The Nagaswarm and the South Indian Hindu Festival

Author(s): William Skelton

Source: Asian Music , 1971, Vol. 2, No. 1 (1971), pp. 18-24
Published by: University of Texas Press

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/833809

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 THE NAGASWARM AND THE SOUTH INDIAN HINDU FESTIVAL

William Skelton, Senior Fellow

American Institute of Indian Studies

This is an interim article which is part of a comprehensive study of the

South Indian. musical instrument called the nagaswaram. 1 While there is much
more to this year-long study than these few notes, they do encompass one of the
more exciting facets of Karnatic music, 2 namely, typical temple music.

My research plan is quite simple. I have learned to play a limited amount on

this difficult instrument. With these modest skills as credentials, I now travel
with the party of Thiru Saidapet Natarajan. At the age of 45, Natarajan has
become one of India's finer musicians and is in great demand for festival as well
as concert engagements. Together (a somewhat exaggerated usage of the word)
we have performed at various religious functions throughout South India.

In the normally quiet village of Tattamangalam in Kerala State, thousands

annually gather to pay homage to Lord Ayyappan. 3 This worshipful tribute
takes the form of a colorful festival held sometime during the new moon when it
occurs in the month of December. The gold image that represents Lord Ayyappan,
or is Lord Ayyappan, is carefully dressed in colorful flowers and rich silks and
then serenaded, carried in procession and otherwise publically worshipped. This
is one of the few times of the year when the deity is removed from the dark inner
sanctum of the temple and taken before the people. At Tattamangalam, Lord
Ayyappan will be carried in turn by gold caparisoned elephants, a ratha, 4 a
flower-bedecked ox cart, and finally a flamboyantly lighted water float. These
processions, lasting twenty-four hours, are the climax to days of religious
discourses and concerts. This vibrant religious display will be accompanied by
the pulsing, brilliant sound of the nagaswaram, functioning in its traditional role
as the prime liturgical instrument of South India. While other instruments, most
likely drums, will play before the deity, it is the "pipes" that most often are
chosen by the Hindu as their voice to God.

1The instrument is called both nagaswaram and nadaswaram. P. Sambamoorthy

favors the former, which may be translated as God Naga, the snake god. Pro-
ponents of the latter name argue that it means divine sound or scale.

2Karnatic music is the Dravidian or South Indian classical music tradition.

3Lord Ayyappan is the sonl of Vishnu in female form begotten by Siva. He

represents an important merger of Vaishnavite and Saivite worship.

4A ratha is a large wheeled cart of great height which is pulled by long ropes.

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 The Tattamangalam festival is not especially famous. It is, however, typical
of the festivals held in hundreds of towns and villages throughout South India.
In all of these places, resident and guest nagaswaram artists will perform.

It is surprising to note the great public enthusiasm for this instrument,

especially when the South Indian pleads such a great love of vocal music. But
beneath these pleadings lies an emotional attachment to the nagaswaram that
borders on the fanatical. And why should they not feel this way? This is the
instrument that performed at the wedding. It played for the special felicitation.
It wailed at the resting place of some revered saint. 5 It functioned at every
major temple festival. It was the angelis for the tropical dawn. It purified the
house at the time of special puja. It is the "heart" sound of South India.

The description of this instrument belies its complex sound and important
function. It is a simple, 35 1/2-inch-long conical wooden instrument. It has
seven main finger holes, 6 three for the upper hand and four for the lower.
Either hand may be the top hand, as this varies from tradition to tradition.
Sound is generated by a pinched tubular reed called a sevali. These reeds are
grown in the Tanjavur district of South India. Unlike reeds in the Western
tradition, these double reeds are not split along the edge. The reeds are
extremely soft and prone to become soggy after relatively little playing. When
this condition prevails, a new reed is selected from dozens at hand and is quickly
substituted. The softness of these reeds allows great pitch and dynamic vari-
ation. This is necessary in order to play gamakas7 and to create notes of differing
pitch with the same fingering. Hence, lip control is the most important part of
nagaswaram playing.

The instrument is usually played in a very loud manner, and its sound is
similar to that of a strident Western trumpet. This type of tone is necessary
for the outside public performances so typical of temple festivals.

