Libonthung E
The Hornbill festival is fast approaching. Nagaland is bracing for another music season. This is an abridged research report on Naga Folk and Fusion music and the attitude of the younger generation. The highlight is the younger generation's positive reception on Naga Folk and Fusion music and their disfavour for westernization. Interviews from various Naga artists further strengthen the urgent need for information on traditional music, practices, support and the lack thereof.
All tribal communities in Nagaland have unique traditional music, often associated with history and major life events. The folk songs of the Nagas are handed down to the next generation orally. When one Naga village got congested, traditionally they would move to another settlement. Moreover, it was customary to form a new domicile with a unique dialect, and therefore many Naga dialects were formed. The many creoles and the missing scripts force the traditional Naga music to depend entirely on oral tradition. These major obstacles hinder the uniqueness of Naga music for its continuity and survival in modern times. The advent of Christianity over a century planted a lot of positive vibes in the life of Naga people but did not foster traditional folk music to an impressive extent. Therefore traditional Naga music and dance slowly diminish today, just like other customary practices.
Naga traditional music does not use many sophisticated instruments, musical styles, or tunes as seen in the other parts of the world. Drum with animal skin (Nkhuangh) and stringed instruments with Mitun horn or coconut shell or bottle guard attached to a fret-less wooden neck (named differently in each tribe and village as Tati, Nrah, Libuh, Mrabung, Nrübu), trumpets made of the horn of Mitun - Jemji, cymbal, gong and many varieties of bamboo flutes and bamboo mouth organ, bamboo pieces for rhythmic beating were part of traditional music. In the last few decades, gospel singing and church songs became popular due to the presence of Christianity. Neiliezhü Üsou (1914-2009), a Baptist minister from the Angami tribe who worked for the unity of Naga tribes through church and devotional music with a local blend. He took a few initiatives to establish the first government-approved institute for Music studies in Nagaland to revive traditional music by church hymns.
Many Naga musicians blend traditional music with Blues, Jazz, Funk, Reggae, Rock or Indian popular Hindi movie music and Bhangra music. Thus they create Naga fusion music, and some pieces are becoming popular. Naga fusion music, therefore, is a non-systematized mixture of Western or Hindi movie genres.
The younger generation's love for music: Almost all youngsters are fond of music and listen to music regularly, daily for more than an hour. Mobile phones and better internet connectivity in the town areas facilitate youngsters to listen to music longer as against the residents of rural areas without network connectivity. Since peer bonding is noteworthy in the age group, their friends choice of music becomes their preferred music. Fear of friends’ boredom, one with the group, abiding by majority choice, pleasing others, having fun are some reasons they tend to like the music of the peer group. However, they prefer soft, sad, and emotional music when alone and left to their world of personal listening. Youngsters listen to English songs most of the time and, very few listen to Naga songs regularly. Besides these, they also like popular Hindi, Korean, and Japanese songs. As far as the church music is concerned, most Naga churches adopt Western hymnals, with a few going for Naga and Indian style, the younger generation blindly follows without muttering a word.
Preference for Naga Music: A positive note on the younger generation and their love for Naga music is the feeling of belonging when they listen to traditional music. The younger generation is fond of traditional music when it is fused with modern music. Many youngsters feel fusion music exciting to the senses and engaging to listen. The fusion goes well with the changing generations attitude, moods and likeness.
The sources of listening to traditional music are older adults, mothers (babysitting, lullaby), and fathers, during festivals, radio, YouTube, village gatherings, etc. Many regret that traditional music is unavailable for them in different varieties, and they can listen only during festivals. Few youngsters also feel that Naga traditional music sounds awkward, unintelligible and the lyrics are immodest, lack creativity, and have poor music quality.
Drawbacks of Naga music: The youngsters feel a few drawbacks in the Naga music industry today. They think there is a lack of platform for promoting native artists; also, non-acceptance of modern music by the older generation. Another strong complaint from the younger generation is that Naga artists are great imitators rather than creators or developers of original compositions. Lack of appreciation for music from another tribe is also a genuine concern for many. People are too biased towards their tribe and music.
A good majority of the musicians are self-trained and thus not very efficient and professional in their style or performance. They fail to produce music in quality acceptable to people from other states and countries. This is the reflection of the society in general, where many youngsters today do not take the pain of hard training and profound practicing that gives systematic knowledge. Instead, they look for easy shortcuts. This is reflected in the Naga music also. Low-quality audio and video due to lack of quality studio and equipment are often reflected in Naga music.
Government initiatives: The Nagaland government has many departments and programs to promote local culture, music, and art. Department of Youth Resources and Sports has many initiatives to promote traditional music by regular youth festivals, talent hunt competitions, art and music events, workshops, and seminars. Another crucial department to promote traditional music since 2019 is the Task Force for Music and Arts (TaFMA). This department also encourages choirs, singers, songwriters, filmmakers, and anything related to traditional arts and music. TaFMA recently joined hands with Chennai-based Music giant AR Rahman to promote Naga music. This joint venture is a noteworthy initiative. TaFMA also endorses the Hornbill Music Festival every year.
Recommendations: From the study, the following suggestions and recommendations regarding Naga folk-fusion music are forwarded by the younger generation.
1. The Naga artists should keep their composition original, without influence from outside cultures.
2. Incorporating Naga folk and traditional music in the school curriculum would help children acquire knowledge about Naga traditional music.
3. Traditional folk music needs more and more fusion to sound modernized to the younger generation. A melody upgrade is a must, but it should not be Westernized.
4. Cafes and restaurants should come forward to play traditional Naga music; Church hymns also need revival.
5. TV and other media houses should focus more on popularizing local music in every form.
6. Sponsors are needed to promote local artists.
Naga traditional music is at crossroads today as the younger generation is looking for folk fusion. The contribution of Naga music artists does not produce enough to satisfy the musical needs of youngsters. They want more Naga fusion music to feel proud of their identity. Traditional music is slowly disappearing in urban areas, and its use is limited to festivities. Many Naga musicians lack professional training and also lack originality. These drawbacks of our artists, together with lack of provisions in the state, the local music could not penetrate other cultures as an attractive entity. Let Naga artists satisfy the needs and hunger of Naga young music lovers.
The author is grateful to his fellow researchers, Throngtiba and Tsachongli, also, Prof. Janetius for research guidance. The team is thankful to St John College for sponsoring this research.
