Dates
- Creation: 1979 - 1981
Extent
31 audiocassettes (Sound recordings (sound cassettes))1 sound disc (shellac) (78 rpm)
2 folders (Folders containing notes and transcription of collection and related content.)
Physical Location
Harvard Repository
General note
Copy of email sent by Bhapa Fri 4/30/2010 9:55 AM
Notes on Anjha and marasiya tradition as recited by Alla rakhi bai to jayabapa:
"In our kingdom up to sometime in the reign of raj Ghamshinji bava anjha were danced and marasiya were sung. From the day a person died and up to 8 days anjha and marasiyas were done. During that period the father has to not shave and should grow out beard and moustache. Now at the time when Mansinhji bava;s daughter Bakunvarba who was the maharani of Jaipur died in jaipur, Nana Uva, Navalkunvarba of Jamnagar , 5th wife of Ghanshyam sinhji bav went with others to the Darbar gadh to do the Anjha and marasiya ritual. Many were present, wives of the cadets and nobles and bhayat. Here Nana Uva was not able to perform properly and many among the seated started laughing. She did not like this. She requested the Maharaja Ghanshyam bav to stop this custom and so that is how it came to be stopped. That is how in this royal family and in the family of Jhala Bhayat and among their Khavas this custom ended.
The types of the anjha performance are two. One is done standing th second is done sitting.When done standing it is done by slowly moving and while they are doing this the Khvas maids intervene and speak/cry out. They cry khva na havaj ghare padharo. Lord come home. halvad na hakam ghare padharo. Lord of Halvad come home. Adda goda nakho andata. Put your horse between O giver of food
when in the zenana the use the covering of the head and adopt the seated way of doing the ajha. The queens sit cross legged and have their head fully covered and face each other. when the anjha is taken they do this by singing and beating their breasts and banging their knees on the ground. This is called taking the anjha.
When the anjha is taken the wives of the cadets and bhayat sit watching with totally covered heads. Persons of all castes are present. all come wearing plain clothes. In the royal tradition is when somebody dies for 8 days water is not to be drawn with copper and brass vessels. all must use clay pots to draw and use water. For 12 days daughters cannot be sent to their married homes.
Names of singers who sang in June July 1980 in aAjitnivas and Tankavila to record the 305 songs of the Dhrangadhra Zenana and Raj tradition with Kanvarani Rajasree and Jayabapa:
Kesar bai Pragji Bhai
Hansa bai Sundarji Bhai
Kamubai Oghadbhai
Vajubai MuljiBhai
NanBai PremjiBhai
jayaBai MohanBhai
Radhabai Merubhai
ShantaBai PragjiBhai
ShantaBai MadhavBhai
The above persons are all Khvas. Hindu background.
All Rakhi Ismail Bhai Nagarchi Langha. Muslim background.
Hemubai DaduBhai Mer. Muslim
sakhina suleman nagarchi langha, neice of Alla Rakhi bai
These people assembled today on June 30 1980, Ajintivas Rajmahal, to record the music traditions of the royal family with Jayabapa, second son of Maharaja Meghrajji Bava of Dhrangadhra.
Repository Details
Part of the Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library Repository
The Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library is the primary repository of musical materials at Harvard. The Music Library’s collecting mission is to serve music teaching and research programs in the Music Department and throughout the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. In addition, it supports the musical needs of the broader Harvard community as well as an international scholarly constituency. We collect books, musical scores, serial titles, sound recordings and video formats, microforms, and rare and archival materials that support research in a wide variety of musical disciplines including historical musicology, music theory, ethnomusicology, composition, and historically informed performance practice, as well as interdisciplinary areas related to music. The special collections include archival collections from the 19th, 20th and 21st century.
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