A nagaswaram party usually has six members. As in most Indian musical

traditions, there will be a principal performer who will control the entire group.
This control often runs beyond musical matters. He (rarely she) will be accom-
panied by another nagaswaram player who will play in unison on fixed compositions
and will function in a responsorial role during rhythmic improvisation. In our
party, two of us function as these melodic accompanists. Two twin-headed drums
called tavils will supply the rhythmic accompaniment. One set of cymbals, called

5The grave of a saint is called a samadhi. To attain samadhi is to gain final

release from earthly cycles, hence, the common usage of the word.

6Three low-resonance holes also exist. Prior to my study, these holes and
and this unusual position led me to believe that nagaswaram players had
extraordinary hands.

7Gamakas are the musical ornaments so fundamental to the Karnatic style of

performance.

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talam, will maintain the basic tala or time cycle of the composition. Finally,
the whole ensemble will be dependent upon a drone to maintain the sruti or tonic
pitch. This instrument is either an oothu, which is a nagaswaram without finger
holes, or a non-keyed harmonium appropriately called a sruti or a sruti box.
Each of these instruments produces a constant tone throughout the performance. 8

Most modern nagaswaram parties use a drone at the pitch of D natural in

the Western scale. This is called sruti two. However, instruments are made
in a wide variety of pitches, 9 the higher srutis having been more popula
past.

The style of nagaswaram performance is generally similar to the vocal

tradition, but many formal features differ. While the nagaswaram will play an
alapa (slow non-melodic improvisation), a kriti (a fixed composition of tripartite
form) and engage in rhythmic improvisation, it will also play compositions
uniquely of its own tradition. These compositions, called malari, are performed
only in front of the deity. Most masters forbid practice of malari, since the
image is not present. Even when these parties are engaged in performance
similar to the vocalists, another difference can be noted. Special care will be
taken to select- ragas of an auspicious temporal connotation. 10

A festival usually will begin with a puja or service of worship for the cele-
brants and musicians. This takes place in front of the deity while it still resides
in the temple. A typical puja will include an offering by the temple priest of
fire, sandlewood paste, vepodi,11 and flowers to each of the participants. Since
this pre-festival ceremony is for the principal functionaries of the festival, it
contains no music other than the tolling of the temple bell.

Upon completion of this preparatory service the musicians leave the inner
sanctum to begin their work. The selection of raga Natail12 signals the opening
of the festival. It is performed as an alapa in a relaxed, deliberate style.
During this time the temple priests are preparing the deity for transport. It
will be placed upon a litter which will move it to some larger conveyance waiting
outside the temple gates.

8This is no mean feat, for the oothu player must depend upon a supply of air
which alternates between lungs and puffed cheeks.

9Sruti are in Western half-step increments starting with the note C natural,
called one. Hence C sharp-one-and- a-half, D natural-two, etc. Nagaswarams
are made and played from one-and-a-half of five.
10Hindustani music places great emphasis upon the timing of ragas. On the
other hand, most Karnatic traditions, except that of the nagaswaram pay
little attention to these raga times.

11Vepodi is sanctified ash, spread on the forehead.

12Natai contains the following notes in sruti two or D natural: D F# G A C# D.

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 The moment the deity appears, the musicians will break into the unique
musical form known as malari. Unlike other kinds of fixed forms in Karnatic
music, malari has no text; it is the sole possession of the instrumentalists.
Malari may be played in dozens of forms, 13 all of these having common features.
Malari is usually in Natai raga, and places a great emphasis upon a dominant to
tonic melodic line.

Any malari begins very slowly, and all members of the party play in unison
with the exception of the cymbal player, who maintains the tala. The drums will
keep a strict note-for-note rhythmic unison with the nagaswaram. The length of
the melody will usually be four avartas, or time cycles, at this slow speed. The
sound is robust, with each note receiving accents (especially in syncopated
passages, which are frequent). In eacn subsequent repeat of the melody, the
rhythm is doubled while the basic tala remains constant. 14 This doubling process
is repeated at least three times. Better players also will mix speeds, achieving
highly complex patterns. Another common technique is to move a triplet rhythm
while maintaining the same relative note values. (See example 1.)

