Music of Nepal
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Nepal has some thirty-six different ethnic groups and multiple religions and languages. Its music is similarly varied, with pop, religious, classical and folk music being popular. Musical genres from Tibet and Hindustan have greatly influenced Nepalese music. Generally, women, even of the musician castes, do not play music except for specific situations, such as at the traditional all-female wedding parties.
Like India, Nepal has several castes of musicians. These include the damai, who are both musicians and tailors, and the gaine, who were originally fisherman but are now travelling minstrels. The gaine perform for various patrons in exchange for food or other necessaries. They typically play the sarangi, a four-stringed, hand-carved instrument. Damai are perhaps best-known for their participation in panchai baja, a form of wedding band consisting of drums, horns cymbals and shawms. The highly-ritualized wedding ceremony includes a specific tune for the panchai baja to play in each section. In Kathmandu Valley, the panchai baja has been supplanted by brass bands.
The ancient Newar people are well-known for masked dances which tell stories of the gods and heroes. The music is percussion-based, sometimes with flutes or shawm accompanying the intense, nasal vocals.
Pop music
Light music, a blend of regional folk styles with the very-popular filmi music coming from India, began its development with the 1952 foundation of Radio Nepal. Light music is pleasant and soft, generally featuring lovelorn lyrics in Nepalese. The first big Nepalese star was Dharma Raj Thapa who sang folk songs accompanied by film music scores.
See also: Nepali rock, Music of Sikkim
References
- Tingey, Carol. "The Hills Are Alive". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific, pp 198-202. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0