MUSEUM & WEDDING

Today, I finally made it to the Fiji Museum. The museum is cluttered with ancient Fijian paraphernalia; the highlights include a full-sized catamaran, nose flutes (that’s right), war clubs, and, of course, cannibal forks. Fiji, in fact, was the last country in the world to practice cannibalism as a socially acceptable custom; this practice ended only in the 1870s.

There was also a lali that had been used by the Wesleyan Church in Suva. Lalis were beaten (and still are today) before church, as a way to notify people that the mass was (is) about to begin. This practice had been employed prior to Christianity in Fiji, to announce the beginning of the service at the temple (burekalou, in Fijian). The museum had a really nice gift shop: I bought an academic journal on the history of the lali and drumming in Fiji! It is pretty old, but I look forward to reading it – it’s definitely a resource that I cannot find on the internet.

After almost a week of anticipation, I went to the Hindu wedding with Jiten and his family tonight. The actually ceremony is tomorrow, but tonight was the big celebration. There were about two-hundred (maybe even more) people; and yes, I was the only non-Hindu there. As always, people were very friendly, and I was given a warm welcome. The food and kava were great, but the real reason I went was for the music.

There were actually two music groups that performed: one traditional and one contemporary. The traditional group was not a traditional Hindustani ensemble (tabla, sitar/sarod, harmonium), but instead was much more basic group, with one male drummer playing a dolak (hand drum) and three women playing chaags (like little finger cymbals & bells). The contemporary band, called the Sonnets Orchestra, included three singers (two female), a bassist, a keyboardist, and three kinds of drummers, playing Western-style drums, conga hand drums, and an electronic drum pad. For me, the electronic drum pad was the most intriguing aspect of the band, as it often was in place of a tabla. The idea that a traditional instrument has been replaced by a feat of technology is fascinating to me. Does that represent the “new soul” of Hindu Indo-Fijian music? The Sonnets Orchestra mostly played Indian pop music, with a UB-40 cover thrown in the mix (actually that song was dedicated to me. Kind of awkward).

The music at the wedding was an interesting juxtaposition of antiquity and modernity. That being said, there definitely was more of an emphasis on the contemporary band, as they played much longer.

This evening shed some new insights and realization about my research here in Fiji. Throughout this research, I think I might have been wrong to attempt to associate Hindu Indo-Fijian music with Hindu Indian music (Hindustani music). While both genres share a religious and cultural connection, the truth is that a Hindu Indo-Fijian has surprisingly little in common with a Hindu Indian. Sure, on a broad enough spectrum, the two can be lumped together; but, when analyzing through the lens of music, the reality is that these two groups are very unique. The simple difference of having, or not having, the caste system explains why two schools of music with similar backgrounds can different so greatly.

Maybe this analysis will waver after the culmination of research in Fiji and India; nonetheless, as of now, I must admit I am a little shocked with how different religious/traditional music of Hindu Indo-Fijians and Hindu Indians are. Indeed, Indian pop music has embraced musical technologies (like the drum machine); regardless, religious Hindustani music still follows a very orthodox agenda. Some Hindustani musicians still do not even permit their music to be recorded!

Despite that I have been surprised with the “traditional” Hindu Indo-Fijian music scene, I am not completely baffled by it: I do understand why it differs from traditional Hindustani music. I think it boils down to the following concept (and I have written about this before): when the Hindu Indian indentured servants came to Fiji in the mid-19th Century, they were predominately from the lowest castes. Musicians of the temple, with almost no exceptions, are from upper, or at least middle, castes. Furthermore, Indian music is an inter-familial art passed down from generation to generation. Therefore, in Fiji, the prospect of a Hindu Indo-Fijian musician that has a musical lineage spanning countless generations back in India seems relatively unlikely. (This general concept is applicable to the craftsmen of Indian musical instruments).

And all of this explains why at a Hindu Indo-Fijian wedding, the role of the tabla has been relegated by a synthetic, electric drum pad.