The Manganhar are a Muslim community found in the desert of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

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 ...

; mostly in the districts of Barmer and

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a ...

. also found in the districts of

Tharparkar Tharparkar (Dhatki/ sd, ٿرپارڪر, ur, ), also known as Thar, is a district in Sindh province in Pakistan headquartered at Mithi. Before Indian independence it was known as the Thar and Parkar district. The district is the largest in Si ...

and

Sanghar Sanghar ( sd, سانگھڙ; ur, سانگھڑ English: Sānghar) is a city in Sanghar District, Sindh, Pakistan. Sanghar is the headquarters of Sanghar District and Sanghar Taluka (a subdivision of the district). The driving distance of Sangher ...

in the bordering province of Sindh in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. They are known for various compositions describing stories from Hindu mythology, focused on the human nature and salvation. They along with the, Langha community, are known for their

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

. They are the groups of hereditary professional musicians, whose music has been supported by wealthy landlords and aristocrats for generations.

History and origin

The manganhars consider themselves descendants of the

Rajputs Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

and are renowned as folk musicians of the

Thar desert The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Subcontinent that covers an area of and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's 20th-largest desert, a ...

. Their songs are passed on from generation to generation as a form of oral history of the desert. The traditional Jajman (patrons) of the manganhar are the locally dominant

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

and Charan communities, while the Langha have a similar relationship with the Sindhi-Sipahi, a community of

Muslim Rajput Muslim Rajputs are the descendants of Rajputs of Northern regions of the Indian subcontinent who are followers of Islam. They converted from Hinduism to Islam from the medieval period in India onwards, retaining historically Hindu surnames suc ...

s. At times of birth, marriage or any family festivity for their

patrons, the manganhar musicians sing songs of the desert and many specially composed songs to praise the patron and his family .

Present circumstances

In 1978, Jodhpur-based musician Komal Kothari provided the manganhars with institutional support, allowing them to sing outside the state for the first time. Currently, several manganhar groups tour internationally.

Instruments

Kamaicha
The 17-string khamaycha is a bowed instrument. Made of mango wood, its rounded resonator is covered with goat skin. Three of its strings are goat intestine while the other 14 strings are steel. Khartaal
The khartaal is a kind of castanet made of teak. Its name is derived from "Khar", meaning hand, and "Taal", meaning rhythm. Dholak
The dholak is a hand drum similar in timbre to a bongo. A dholak may have traditional lacing or turnbuckle tuning. The dholak has a simple membrane and a handle on the right hand side. The left hand membrane has a special coating on the inner surface. This coating is a mixture of tar, clay and sand (dholak masala) which lowers the pitch.

Notable people

Mai Dhai Mai Dhai ( ur, مای دھائی) is a Pakistani classical singer hailing from Tharparkar, Sindh. She formed a folk-band called Mai Dhai Band composed of Jamal Shab, a harmonium player and dhol player, Muhammad Fakir. Mai and her band has p ...

, Pakistani manganhar folk singer * Kachra Khan, a singer of the Managniar community of western Rajasthan *

Mame Khan Mame Khan is an Indian playback and folk singer from Rajasthan, India. He has been playback singer for numerous Hindi films such as '' Luck By Chance'' (2009), ''I Am'' (2010), ''No One Killed Jessica'' (2011), '' Mirzya'' (2016) and ''Sonchiriya ...

, a folk singer * Sakar Khan, Khamaicha player, Padmasree award winner * Swaroop Khan, playback singer

References

External links

manganhar.com

"manganhar Magic" article by Poonam Goel

Smithsonian Folkways
{{Indian Muslim Muslim communities of India Social groups of Rajasthan Muslim communities of Rajasthan Social groups of Pakistan