Kullu & Mandi · Western Himalaya & Trans-Himalaya
Courtship, conducted as a contest — a line of men sings a verse, a line of women answers it, and the answer has to fit the metre and cap the sense. It is love poetry that is judged in public and in real time.
Sung at: Fairs, fields and gatherings.
Place, weather, harvest, absent lovers and local scandal, set to the fixed nati cycles and added to continuously.
Sung at: Any occasion large enough to dance at.
The deity's origin story, the boundaries of its territory, its past judgements and its quarrels with neighbouring deities. These songs are the primary record of village history in a region that kept almost nothing in writing.
Sung at: Fairs, and during possession of the gur.
The bride's bathing, dressing and departure, sung by women in sequence over several nights, each song tied to the ritual step it accompanies.
Sung at: Weddings.
Love, usually illicit and usually sung about someone the audience can identify. The form belongs most strongly to the Sutlej side and is fully at home here.
Sung at: Fairs and evening gatherings.
Work rhythm, the count of animals, the crossing of a pass and the wait for a return — sung by mixed working parties and by herders alone.
Sung at: Reaping, and the movement of flocks.
Sacrifice, atonement and the renewal of a covenant with the deity, sung only when the observance is held, which can be once in a generation.
Sung at: The rare multi-year observances at Nirmand and a few other sites.
The folk songs of Kullu & Mandi — what they are about, who sings them and when. (7)