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Panchai Baja of Nepal

Nepal, a country as diverse demographically as it is topographically, is populated by thirty culturally and linguistically distinct ethnic groups. According to the Google map Nepal is a small country in the world but as a cast and the culture, we can find lots of varieties. We can find different geographical, cultural, religious and tribal aspects. Nepal is rich for their culture and music as well. Bahun, Chetri, Kami, Damai, Sunuwar, Badi, Gurung, Rai, Magar, and lot more musical and cultural cast are here under the one umbrella. As varieties of music related with their cast we can find Selo music related with tamang, Vajan chudka related with bahun, Naubaja relates with newar cast, Naumati Panchai baja introduce the cast Damai, also different social work introduce the cast such as puja path and other religious work relates with Bahun, different iron work introduce the cast Kami, tailoring and playing Panchai Baja or Naumati introduce the cast Damai, also gold work as Sunar, badi cast introduce making Madal instrument and playing Madal, also there is Gandharva cast who play sarangi. Lack of research and knowledge, lots of musical aspects and resource had been died itself in the heart of music creator while they died. We can find many tribal groups in here. Different tribal has their own religion, cultural, dress and languages. Panchai Baja performs in Janmakarma and so on till the death of human. In the birth of baby, sixth day of born (chhaithi), Name day (naoran), rice eating day(pasni), hair cutting day (bartabandha), marriage day( Biwaha), and also in the death of human( mrityu). Here we can say Panchai Baja is a friend of every human being in nepal from birth and till death. Panchai baja also perform in puja, different festival, jatra, and also in different ceremony and entertained based event. Panchai baja is friend in different mood of human being. Many of the cultural and religious events are still exist because of Panchai baja. Many of the subhakarya (good works) started with the starting the Panchai Baja that is the reason that in the village many of people say their work will be succeed while they found Damai cast people in front of the them. Now the main term that the Panchai Baja simply the 5 sets of Baja in together is called Panchai Baja. It is a mixed ensemble of wind instruments (sahanai, narsinga, karnal), drums (damaha, dholaki, tyamko), and cymbal (jhyali or jhyamta). Sahanai, narsinga, damaha, tyamko and jhyali are the set of Panchai Baja. Panchai Baja can also be called Damai Baja. It is because the set of instrument specially played by the Damai Cast in all over the Nepal. So it is a kind of synonyms to say Panchai Baja as Damai Baja. Damai, whose name is taken from the large kettledrum damaha. Their supplementary occupation is tailoring. Before 2 decades, damai musicians and together with other musician and occupational castes, i.e. kami (black-smiths), sarki (tanners and shoemakers), badi ( musician, tanners and drum makers), gaine (itinerant minstrels), the damai enjoy and extremely depressed social status, being the out-casts of society, from whom food and water may not be accepted, and contact with whom demands ritual purification. Despite their untouchability, the damai are indispensible to Nepalese society as both tailors and musicians, and in the latter capacity they assume an auspicious quality. Panchai Baja really holds the very important role in the cultural and tradition of the Nepali society. It has a value in Nepali cultural from the beginning of the human life, it means from human birth till the death from the very ancient time. The uses and function of the Panchai Baja are diverse. It is a fundamental requirement for all Hindu rituals such as weddings and the sacred thread investiture ceremony, Bartabandha. It plays for the calendrical cycle of festivals, both agricultural (e.g. hile jatra, ropai), and sacred (e.g. chaite and thulo dashain, krisna asthami), and leads civil processions and festivities of all sorts (e.g. the birthdays of royal family, the triumphal procession of the successful candidate in a local (panchait) election. However, although a large proportion of its repertoire is purely secular entnertainment music (e.g. folk songs tunes, film music), the context in which the Panchai Baja plays are, virtually without exception, sacred or semi-sacred in character, and the ensemble is fulfilling an auspicious function.

History of the Panchai Baja

In the history of the Panchai Baja, here we definitely need to talk about the cast Damai. Because I already told that Panchai baja specially belongs to Damai Jati. To know about the history of the Panchai Baja there are some myth stories about the name of damai Baja. Damai baja futher became the Panchai Baja. “Once there was a festival in a village. Those days there was not such a specific person or group to play the music for entertainment. There was a feast in one of villager’s house and the he wanted to entertain the entire guest by playing the music. But there was no one or not such kind of instruments. So he invented the percussion instrument which now we called damaha. He also place the playing sticks on it and tell to whole town that whoever hit this instrument with the stick for the first time that person will be the entertainer or musician for the society forever. On the feast day the entire guest came and his own daughter and his little son also came the feast. During the feast his grandson for the first time strict the instrument. Then all the villager gave him a work playing music for society and call him damahi (damai). His daughter cried and told his father not to make her son a damahi but her brother came and told her son will be always praised, there will be not any problem to your son.

He will be always infront of us in every social festival, tradition. But after that villager called him damai and now also they call damai. From that day damai became the musician of the society in every festival. So on time to time other instruments were invented and made a set of group instrument call damai or Panchai Baja.1

There is no any exact time period that we can say that Panchai Baja was introduced from this period. So we can call it ancient instrument. In most of the historical sculpture we can find the proofs these instrument are very ancient. In the sculpture of god and goddess we can find the instrument like dunduvi, pabhu, trisul (symbol of murchunga), sankha and bano etc,. many of the religious tretities there mention the musical instruments. Some of the instrument of Panchai Baja was mention in hindu religion ages. That time the name was different like damaha used to call dundubhi or bheri, jhyali used to call aaghati, dhalaki used to call patah and sahane used to call sringa. Sringa is an ancient musical instrument. Sringa look like a horn which play by blowing. Temko is a small form of damaha so it came to the group of Panchai Baja set. Narsinha and karna was also introduced in the story of ramayan and Mahabharat. Also nagara was introduced. Panchai Baja can be classified in the theory of classical music. Damaha, dhalaki and temko can be grouped in abanagdha badhya. Sahane can be categorized in susir badhya and jhayli can be categorized in Ghana badhya. Panchai Baja is the proper musical composition which can be scientifically made. Panchai Baja is made of naturally, it is a great composition of 5 element we can find in nature i.e. earth, water, fire, air and sky. As it temko indicates the earth element, damaha water element, jhayli indicates the fire elements dholaki air and sahane, narsinha and karnal indicates the sky element. Main characteristics of the Panchai Baja is pleasant to the people. Music of the Panchai baja touches the heart of all the listener. Those because it is the whole composition of the 5 elements of the nature and human are the part of the nature.