Gandarbha Explained

The Gandarbha caste (Nepali: गन्धर्व जाति) or Gaine (Nepali: गाईने) are a tribal community which belongs to the Indo-Aryan ethnic group from the central, hilly region of Nepal. They have also been called a "caste of professional musicians" and "itinerant bards."[1] [2] By tradition they make their living by singing[1] Gandarbha Geet or Gaine Geet, a type of folk song. The Gandarbhas traditionally work as travelling musicians and play traditional folk and historical songs.[2] They improvise songs too, incorporating news into them as a service, in return for which they receive donations of food or other things.[2] They use the Nepali sarangi, a type of violin, as their main musical instrument.[1] The sarangi has been an iconic musical instrument identified with the Gandarbha people.[2] The instrument has replaced another instrument they played, the aarbajo, which was larger and "more cumbersome."[1]

Geographic distribution

Recently Central Bureau of Statistics of Nepal classifies the Gaine/Gandarbha within the broader social group of Hill Dalit.[3] At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, 6,791 people (0.0% of the population of Nepal) were Gaine/Gandarbha.[4] The frequency of Gaine/Gandarbha by province was as follows:

The frequency of Gaine/Gandarbha was higher than national average (0.0%) in the following districts:

Status in society

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Popular Gandarbhas

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: James McConnachie. Rough Guides (Firm). World music: the rough guide. 24 March 2012. 2000. Rough Guides. 978-1-85828-636-5. 198–.
  2. Book: Kadel, Ram Prasad . Musical Instruments of Nepal . Nepali Folk Instrument Museum . Katmandu, Nepal. 2007 . 246 . 978-9994688302.
  3. Population Monograph https://nepal.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Population%20Monograph%20V02.pdf
  4. Web site: 2011 Nepal Census, District Level Detail Report . 2023-04-06 . 2023-03-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230314170005/https://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/upLoads/2018/12/Volume05Part02.pdf . dead .