The Seni rebab ( Hindustani: सेनी रबाब (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...

), (

Nastaleeq ''Nastaliq'' (; fa, , ), also romanized as ''Nastaʿlīq'', is one of the main calligraphic hands used to write the Perso-Arabic script in the Persian and Urdu languages, often used also for Ottoman Turkish poetry, rarely for Arabic. ''Nas ...

), Punjabi: ਸੇਨੀ ਰੱਬਾਬ), also known as the Seniya rabab ( Hindustani: सेनिया रबाब (

), (

)) is a plucked string instrument used in

northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

that is said to have been developed by, and to have taken its name from, the notable musician

Tansen Tansen ( – 26 April 1589), also referred to and commonly known as Sangeet Samrat () , was a Hindustani classical musician. Born in a Hindu Gaur Brahmin family, he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest region of modern Madhya Pr ...

in the time of the emperor Akbar the Great. It has "a large hook at the back of its head, making it easier for a musician to sling it over the shoulder and play it even while walking." It has been used in

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, si ...

and religiously, in

Sikh music Sikh music, also known as Gurbani Sangeet (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਸੰਗੀਤ; meaning ''music of'' ''the speech of wisdom'')'','' and as Gurmat Sangeet (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਮਤਿ ਸੰਗੀਤ; meaning ''music of the counsel o ...

. The rebab influenced the development of the

sarod The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the sweet ...

, another Indian musical instrument. Three types of Sikh musician -

rababi Rababi (Gurmukhi: ਰਬਾਬੀ) is a term used to refer to a player of the rabab instrument. In the Sikh liturgical tradition, there are three types of musicians—rababis, ragis, and dhadhis, all of which flourished during the period of t ...

s, ragis and dhadhis - flourished during the period of the Sikh gurus.

History

As the ''Dekhani rabāb'', the instrument was listed as a native instrument of Central India by Mughal chronicler Abu'l Fazl. It was played by different castes, from the high

Brahmins Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

leading religious songs to "low-caste entertainers." The instrument was associated with the Seniya family, of whom

was one. Tansen has been credited with "popularizing" the rabāb. The name'' seni rabāb'' may be an Indian adaptation from a Persian designation of the instrument; "''Sen-e-rabab''" is supposed to mean rebab of anSen.

Religion

Guru Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated w ...

started the Sikh

tradition by engaging

Bhai Mardana Bhai Mardana ( pa, ਭਾਈ ਮਰਦਾਨਾ; 6 February 1459 — 1534) was one of the first Sikhs and longtime companion of Guru Nanak Dev, first in the line of gurus noted in Sikhism. Bhai Mardana, a Muslim, accompanied Guru Nanak Dev on h ...

as his accompanist. The Muslim singers known as Mirasis were "rababis", because they played on the rabab or

rebec The rebec (sometimes rebecha, rebeckha, and other spellings, pronounced or ) is a bowed stringed instrument of the Medieval era and the early Renaissance. In its most common form, it has a narrow boat-shaped body and one to five strings. Origi ...

. Some notable rababis after Mardana were his son Shahjada, Balwand and Satta, Babak, son of Satta, Chatra, son of Babak, and Saddu and Baddu. Rababis used to perform kirtan regularly at Amritsar before the partition of India in 1947, after which many of the rababis migrated to Pakistan. The Sikh rabab was traditionally a local Punjabi variant known as the 'Firandia' rabab ( Punjabi: ਫਿਰੰਦੀਆ ਰਬਾਬ ''Phiradī'ā rabāba''), however Baldeep Singh, an expert in the Sikh musical tradition, challenges this narrative. The last of the line of rababis was Bhai Chand. During the 20th century CE the instrument's use in Sikh kirtan was eclipsed by the

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. Th ...

but it has been revived. File:Karnati ragini-Women playing veena and seni rabab,1680-1700.png, Women playing veena and seni rabab,1680-1700.

References

Indian musical instruments Sikh music String instruments {{string-instrument-stub