Folk Songs of Goa - GOA PCS Exam Notes

Folk Songs of Goa

Goa, also known as the ‘Rome of East’ is one of the most happening and modern tourist destinations in India with heritage Goan culture and tradition.
Colonized by Portuguese for 450 years, cultural heritage of Goa consists of numerous goa churches, temples and mosques.
Goa’s exotic beaches that sprawl over wide and soft sands as well as the sea food of Goa are much admired and liked by people visiting Goa from different places.
Goa’s cultural richness and vividness is well reflected through Goan folk dances, Goan folk culture and Goan songs.
One also gets charmed by a series of Christian monuments that reveal some of the most attractive architecture.
Goa has a fairly long history of association with music – both Indian and Western.
While these two labels might give the impression of distinct categories, one must remember that the peculiarities of the Goan historical encounters have also produced a blending or `fusion’ of the Oriental and the Occidental in many areas, including music.
Music and songs play a very important role in Goan theatre it would be pertinent to briefly trace their evolution and impact on Goan culture.
Music is as old as language. Many ancient peoples, including the Egyptians, Chinese, and Babylonians, and the peoples of India, used music in court and religious ceremonies.
The first written music dates from about 2500 B.C.
Musical instruments like the seven-keyed flute and the Veena have been found among the artefacts of the Harappa and Mohenjo-daro excavations.
According to the Samaveda both vocal and instrumental music formed part of sacrificial worship

Singer in Goa

Numerous popular singers came up from Goa to please the minds and hearts of music lovers.
Singers such as Emiliano D’cruz, Prince Jacob, , Souza Boy, M.Boyer, Alfred Rose, Kid Boxer, Rosario Rodrigues, Tony King and J. B. Rod. Goa also showcases buzzing nightlife to you.
Goans flock around exotic beaches or let the various restaurants go buzzing all through the night. Festivals as well are celebrated with great festive cheer.

Mando

Mando refers to the various love songs that are enriched by capturing each and every emotion.
These are folk songs that came into existence with the Goan aristocracy.
The starting of these songs reflect the sad state of mind but the rhythm they acquire in the end is named as dulpod.
A blend of Indian and Western traditions can be found in these songs.
The contemporary songs belonging to this category present varied and distinct emotions and therefore, they are difference from the old compositions such as bhajan, arti, dasarwadem, etc

Dekhni

Dekhni is referred as a song cum dance.
This is because the song has western bearings while the dance is of Indian form. It is only the women dancers who conduct this beautiful dance.
A film producer got so enchanted by a popular Dekhni song that he made it familiar to every child of the country.
Whenever this dance is performed, it is done with ghumat

Foogdi

Goa’s most popular song cum dance is Foogdi performed by women and that is performed on important social and religious occasions.
It is an indoor dance that derives its name from the ‘Foo Foo’ sound made by the dancers by blowing air into a pot they hold as they spring rhythmically.
No musical instruments are used.
The most common version of Fugdi dance out of the 27 variations is the one performed in a circular pattern.
Beginning at a slow pace of footwork with invocation to Hindu gods, it picks up speed towards the climax.

MUSSAL KHEL

This is one of the folk inheritances that involve a song cum dance done in the praise of brave kings.
An important aspect associated with this dance is that it is performed by Christians to praise a Hindu King.
The main day when the dance is performed is the beautiful full moon day of falguna month of the Hindu calendar.
It is basically performed by the Cholas of Chandor who were defeated by the Harihar of Vijaynagar dynasty.

KUNBI SONGS AND DANCE

Kunbi songs and dances are actually played by the primitive settlers in Goa that delineate ancient traditions.
The songs belong to the Portuguese era and they are basically for the enjoyment of the dancers.

Dhalo:

Dhalo is another weeklong popular dance cum song performed at a pre-selected venue called ‘Mand’ in someone’s courtyard.
Normally 24 women take part in this dance that is performed on moonlit winter nights when the paddy crop is near harvesting in the Hindu month of ‘Pausha’.
They form two parallel rows sing religious and social songs and putting their arms around each other’s waist, move in unison.
On the concluding day of the dance the women wear fancy dresses and caricature men folk of the village

Musical Instruments (In General to All Music)

Musical instruments can be grouped in five major classes.
These classes are

Stringed instruments,
Wind instruments,
Percussion instruments,
Keyboard instruments,
Electronic instruments.

Among these percussion instruments are regarded as having the earliest origin.
In Goa the Ghumot is regarded as an instrument that is unique to Konkani music and reflects the ingenuity of covering the mouth of an earthen pot to transform it into a musical instrument.
Native instruments continued to be played along with European ones.
The Ghumot continued as an essential element of many folk dances of Goa and has been incorporated into ‘fusion’ music.’

Musical Instruments used during singing

Music is an important component of the performing arts like dance and drama, and of rituals. Each community has its own style of music and tradition of songs.
There are essentially two ways to make music:

With the human voice
With an instrument.

The musical instruments are classified on the basis of the scientific principle used to create the sound they make. They are briefly described below.

Percussion Instruments: These instruments are struck to produce sound. Often these are used to produce the taal or beat and do not produce all the musical note or cymbals.
Wind Instruments: These need air to flow through them to produce soundóbansuri or flute.
String Instruments: These are instruments that use one or many tightly tied strings that when struck vibrate to create soundóthe veena or ektara.
Drums: A drum is made of a membrane stretched across a hollow frame and played by striking the dholak or mridangam.

Basic/General Features of Folk Music across India as well as Goa

India has a very rich and varied tradition of folk music.
The extreme diversity in rural culture spawns endless varieties of folk styles.
Each region has its own particular approach and repertoire.
There is a propensity to lump folk music along with tribal music, but strictly speaking this is not correct.
Where folk music is a rustic reflection of Indian society at large, tribal music often reflects cultures that are very different.
Some of these tribal cultures are throwbacks to society as it was thousands of years ago.
Folk and tribal music is not taught in the same way that Indian classical music is taught.
There are no formal periods of apprenticeship where the student is able to devote their entire time to learning music; the economic realities of rural life do not permit this.
Folk musicians must still attend to their normal duties of farming, hunting, or whatever their chosen occupation is.
Folk music is learned almost as if by osmosis.
From childhood, the music is heard and imbibed as a simple matter of life.
There are many public activities that allow the villagers to practice their musical skills.
Folk music is an indispensable part of functions such as weddings, births and engagements.
There is a vast body of songs for each occasion.
There are also songs associated with harvesting and planting.
In these activities, the villagers routinely sing of their fears, hopes and aspirations.
Folk music is also used for education.
There is a ceremony when a girl has her first period.
In this function, the elderly women in the village gather at the house (men are excluded), the girl is given her first langa and woni (the half sari which is worn by unmarried women), rich food and other presents.
At this time, the women sing songs that are extremely bawdy.
To an outsider, this would seem out of character for obviously respectable community members.
However, the purpose of such songs is to provide the girl’s first instructions on her emerging womanhood and what her future duties as a wife will be.