Instruments of Odisha
Series of videos about native instruments
A series of videos that contain performances of village musicians with traditional musical instruments. Many of these instruments no longer have the popularity they used to enjoy at a time. This is an attempt to document them to preserve a part of the art.
This page pulls together documentation work by multiple individuals. Whenever the documentation is by another individual (not me), I have taken care to acknowledge them.
Tamak
The Tamak (pronounced Taa-muk with a hard ‘T’ as in ‘Tomato’) is one of a traditional instrument of the state of Odisha, India. It consists of animal skin stretched over a wooden base. The membrane is vibrated with two long wooden sticks. It is usually played in marriage processions and on other festive occassions.
Mahuri
The Mahuri is a traditional wind instrument belonging to the state of Odisha, India. It is considered a Mangala Bādya meaning ‘auspicious instrument’ and hence, is often a part of music arrangements during marriages, though it is often found in folk theatres like Rama Nataka and dances like Chhau too.
A band of traditional instruments consisting of a wind instrument called the Mahuri and percussion instruments play the tune of the song āja dekhili re nabīna bayasi bālā written by the 16th-century poet Upendra Bhanja from Ganjam, Odisha.
Gochi Baja
The Gochi Bājā is a traditional percussion instrument belonging to the state of Odisha. It is considered auspicious and is usually played in marriage processions.
Kendera
The Kenderā is an ethnic stringed instrument ritually used by ascetics of the nātha sect while gathering alms. (That is why most of their surnames are nath) It is normally made of a coconut shell on which the skin of a monitor lizard has been stretched. A bamboo stick is used as the bow for the instrument. Its sonorous music paired with ancient mournful tunes and a sharp voice can move people to tears.
The begging-songs of these wandering yogis form the class of folk-songs known as kenderā gīta (after the instrument) or jogī gīta, literally ‘song of the yogi.’
I somehow recorded six songs from two wandering Nath ascetics on a sunday morning in Bhubaneswar. Here’s the playlist from YouTube. All videos have been subtitled with the original Odia lyrics and an English translation.
This turns out to be at the intersection of another project in which I document the folk arts of Odisha. More information about it can be found over there.
Lots of other people have recorded kenderā songs too, albeit not all with sufficient metadata. Most recordings are of the song bhaju kinā rāma nāma by the poet Jogindra Bipra. The song is often known as ṭīkā gobindachandra.
- This recording by Shyamanuja Das is of bhaju kinā rāma nāma. The artiste is Girish Nath from Chheliapada village near Angul in Angul district of Odisha.
- Two videos uploaded by a YouTube channel. The artiste is Abhaya Nath. I wish these were subtitled; I would have done it myself but the uploader seems to not have enabled the option that allows the public to contribute subtitles.
In the first one, he sings bhāba binodiā ṭhākura. This is the first song from a group of eight poems known as the asṭa-gujjari, written by 15th-century seer-poet Achyutananda Dasa.
The second one is of the regular bhaju kinā rāma nāma.
- A gentleman by the name of Sankara Mahapatra has uploaded a long (~20 min) recording. The artiste’s name is not mentioned. There is no visual. The song starts with the line śuṇa mora galāmālire. In the song, a mother tells her son not to pluck flowers because she has a bad dream in which a serpent bites the boy. The boy is called Rohita. The song ends with the writer acknowledging his limited knowledge and the singer apologising for his mistakes.
- A wonderful video lives in a hidden corner of Wikimedia Commons. There is almost no metadata, but the content is of superior quality. The song is a prayer to Jagannatha. This handmade instrument has bells attached to the bow. Click this link.
- Sweta has recorded another rendition of bhaju kinā rāma nāma here.
There are many other recordings but these are some of the best.
Ghanta
The Ghanta (‘t’ as in ‘Tomato’) is a metallic gong used as a percussion instrument. The artistes are called ghantuās after the instrument. It takes centre-stage during the majestic Ratha Jatra of Puri in which hundreds of ghantuas play the instrument in a synchronised beat with fervour, dramatically swinging their torsos back and forth.
I recorded a couple of minutes of the ghanta’s ritualistic playing during the Sahi Jata of Puri as part of a procession associated with the Jagannatha Temple. There were about thirty ghantuās in this group.
There’s the same audio on SoundCloud if you prefer that :
Subhashish Panigrahi recreated the instrument digitally. This is worth having a look.
