Awadh · Upper Indus–Gangetic Plain
Congratulation and blessing sung by women of the household and the neighbourhood, traditionally for the birth of a son — a fact the songs themselves make plain.
Sung at: The days following a birth. Still in live domestic use across rural Awadh, and among the first forms recorded commercially.
Separation — a woman waiting out the rains for a husband who has gone away to work.
Sung at: Savan, the monsoon month. Sung on swings hung in orchards; shares repertoire with the Bhojpuri and Mirzapur kajri traditions.
Praise of the bridegroom and of the bride, sung by their own households in alternation.
Sung at: Weddings.
Ritual abuse songs sung by the bride's women at the groom's party — obscene by design and protected by custom.
Sung at: Weddings, at the feast.
The martyrdom of Husain at Karbala, recited in a strict elegiac metre. Mir Anis's marsiyas are studied as literature and still performed from memory.
Sung at: Muharram.
The battle-ballad of Alha and Udal, sung in a driving cyclical metre for hours. It belongs to Bundelkhand and is fully at home in southern Awadh.
Sung at: The monsoon, at village gatherings.
Separation and cattle-herding life, sung solo in a high open voice by Ahir singers.
Sung at: Grazing season and night gatherings.
The folk songs of Awadh — what they are about, who sings them and when. (7)