnant with deep meanings. As such, songs were never separated from the living present; they never existed alone without a performing or an oralising human being. Wherefore, the retention of their songs was also dependent on their constant use of the songs and the community’s collective memory. But in the late 19th century, with the arrival of the Western Christian missionaries in the Hau-Tangkhul hills, a new dimension was added to their musicking—the presence of a written text—in the form of hymn—embodying the musical tradition of the West. This chapter explores the nuances of the then musical practices of the Hau-Tangkhuls when it was a primarily oral culture and the changes that ensued in their musicking with their conversion to Christianity and the subsequent adoption of Christian hymns—taking into account the consequent impact on their identity over time. Furthermore, this chapter locates these modes of musical practices in their present context.
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Notes
- 1.
The Hau-Tangkhuls are one of the many Naga ‘tribes’ whose ancestral domain is situated in the contiguous frontier areas of North-East India and North-West Myanmar. In India, they are largely concentrated in Ukhrul district and Kamjong district of Manipur State. Over twenty Hau-Tangkhul villages are also located in Kangpokpi district and Senapati district, few villages in Thoubal district, and Tengnoupal district in Manipur. Hau-Tangkhuls also known as the Somra Tangkhuls in Myanmar, are situated in Leishi Township and Homalin Township in the Sagaing region of Myanmar too. According to 2011 census their population is 1, 83,115 in India. But if we take into account the Somra Tangkhuls in Myanmar, some scholars suggest their strength to be over three lakh (Vashum 2014).
- 2.
The contention here is not to suggest that Christianity cannot be a way of life and that it is not in the present age. In fact, Biblically that is what is espoused. But at that point in time, unlike their earlier religious practices and spiritual beliefs which were borne out of their lived experiences, Christianity was then a foreign religion and had only just begun to leave its mark amongst few individuals.
- 3.
Within the limits of this chapter, interrogation on the dynamics of relationship between Colonialism and Christian missionaries are not delved upon.
- 4.
Rev. William Pettigrew was an Anglican who came to India in the 1890s under the Arthington Aborigines Mission. But by the time he came to the Hau-Tangkhuls, he had changed his affiliation to The American Baptist Missionary Union (Dena 1988).
- 5.
Pung/Phung is a type of drum made out of cylindrical dry wood, with an animal hide stretched over one or both the sides of the hollow wood.
- 6.
These marchings happened either in the evening or in the morning depending on the specific village. However, what was common in such marchings was that it was mainly led by youths.
- 7.
Several villages could be considered as speaking varying dialects of what is presently known as Hau-Tangkhul language. But to classify every village as speaking dialects of this language is problematic, as there are also villages whose languages are unintelligible for many other Hau-Tangkhuls. So, for the purpose of this chapter, the term language is used instead of dialect.
- 8.
Amongst the Hau-Tangkhuls, they identify each other as Raphei, Kamo, Kharao, Veikhang, etc.
- 9.
Ukhrul town, the main headquarter of the Hau-Tangkhuls, is located in the ancestral land of this village and its neighbouring village, Hungpung.
- 10.
Besides songs, oral tales and legends were also vital in expressing their beliefs and world views.
- 11.
Even in recent scholarship on the Hau-Tangkhuls, several authors have presented varying rendition of the same song as per their source of the song. One prime example is that of “Miwurlung Laa” (Song of Origin and Migration) as cited in the works of Shongzan (2013), Ringkahao (2013) and Vashum (2014).
- 12.
Tonic Sol-fa is a system of music notation adapted by an English congregational minister, Rev. John Curwen, from the music pedagogy of Sarah Glover (Rainbow 1989).
- 13.
Here, the contention is not that there are no variations in the rendering of the hymns but that there are no alterations in the framework of the hymns as the written lyrics and the musical notation remains constant.
- 14.
This hymnbook is a collection of translated hymns drawn from standard Western Christian hymnbooks, as well as few songs composed by Hau-Tangkhul composers, in the tradition of the Western Choral music.
- 15.
For instance, during a wedding, the people gathered will not only sing an eclectic variety of songs but they also often compose songs spontaneously in praise of the bride and groom. During courtship, a man and woman converses with each other through songs, and so on.
- 16.
The author is only referring to the general visible and audible reactions in a church congregation rather than engaging with the semantics of how the musical performances are enjoyed by the congregation and in their individual capacity.
- 17.
Sipa is a flute made out of bamboo with a solid end and an opening on the other end.
- 18.
Tingteila is a fiddle-like instrument with a single string stretched over a body, and a long neck with a head. The body is made of half gourd and plastered with pig’s bladder or skin of a goat. The string is fastened by a peg on both ends of the gourd, and a key is attached at the end of slender wood or bamboo. The bow is also made of slender bamboo or wood, and the strings on both the body and the bow are made from the hair of animal’s tail—often, a horse or a cow.
- 19.
Talla is a trumpet made out of bamboo. On the opposite end of the mouthpiece, a Mithun or Buffalo horn is fitted to amplify the sound of the trumpet. Talla can also be simply in the form of a Buffalo or Mithun horn.
- 20.
In the contemporary context, even the Pung is rarely used in the confines of a church. The Guitar, Keyboard/Piano, modern drums are now the primary musical instruments in a Hau-Tangkhul Christian worship.
- 21.
In the domain of the mission schools, this language was primarily taught, and translation of the books from the Bible was written in this particular language. So, these factors also aided in the popularisation of this language.
- 22.
In the present context, the standard hymnbook, Khokharum Laa (KKL), is now primarily used by the Baptist denomination. Along with the KKL, the Catholics uses another hymnbook, Haori Haorangva Proholi Sosa (1996). Amongst the Seven Day Adventists, the first edition of Thotrin L \(\bar{a}\) was published in 1998.
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Chamroy, P. (2021). Hau Laa and Hymn: Musicking Dynamics of the Hau-Tangkhuls. In: Nongbri, T., Bhargava, R. (eds) Materiality and Visuality in North East India. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1970-0_6
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