The House of Letters: Musical Apprenticeship among the Newar Farmers (Kathmandu Valley, Nepal)

Abstract

This article explores the principles of musical discourse among the farmers of the Kathmandu Valley as revealed through the teaching of the dhimay drum. During ritual apprenticeship, the transmission of a corpus of musical compositions based on mimetic syllables that the discourse of authority of the masters expresses. Compositions played during religious processions originate from these syllables, which imitate the sounds of the drum. In addition, dhimay drum apprenticeship is inextricably linked to that of acrobatics, which includes the handling of a bamboo pole. This essay discusses the nature of this musical language in its traditional context, as well as its recent transformations in Newar society.

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Fig. 1. Nāsadyaḥ. Sundari coka. Royal Palace, Patan.

Photo: Franck Bernède.

Fig. 2. Mural painting in the vestibule of the temple of Śāntipur.

Photo: Franck Bernède.

Fig. 3 Nāsaḥ pvāḥ. Temple of Wangaḥ Duchenani, Kathmandu.

Photo: Franck Bernède, 1996.

Fig. 4 Yantra of Nāsadyaḥ.

Photo: Franck Bernède.

Fig. 5. Nāsaḥ dhimay pūjā at Tanani twāḥ, Kathmandu.

Photo: Franck Bernède, 1995.

Fig. 6. Detail of the “Rāto Matsyendranātha Temple” paubhā.

Photo: Franck Bernède, 1995.

Fig. 7. Detail of the “Rāto Matsyendranātha Temple” paubhā.

Photo: Franck Bernède, 1995.

Fig. 8. Mā dhimay. Seto Matsyendranātha jātrā.

Photo: Franck Bernède, 1996.

Fig. 9. Yalepvaḥ dhimay. Wotu twāḥ.

Photo: Franck Bernède, 1996.

Fig. 10. Mā dhimay drums decorated with svastika.

Photo: Franck Bernède, 2013.

Fig. 11. ākhāḥ cheṃ of Wotu twāḥ, Kathmandu.

Photo: Franck Bernède, 1995.

Fig. 12. Masters and students, Oṁ Bāhāḥ twāḥ.

Photo: Franck Bernède, 2011.

Fig. 13. Masters and students, Oṁ Bāhāḥ twāḥ.

Photo: Franck Bernède, 2011.

Fig. 14. Detail of the paubhā Dīpaṃkara Buddha, Rubin Museum.

Photo: Franck Bernède.

House of Letters: Musical Apprenticeship among the Newar Farmers.

Video: Franck Bernède.

Fig. 15. Raising of the dhunyā pole (māḥ thanegu), Oṁ Bāhāḥ twāḥ.

Photo: Franck Bernède, 2011.

Fig. 16. Closing ritual of the dhimay syanegu.

Photo: Franck Bernède, 2011.

Fig. 17. Jyāpuni of Tanani twāḥ playing the yalepvaḥ dhimay.

Photo: Franck Bernède, 2011.

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