Music of Hindu Trinidad : songs from the India diaspora

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

Music of Hindu Trinidad : songs from the India diaspora

Helen Myers

(Chicago studies in ethnomusicology)

University of Chicago Press, 1998

  • : pbk

Available at  / 12 libraries

Search this Book/Journal

Note

Bibliography: p 463-486

Includes indexes

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

ISBN 9780226554518

Description

Like many other small towns in Trinidad, Felicity is populated almost entirely by East Indians. In their Caribbean exile, the residents of Felicity have created and recreated the music of their Hindu ancestors. This volume is an account of the history and cultural significance of Hindu music that explores its symbolic, aesthetic, and psychological aspects while asking the larger question of how this music has contributed to the formation of identity in the midst of their great diaspora. Myers details the musical repertory of Felicity, which is based largely on north Indian genres including the traditional Bhojpuri folk songs and drumming styles brought by the first indentured laborers in 1845. In her engaging exploration of the fate of Indian classical music and new popular styles such as Hindi calypso, soca, and chutney, she even finds herself at the ancestral home of Trinidadian V. S. Naipaul in India.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations List of Musical Examples Preface Acknowledgments A Note on Translations and Transcriptions Romanization of Indian Languages The Narrators 1: East Indians of the West Indies 2: Roots 3: Felicity 4: A Day in the Village 5: The Seasons 6: Speaking of Music 7: Local Musicology 8: Wedding Day 9: Wedding Songs 10: A Song for Mr. Biswas 11: Song of Swans and Snakes 12: Songs of Love and Longing 13: The Ramayan Tradition 14: Morning at the Temple 15: Music and Miracles 16: The Death of Rani 17: Chutney 18: Sweet Memory 19: Passage to India Glossary, Biographical Dictionary, and Gazetteer Selections on the Compact Disc Bhojpuri Texts in Devanagari Script Notes Bibliography Discography List of Songs by First Line Index
Volume

: pbk ISBN 9780226554532

Description

Like many other small towns in Trinidad, Felicity is populated almost entirely by East Indians. In their Caribbean exile, the residents of Felicity have created and recreated the music of their Hindu ancestors. Music of Hindu Trinidad is a fascinating account of the history and cultural significance of Hindu music that explores its symbolic, aesthetic, and psychological aspects while asking the larger question of how this music has contributed to the formation of identity in the midst of their great diaspora. Myers details the musical repertory of Felicity, which is based largely on north Indian genres including the traditional Bhojpuri folk songs and drumming styles brought by the first indentured laborers in 1845. In her engaging exploration of the fate of Indian classical music and new popular styles such as Hindi calypso, soca, and chutney, she even finds herself at the ancestral home of Trinidadian V. S. Naipaul in India. Copiously illustrated and accompanied by a compact disk, Music of Hindu Trinidad is a model ethnographic study.

by "Nielsen BookData"

Related Books: 1-1 of 1

Details

Page Top