Cool Stuff: Arabic & Indian Music

 1. Indian Wedding Traditions

After studying Native American wedding traditions for my first Cool Stuff blog, I was given the suggestion to look into Indian wedding traditions as well. Since I am getting married this June, I constantly have wedding planning on my mind and it is so interesting to learn about the traditions of other cultures! First of all, Indian weddings are anything far from simple. These events last about two days if they are held in American culture, but over in India, they can last up to 7 days! I can't even begin to imagine all of the hard work and planning that must go into such an event! The weddings are high in energy and full of colors, typically a lot of gold and red. The wedding festivities are usually started with the women getting together for Henna where they get painted with tattoos on their hands and feet. Some of these Henna tattoos have become popular in the United States. Afterward, everyone gets together for a Sangeet which is like a welcome reception where different family members put on performances. The next morning starts off with prayers followed by a few traditional ceremonies. One of these ceremonies is the Haldi ceremony which takes place in separate homes and the family members anoint the couple with turmeric paste to purify the bride and groom. Next is the Baraat which is a precessional ceremony filled with music and where the groom's side goes to meet the bride's side. At this point, the groom may ride in on a donkey, horse, or elephant. When I went to tour my wedding reception venue, I remember the woman giving us the tour talked about the Indian weddings that they would host. She told us about the groom riding on an elephant which stuck in my mind because it was so fascinating! 

Finally, the ceremony officially begins and the groom walks in first just like in the weddings we are used to, but then the groom's shoes are stolen as a part of a game. Then 10-15 minutes after the ceremony starts the bride walks in with her dad accompanied by other male family members and sometimes they carry her across the aisle. The ceremony can last from an hour to two and a half hours. Something that is interesting is that Indian couples never kiss or walk down the aisle to conclude the ceremony. Instead, they immediately begin family portraits. After the ceremony, there is a break for about 4-5 hours before the next reception which is similar to a western wedding reception except the food is usually vegetarian. The wedding traditions are beautiful and very lively! As usual, traditions may vary depending on which part of India the couple is from. Again, I can't imagine what it must be like to plan! I am sure they receive a significant amount of help from the family. Below I have an example of an Indian wedding event. 

2. Azans of Different Countries

The Arab world includes many different countries, so naturally, the sound of the Azan call to prayer may sound slightly different depending on the country it was produced in. Below I have a video featuring Azans of six different countries, Indonesia, India, Turkey, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan. Overall, they sound very similar and seem to be conveying the same message, but there are a few minor differences. Some of these differences may also be attributed to the style of the individual producing the Azan. In my opinion, the Azan of India sounded the most different. The voice had a slightly different timbre that was a bit softer and less exclamatory. The Azan done in Turkey was a collaboration between two people which seems much less common. The Azan of Saudi Arabia seemed much more melismatic than the rest of the Azans but this could be characteristic of the performer. I also thought it was interesting that the Azans of Indonesia and Pakistan were sung by the youth. Finally, I found an interesting article that mentioned a Mosque in Kuwait that adjusted their Azan for the coronavirus. One of the lines in the Azan is "come to pray", but instead they adjusted it to "pray in your homes".

3. Arabic Violin Tuning

There is no doubt that the Arabic style of playing the violin was adapted to fit their music culture rather than the British who introduced them to the instrument. As a viola player, I was curious about some of the specific details in how the violin is played differently. One of the first things that I came across was that the violin is tuned differently than it is in Western music. Typically, the strings on the violin are tuned to GDAE with the E string being the highest. Arabic musicians will take the two highest strings of the violin and tune them a whole step down. The typical E string is then tuned to a D and the A string is tuned to a G leaving the violin tuned to GDGD. The man in the video below shows the Western tuning of the violin and what it sounds like after it is tuned for Arabic music. After learning this information I started looking up Arabic violin playing and I noticed some of them still had their violin tuned with the Western turning. I started reading the comments and there are many people that will point that out! I have one example of this listed in my references if you want to take a look.

References

Indian Wedding Traditions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FZf6xI1-tw

Azans of Different Cultures

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/coronavirus-mosques-kuwait-call-prayer-announces-pray-your-homes

Arabic Violin Tuning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-LquOmqHGQ  (Arabic violin playing with Western tuning)

https://larkinthemorning.com/blogs/articles/middle-eastern-violin-arabic-violin-style