Dhumpa sangita is a folk musical art form from the

Ganjam Ganjam is a town and a notified area council in Ganjam district in the state of Odisha, India. Brahmapur, one of the major city of Odisha is situated in this district. Geography Ganjam is located at in the Ganjam district of Odisha with an ...

and

Nayagarh Nayagarh is both a town and the municipality headquarters of the Nayagarh district in the Indian state of Odisha. Geography Nayagarh is located at with an average elevation of 178 metres (584 feet). It was the Rukhi mountain to the south a ...

districts of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It derives its name from the ''dhumpa'', a

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

percussion instrument A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

that accompanies the performance. The tradition is currently on the decline and faces the threat of extinction.

Creation

The creation of the dhumpa is credited to ''Kabisurjya'' Baladeba Ratha, an Odia poet of the late 18th and early 19th century from the Ganjam district of Odisha. He designed the ''dhumpa'' as an instrument to accompany the recital of his lyrics and satires which are still called ''dhumpa geeta'' in rural areas of the Ganjam district.

Dhumpa

The dhumpa consists of a cylindrical hollow bamboo, of six to seven feet in length, wrapped in colorful

zari ''Zari'' (or ''jari'') is an even thread traditionally made of fine gold or silver used in traditional Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani garments, especially as brocade in saris etc. This thread is woven into fabrics, primarily silk, to make in ...

and fitted on a long wooden ply. It can be played by up to four persons simultaneously. It is traditional played with sticks to produce a rhythmic beat, a technique that continues to be used by modern tribal musicians.

Performances

Dhumpa sangita performances have troupes of up to ten musicians who play different percussion instruments, a principal singer, chorus singers and a

Gotipua Gotipua is a traditional dance form in the state of Odisha, India, and the precursor of Odissi classical dance. It has been performed in Orissa for centuries by young boys, who dress as women to praise Jagannath and Krishna. The dance is execu ...

dancer. In some performances the principal singing is accompanied by instruments like

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

veena The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.< ...

, mardala,

thali Thali (meaning "plate"), Bhojanam (meaning "full meal") or Chakluk is a round platter used to serve food in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. Thali is also used to refer to an Indian-style meal made up of a selection of various di ...

and nagara.

Declining popularity and attempts at revival

Although an important part of the literary and

cultural history of Odisha Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tylor ...

, dhumpa performances have become a rarity in the state. Only 30 to 40 practitioners of the art now live in

Digapahandi Digapahandi (formerly known as Bada Khemundi) is a town and a Notified Area Council (N.A.C.) in Ganjam district in the state of Odisha, India. There are 171 small villages which comes under Digapahandi tahasil and largely dependent on this town ...

, the birthplace of Kabisurjya and the dhumpa geet. In recent years, the Governments of Odisha and

have taken steps to revive interest in this art form. The Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC),

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

has been promoting dhumpa sangita under its ‘ guru-shishya parampara’ scheme. Patronage by the erstwhile royal family of Digapahandi have also helped set off a gradual revival in the art form. Guru Aditya Kumar Patro, Digapahandi, Ganjam. The notable exponents of the art form.

References

{{Odia culture Odia culture Indian folk music