Ancient musical instruments of sindh.
The similarity in the structure and mode of playing musical
instruments found in the Indus valley and those in other parts of the
world is indicative of the close cultural and trade ties that existed
amongancient civilizations
Chappar, chang and borrindo, are musical instruments of the Indus
valley that have braved the ravages of the time and are still used in
Sindhi music. The interesting fact is that chappar (castanets),
Borrindo (clay trumpet) and chang (Jew's harp) are also used in other
civilzations, some so far placed as Spain, the Mediterranean region
and Australia. How these instruments travelled to these areas or
whether they were brought to Indus civilization from other cultures is
still unclear. However, the similarity in their structure and mode of
playing gives rise to many probabilities, including those of close
cultural and trade ties of the Indus civilization with other parts of
the ancient world.
Chappar is also widely used in Spanish folk music. In European music,
it draws its origin from ancient Greece where boot-shaped castanets
were played. It is also likely that it was introduced to Spain through
ancient Phoenician colonization or, in their pear-shaped form, by the
Moors. The Spanish castantilde "chestnut", or a clapper consists of
two hollowed-out pieces of hard wood, ivory, shells or other substance
usually held in the hand and struck together according to rhythmic
pattern of the musical composition. As a folk instrument played by
dancers in Spain, the Balearic islands and southern Italy, they are
pear-shaped, tied together by a cord firmly secured to the thumb and
clapped with the fingers.
In the music of the Indus valley the ancient castanets were made of
fire-baked clay and later from the hard wood. They are not tied
together and are played by the singer with one hand while in the other
hand, yaktara (single or two stringed instrument) is played. In Spain,
the castanets are played with both hands in which a simple rhythm is
performed on a pair held by one hand, while the smaller hand pair
plays a more complicated rhythm. The castanets played in orchestra are
attached to handles and shaken or fastened to a block of wood and
played with the fingers or drumsticks.
The chang, played by the lips, has been in practice in the Indus
valley since ancient times while in Mediterranean, Europe and the rest
of the world, it is called Jew's Harp with no variation in size,
structure and mode of playing.
The Borrindo, the other ancient instrument is a clay flute in the
spherical form, hollowed from inside. This instrument is also in use
in some African communities, aborigines of Australia and Irian tribes
of Indonesia. While the similarity of the traditional instruments is
strange to explain, what is more baffling is how and where this
instrument originated? Which community borrowed it from the other?
Let us first see the origin of the chang of the Indus valley. All the
musical instruments fall under four major categories: Enchordon or the
stretched strings; the Pneumatikon or the wind-blown instruments; the
Krousticon or the percussion instruments; and the
Electrophones. Almost all civilizations have instruments falling in
these categories, the basic phenomenon being to produce certain notes
and rhythms.
Scrapping of notched bones and later wooden sticks was the most
primitive form of producing rhythmic sounds. Blowing into shells and
horns was an advancement and formed the basis of wind instruments. The
presence of shofar, still being blown in synagogues on new year's eve,
and Sankh in this subcontinent are two instruments that have survived
and represent that group of ancient instruments.
The concept of stringed instrument came from the use of bow. The brief
sound created by the bow's string after the release of arrow formed
the basis of today's stringed instruments. The chang of the Indus
valley, and played all over the subcontinent, is the reminiscent of
the early Enchordon group improved by using mouth as sound
membrane. It consists of a metal frame to which a metal tongue is
attached. This metal tongue is free to be swung between the teeth when
placed at the lips and subjected to vibrate when struck by the index
finger, and the mouth serves as the sound box, creating a note which
can be varied at will through human tongue. With strikes at regular
intervals, a compositions is produced.
The borrindo, or the clay trumpet, is another ancient instrument that
is still played in parts of Sindh. It is a hollow sphere of clay with
one main hole to blow into while there are three or four smaller holes
in semi-circular way that are closed and opened at the will of the
player to create musical notes. A similar instrument with little
variation, but smaller in size, is found in use in Australian
aborigines.
From the ethnomusicological point of view, both these instruments fall
in the utilitarian form of music serving the purpose of herdsman who
roamed about in the grazelands, in late neolithic period or about
9,000 years back. By then, man developed the knowledge of metals. But
we hardly find any sign of chang-like or Borrindo form of instruments
on any archaeological relics found from Jericho or other Mediterranean
civilizations. What we find are the lutes, lyres and pipes which are
later developments.
The objects discovered from Moenjodaro (2600 BC), such as the dancing
girl, and other Harrapan sites also reveal the existence of music
during those days. Some of the seals show the existence of a
Mirdang-like drum being played by an artiste. Mohammed Idrees Siddiqi
opines that some seals show artists playing castanets and chang-like
instrument, denoting that metals, besides wood, was used in making
musical instruments in Moenjodaro and that the dancing faculty had
developed to a proper form.
The invasion of Aryans (circa 1750 BC), was a turning point in the
cultural life of the Indus people. It is said that the Aryans deprived
the people of Moenjodaro of their lifestyle and culture only to be
survived by those who fled to far places or migrated to other
territories. It is generally believed that as invaders, the Aryans
imposed their culture on Indus and other Harrapan people but
historians like Romila Thapar suggest that it was not the natives who
benefited from Aryan culture but the Aryans got more from the Harrapan
people.
To many, the existence of Jew's harp in Mediterranean and other
European communities may pose an enigma, but if we follow the trade
track of the Indus valley entrepreneurs with Middle East and
Mediterranean communities, a striking resemblance can be found in
almost all walks of life. The export of cotton, textiles, dyes, and
other objects to these areas make it plausible that instruments like
chang might have found a new home in Mediterranean and was called
Jew's harp.
The Indus-Harappan civilization had economic relations of two kinds
with other communities. Such trade maybe considered to be of two
kinds: first, the obtaining of materials and other goods from the
village communities or forest tribes in regions adjoining the Indus
plain, and second, trade with the cities and empires of Egypt and
Mesopotamia.
For the trade with Mesopotamia there is both literary and
archaeological evidence. The Moenjodaro script has not been deciphered
because no similar scripts have been found which could help decipher
it. Some of the seals were evidently used to mark the bundles of
merchandise. Historians cite that during the period of Sargon of Akkad
(2371-16 BC) and the Isin-Larsa Period (2020-1763 BC), trade between
this region and Mesopotamia was at its height. It was perhaps during
this era that cultural exchanges took place and later when mass
migrations from central Asia, Mediterranean and Asia Minor took place,
a large number of objects including musical instruments found new
homes. Historical evidence suggests that the period corresponding to
Akkadian rule, Moenjodaro had developed the use of metals which led to
the invention of stringed instruments and chang was one of them.
As for castanets and Borrindo is concerned the phenomenon was born
simultaneously in all civilization, the only difference being the
variation of size and form.
(By Shaikh Aziz)
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