During the playing of malari, the image is transported to one of the previously
mentioned conveyances. This sets the stage for the procession. At Tattamangalam,
the image is first placed upon a large elephant, one of the three tuskers who will
escort or carry it through the village during the morning. Walking slowly in
front of these giants will be our musical party. (At this point I admit to some
trepidation over the occupational hazards of my research. )

The musicians will select an appropriate raga, in this case Suddhanyasi. 15

While ragas may change within certain time periods, they will adhere to a
traditional schedule. Example 2 contains a typical list of ragas and their appro-
priate time of performance. While lists vary slightly from master to master,
they are essentially alike. Compositions within these ragas are freely chosen
by the artist. This selection is seldom made in advance, though some players
will respond to the requests of bystanders.

As the procession moves through the village it frequently halts to grant people
the opportunity to worship. This worship is very important because it represents
a symbolic visit by the deity to the homes of the people. House steps are washed,
the road is cleaned; and elaborate rice-flour drawings, called kolum, are pre-
pared for the passage of the lord. Thus the transit is leisurely, allowing an
extended (if not always quiet) forum for the musicians. Daylight parades most

13Some masters maintain they can play malari in all 108 basic talas.

14This is a characteristic feature of Karnatic music as opposed to Hindustani or

North Indian music, which emphasizes acceleration.

15Suddhanyasi contains the following notes in sruti two or D natural: D F G A C D.

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often use the ratha as a conveyance for the image. In large temples, these
carts are big enough to carry musicians as well as the deity. (Thus another
occupational hazard must be endured, by both researcher and musician, because
these huge juggernauts will sway precariously as they move down the street.)

Generally, all daylight parades are faster than those at night. It is at night
that the nagaswaram comes into its own - the pace is leisurely, the public
quiet, and the mood conducive to sensitive performance. Even the stoic oxen
who pull the deity through the streets reflect the gentle mood of night ragas.
These processions are built around stations, or stopping points, spaced through-
out the night until dawn. Each stop will usually last about an hour, making the
entire performance an opportunity for extended virtuosity. In the complete
quiet of the predawn hours the sound of the party can be heard for miles. People
are lulled into a near semi-conscious state of contemplation and meditation. As
the new day arrives, the musicians will switch to the wistful sound of raga
Bauli.16 The deity will be quietly and gently returned to the temple. With the
playing of the final raga, Madhyamavati,17 the work of the musicians will be
completed.

Puja will again be performed, and the musicians will receive an offering of
coconuts, betel lead, roast areca nut, bananas, flowers - and that modern
innovation, money. Often the people will augment the temple payment with a
volunteer contribution. This will be disceeetly collected and included with the
offering.

At Tattamangalam, the night procession is varied to include a float or tankl8

festival. After the earlier procession by ox cart, the image is symbolically19
placed on a large raft which is poled around the tank for three hours. The
musicians also make this aquatic trip. Unlike the procession outlined above,
this float festival was punctuated with gigantic fireworks display. These pyro-
technics more nearly set the mood of a battle ground than that of a religious
festival!

No matter what the context of presentation, no sound is more Hindu tha

strident sound of the nagaswaram. At times piercingly loud, at times senti-
mentally quiet, it is as many-faceted as the religion it serves.

16Raga Bauli contains the following notes in sruti two or D natural: D Eb F# A

Bb C# D.

17Raga Madhyamavati also has a closing connotation. The notes in sruti

D natural are D E# G A C D.

18Most temples have a large pond or lake in/or near the compound calle

19Actually a trident (symbol of Siva) was placed on the raft while Lord Ay
remained safely on the shore. This may have represented yet another
occupational hazard.

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 Professor Skelton has been on leave ftom Colgate University, where he is
the Chairman of the Department of Music and Director of the Indian Arts Seminar.
He is the Madras Senior Fellow of the American Institute of Indian Studies,
where his research field (with the support of a Colgate grant) is Karnatic
music.

Example 1

Sample rhythmic possibilities of malari

Tala - Triputa (khanda jati) 5+ 2 t 2

1 2 .3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Original a eed et.

second apeed

third spee

S3 3 3

triplete

Example 2

Dawn to noon Kederam, Suddhanyasi, Dhanyasi, Begada, Bilahari

Noon Madhyamavati, Saveri
1 or 2 o'clock Mukhari, Sarangi
Evening Pantuvarali, Kalyani, Purvakalyani
3 A. M. Mohana

Predawn Bauli, Boopali, Mayamalavagaula

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William Skelton, Natarajan, and the Party of

Thiru Saidapet Natarajan

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