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Written by Administrator
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Page 4 of 5 Being a frontier state war played an important part in the lives of the people of Punjab. There was also a tradition of wrestlers living in every village, and while they practised at the -Akhara- a music grew around their practice called -akhara singing-. The drum plays a very important part in the folk music of Punjab. It provides the basic accompaniment to most of folk music. The -Dhol- and -Dholik-, the male and female drum, had it-s own relevant use. The information of an impending army was communicated by the sound of the -Dhol-, when information was given to the neighboring villages through a particular beat. The instruments used in Punjabi folk are typical to the region. The -toombi-, -algoza-, -chheka-, -chimta-, -kaanto-, daphali-, dhad- and -manjira- are some of the popular traditional folk instruments.
There are songs which are specific to death. Called -Siapah-, there are different kinds of -siapah-. Special to individuals, the song of mourning deal with the loss of a brother, sister, mother, father, mother-in-law, father-in-law, and are sung in a particular format.
As in the rest of the country Sikh religion is deeply connected with music. In fact a glossary of music and Ragas are given at the end of the Guru Granth Sahib, the tradition starting with Mardana, who accompanied Guru Nanak on his travels who sang the bani of Guru Nanak with an ‘ektaara’ and the ‘rhubarb’. Classical ragas are used in the ‘shabad kirtan’, gayaki of Punjab. The sixth Guru Hargobind gave patrongae to sect of singers who sang only martial songs. Called ‘Dhadis’, they sing at shrines and festivals, ballads, vars, and about the heroic feats of the Sikhs. Along with the "Dhad" the ‘dhadi’ also uses a sarangi, as a musical accompaniment.
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