MUSIC AND DANCE
Music was and still is, a fundamental part of the various Indian festivals. Consequently, the Indians brought their musical instruments with them when they migrated to Trinidad. A number of these musical instruments were previously unknown in the West Indies. These include the tassa, tabla, dholak, majeera, bansoori, sitar and harmonium.
The most popular musical instruments were the drums, of which there were several types. There was the dholak, which provided the rhythm for most of the folk songs. It is a cylindrical, double-headed drum which is beaten on both sides. The larger side provides the bass and the smaller side the tenor. There was also the tassa drum which is made of clay covered with goat's skin. It is beaten with a pair of sticks. Usually several tassa drums are played together by a group of people. The tassa drums are used at weddings, Gathka dancing and Hosay celebrations.
The tabla, which was introduced into India by the Muslims of Persia was another type of drum which was an essential accompaniment to most musical performances. It consists of a pair of drums - one large and one medium sized - which is played with both hands on one end.
The Nagara drums have a leather face and a clay base. Like the tassa, they are beaten with a pair of sticks, and are played in Ahir dancing and at Biraha singing. In addition there was the bansoori, which is a bamboo flute with seven holes, and the harmonium, which resembles an organ, and has bellows which pump wind into the reed compartment.
There are also the jhal, majeera and sitar. The former consists of a pair of cymbals held in the hand and struck against each other. The majeera, which forms part of the rhythm section of an Indian orchestra, is made up of two brass cups held together by a string. These cups are struck against each other. The sitar is an adaptation of the vina, with the sound board nesting on a gourd similar to a pumpkin. The face of the sitar is made of hand-worked teak over which there are seven upper strings and eleven to twelve lower strings which vibrate in resonance to the notes plucked on the upper principal strings.
In addition to the musical instruments they brought with them, the Indians fashioned a new instrument - the Dhantal - from their environment on the sugar estates. The dhantal was a long steel rod which was adapted from the prong used to connect the yokes of the bullocks that transported the cane-filled carts on the estates. The metal horse shoe used on the estate horses and mules was used to strike the dhantal. In this way the dhantal became a new instrument for providing rhythm.
Along with the music are various types of songs such as the hori, birhas, and ghazal which are sung on different occasions. There are also the various types of dances, which range from classical Indian dance to chutney.