Musical
Instruments of Nepal
by Ram Prasad Kadel
Nepali Folk Musical Instrument Museum,
Kathmandu, Nepal, 2007
310 pp., illus. b/w., including CD. Paper,
$28.57
ISBN: 99946-883-0-8.
Reviewed by Stefaan Van Ryssen
Hogeschool Gent
Belgium
stefaan.vanryssen@gmail.com
Nepalese organology is as diverse as its
geography or ethnography. More than a
100 languages and dialects are spoken
by some 60 ethnic groups, each of which
has its own musical instruments. Some
of them are only used at specific festivals
or in the context of religious and social
rituals like weddings and funerals. Others
are simply part of daily life and are
played by shepherds, farmers, city folk
or semi-professional musicians. But, as
the author says, "Nepalese musical
instruments are simply objects unless
they are played. When they are played
they come to life. A wealth of rhythm,
melody, song, dance, religious rituals,
ethnic culture and ethnic history, are
represented in folk music. [
] Each
folk instrument has a relationship with
a particular caste and/or ethnic group"
(pp. xvii-xviii).
Fifteen years ago, and without state help
or any type of funding, Ram Prasad Kadel
began to collect and document the most
endangered types of musical instruments
from his home country. Believing that
there were maybe 25 different types, he
soon realised that there are at least
500 and an unknown number that has already
been irrevocably lost. Private funding
has enabled him to show and preserve a
collection of more than 350 instruments
at the Nepali Folk Musical Instrument
Museum, and donations from both Nepali
and Western supporters allowed for the
publication of this generously illustrated
catalogue.
361 instruments are grouped in nine classes.
A generally accepted musicological logic
(Sachs) is followed: wind instruments;
drums, bells and other percussion; plucked
and bowed string instruments and lamellophones
(mouth harps). Some of these larger groups
are conveniently split into smaller subgroups,
e.g. "Drums with Tuning Paste applied
to the drumhead" versus "Drums
without Tuning Past
" In each
group, the instrument, its ethnic or regional
origin, some of its most salient characteristics,
the way it is played and the occasions
of its use are briefly described and it
is illustrated by a carefully executed
line drawing. Two appendices link the
Nepali or local name to the scientific
name of the plants and animals that are
used in the production of the instruments
and a very extensive glossary helps the
reader find his way through typical concepts
and terms.
The accompanying CD offers 10 short movies
illustrating the use and sound of the
instruments described. Unfortunately,
there is no additional comment apart from
some subtitles in Devanagari or Hindi
script, so one is at a loss as to the
instruments played, the occasions and
the ethnic settings. But this is only
a minor criticism. For anyone who is interested
in ethnomusicology, organology, or even
just generally in Nepali art and culture,
the book and the CD are absolutely must-haves.