Dialects of Dhol-Damaun: Drumming as Historiography in the Uttarakhand Himalayas

FAIN: FT-248676-16

Stefan Fiol
University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH 45220-2872)

Research leading to the publication of a book with accompanying maps and musical notation documenting the role of ceremonial drumming in preserving the social and religious history of the central Himalayas.

This study investigates drumming as the performance of history in the central Himalayas of North India. Although drummers do not often think of themselves as historians, their rhythmic patterns carry information about the historical movements of populations and their cultural and religious practices. This research foregrounds the role of marginalized, lower-caste hereditary drummers in shaping local histories through the embodied processes of learning, remembering, organizing, transmitting, and adapting diverse sets of rhythmic patterns. By applying theoretical and methodological insights from music cognition, socio-linguistics, human geography, and collective memory studies, this study charts an innovative approach to historiography through the analysis and comparison of drumming patterns.

Media Coverage

The Dialects of Drumming: Ethnomusicology Professor Embarks on 9-Month Himalayan Expedition (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Rebecca Butts
Publication: The Village News from College-Conservatory of Music
Date: 6/30/2016
Abstract: Description of upcoming NEH-funded fieldwork trip by Professor Stefan Fiol
URL: http://ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/faculty/stefan-fiol-dialects-of-drumming.html