Music of Arunachal Pradesh

The geographical make-up of this “Land of the Rising Sun” has a conjugal environment for the flourishing of heart-touching melodies, enticing rhythms that would sweep into the mind and the heart of the people as the strings of the musical instruments are touched.

The music of this part of the country has its own special characteristic that amalgamates fables about animals or words that stand for morality. The music is a vital source of building morality among the people and doesn’t let them go astray off its path. The best example is furnished by the folk songs of the Pailibos which are intricately woven into the ancient history and mythology of the region.

The folk songs adorn almost every festival and pious occasions. These occasions are incomplete without the folk songs and their rhythmic beats woven into the essence of the occasion.

Generally, merriment and feasts are graced by the folk song called Ja-Jin-Ja. In marriages and other social gatherings, this special song is sung either by the men or the women or in some cases by both in chorus. Later, the people present also join in the singing.

The magnanimous past and the religious and mythological lore pertaining to the state are echoed in the folk song form called the Baryi. This form is omnipresent in the religious and social gatherings too. These forms generate a spell of nostalgia as the glories of the ancestors are being sung through this form.

If there is a song for the beginning of the marriage, there is another to conclude it as well. The Nyioga is one such form and is sung when the bridal party heads towards the home after biiding farewell to the bride. The song abounds in advices for the bride on her first step towards the conjugal life. The underlying theme is joy.