Mashak

{{for|places in Iran|Mashak, Iran (disambiguation){{!}}Mashak, Iran}}

The mashak (also known as {{Transliteration|gbm|mushak baja}}, {{Transliteration|gbm|masak}}, {{Transliteration|gbm|mishek}}, {{Transliteration|gbm|meshek}}, {{Transliteration|gbm|moshug}}, {{Transliteration|gbm|moshaq}}, {{Transliteration|gbm|moshuq}}, {{Transliteration|gbm|mashak bin}}, {{Transliteration|gbm|bin baji}}) is a type of bagpipe found in Northern India, Uttarakhand, Sudurpaschim Province (especially Baitadi and Darchula district) of Nepal and parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan.{{cite conference |last=Day |first=CR |title=Notes on Indian Music |book-title=Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-8w5AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA64 |conference=Twentieth Session, 1893–94 |date=13 February 1894 |publisher=Novello, Ewer, & Co |location=London |pages=64–}}{{Cite journal|title = Garhwali Bagpipes: Syncretic Processes in a North Indian Regional Musical Tradition|jstor = 834409|journal = Asian Music|date = 1997-10-01|pages = 1–16|volume = 29|issue = 1|doi = 10.2307/834409|first = Andrew|last = Alter}} The pipe was associated with weddings and festive occasions.{{cite book|author=Himal Associates|title=Himāl|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xcEWAQAAMAAJ|accessdate=23 April 2011|year=1993|publisher=Himal Associates|page=24}} In India it is historically found in Kumaon and Garhwal in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.Andrew Alter. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/834409 Garhwali & Kumaoni Bagpipes: Syncretic Processes in a North Indian Regional Musical Tradition]. Asian Music, Vol. 29, No. 1 (Autumn, 1997 - Winter, 1998), pp. 1-16.

Published by: University of Texas Press, link at JSTOR. This bagpipe uses single reeds,{{cite book|author=Geneviève Dournon|title=Handbook for the collection of traditional music and musical instruments|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kGgIAQAAMAAJ|accessdate=23 April 2011|date=May 2000|publisher=Unesco|isbn=978-92-3-103304-9|page=23}} and can be played either as a drone or as a melody instrument.{{cite book|author=Sibyl Marcuse|title=A survey of musical instruments|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofmusicali00marc|url-access=registration|accessdate=24 April 2011|date=April 1975|publisher=Harper & Row|isbn=978-0-06-012776-3}}

Etymology

The etymology of the term mashak stems from its common use in India, referring to a skin bag used for carrying water. This skin bag shares a similar function to the air bag of the bag pipes.{{Cite journal|title = Garhwali Bagpipes: Syncretic Processes in a North Indian Regional Musical Tradition|jstor = 834409|journal = Asian Music|date = 1997-10-01|pages = 1–16|volume = 29|issue = 1|doi = 10.2307/834409|first = Andrew|last = Alter}}

Relation with the Scottish Highland pipes

Some academics dispute any indigenous origins of the mashak; researcher Ander Burton Alter wrote in 2000 that the pipes today played in Kumaon are Scottish Highland bagpipes with one bass and two tenor drones, with no local manufacturer or evidence of existence prior to British rule in 1814.Alter, Andrew Burton. 2000. Dancing the Gods: Power and Meaning in the Music of Garhwal, North India. Monash University, Victoria, Australia. Organologist Anthony Baines, however, described an intermediary development stage wherein Indian musicians imitated the Highland pipe by tying "an extra pipe or two" into their mashak.{{cite book|author=Anthony Baines|title=Bagpipes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a6MIAQAAMAAJ|accessdate=23 April 2011|year=1979|publisher=Pitt Rivers Museum|page=56}} Similarly, the New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments (1984) describes the traditional mashak as becoming rare as it is displaced by the Scottish pipes.{{cite book|author=Stanley Sadie|title=The New Grove dictionary of musical instruments|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BGoYAAAAIAAJ|accessdate=23 April 2011|year=1984|publisher=Macmillan Press|isbn=978-0-943818-05-4}}

Bagpipes in Uttarakhand

The bagpipe is an essential part of music and culture of Garhwal and Kumaon.{{Cite web |last=Chari |first=Mridula |title=A reminder for the Scots: India has a thriving bagpipe tradition too |url=http://scroll.in/article/665319/a-reminder-for-the-scots-india-has-a-thriving-bagpipe-tradition-too |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}}{{Cite book |last=Fiol |first=Stefan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SYM4DwAAQBAJ&dq=garhwali+mashakbaja&pg=PT28 |title=Recasting Folk in the Himalayas: Indian Music, Media, and Social Mobility |date=2017-09-11 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-09978-6 |language=en}}

= Cultural significance =

In the central Himalayan region of Uttarakhand in Northern India the masak baja or masakbeen is an important part of rural wedding ceremonies. The masak baja is played to process with the groom's on their way to and from the bride's village.{{Cite journal|title = Garhwali Bagpipes: Syncretic Processes in a North Indian Regional Musical Tradition|jstor = 834409|journal = Asian Music|date = 1997-10-01|pages = 1–16|volume = 29|issue = 1|doi = 10.2307/834409|first = Andrew|last = Alter}} The masak is accompanied by two pipers and drummers. The masak and its accompanying instruments send a clear message across the audible area that a wedding is taking place.

The masakbeen is also used in Choliya or Chaliya dance of Kumaon and Sudurpaschim province of Nepal.

Discography

Various Artists – [http://www.dekulture.com/10-63-album-footprints-in-the-desert.php Footprints In The Desert...] track Rajasthan's Bagpipe (Mashak). De Kulture
Various – [http://www.discogs.com/Various-MUSIC-FROM-THE-SHRINES-OF-AJMER-AND-MUNDRA/release/1853917 Music From The Shrines Of Ajmer and Mundra] track Populat Naubat Shahna'i. Topic Records (UK), 1995

References

Category:Bagpipes

Category:Indian musical instruments

Category:Culture of Uttarakhand

Category:Folk music instruments

Category:Rajasthani music