This year’s Nyokum Yullo, the harvest festival of Arunachal Pradesh’s Nyishi tribe, began with a bang on February 17 in East Kameng district’s Seppa, and went on for the next nine days. While the daytime celebrations were marked by the performance of ancient tribal rituals, the evenings were filled with modern music. David Angu and The Tribe, one of the foremost musical bands of Arunachal, brought the house down with their performance. Other singers from the State — Delong Padung, Chorun Mugli, among others — who combine elements of modern Western music with tribal folk, gave the audience a much-needed break from the grimness of the pandemic.
Arunachali music is trending these days, with singers regularly getting featured on RollingStone India. The younger generation seems hooked on the new brand of music that mixes diverse musical traditions with traditional folk songs.
YouTube hits
A few weeks before Nyokum Yullo, I had talked music, culture and life with David Angu in an Itanagar café. Born in Aalo in West Siang district, Angu first picked up the guitar when he was in Class II. By the time he was in Class VI, he had formed his first band, Megawatt, which was all heavy metal. But when Angu created David Angu and The Tribe in 2018, he circled back to music that’s close to his Galo tribal roots. How did the switch happen? “When I was in college in Shillong, listening to Galo songs would leave me homesick,” he says. Realising its worth anew, he wanted to preserve the music.
A still from the music video of ‘Jajin ja’ by Chorun Mugli | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
His band’s most popular song, ‘Ho Delo’, with more than 392,000 views on YouTube, is a rendition of an ancient folk song, with a bluesy touch to it. Angu says that the song is about “not forgetting one’s roots, where your forefathers came from, your culture, and to ensure that you visit your villages.”
He wants to popularise Arunachali music in India and among the younger generation of the State. Adding diverse styles to traditional music can be the way ahead, he says, citing the example of Arunachali singer-songwriter Chorun Mugli, whose song, ‘Kala Kala’, in his native Nyishi language, has over a million views on YouTube. ‘Kala Kala’ is almost the unofficial State anthem now, a staple of house parties and picnics where karaoke sessions are a must.
Ancient melodies
Another song by Mugli that has been gaining traction is the upbeat number, ‘Jajin Ja’, variations of which have been sung by Arunachal’s Tani group of tribes at agricultural festivals for centuries. Mugli says he was motivated to make his version “to promote our linguistic culture and showcase our traditional festival.”
David Angu performing at Ziro | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Omak Komut is among the senior musicians from the State who too makes use of the different abangs or songs of his Adi tribe in his music. There are abangs for every occasion — from prayers for a good harvest to chants for driving away evil spirits. Songs that the miri — an Adi shaman — sings can differ from the ponung sung by women while dancing. Komut borrows elements from them to create his own brand of music, which is much appreciated in Arunachal and the Northeast. Komut was part of the State troupe that performed at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi in 1994. His band, the Omak Komut Collective, is a fixture at Independence Day celebrations in the State.
Ready again
Komut is also a priest of the Donyi Polo faith, and makes use of ceremonial brass instruments such as the mulku and mulli. The other instruments he uses are the yoksa, a traditional sword, and the kiiring, which is a kind of ghungroo. They act like metronomes, helping him keep beat. As someone who has no background in modern Western music, Komut relies more on the vibes that his instruments give him than on drums or guitars.
All these musicians have been badly hit by the pandemic, which resulted in most live events being cancelled in the past two years. Many of them went online with new content but livestreaming events don’t pay as well as live gigs do. Singer-songwriter Carolina Norbu says the situation is especially difficult for artists who “cannot afford high-tech gear to record at home.”
David Angu and The Tribe were to perform at Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival in December, but the band cancelled its plans because of the widespread protests against the killing of civilians by the Indian Army. It is only recently, with the Omicron wave abating, that gigs are making a cautious comeback.
The celebrations for the 50th year of Arunachal Pradesh’s founding kicked off in January with both Angu and Mugli performing at the inaugural event at Ziro in Lower Subansiri district.
After being homebound for two years, Komut is eager to take to the stage. Donning the majestic bolup — his headgear — for a photo shoot, he declares, “I’m ready to perform. Call me!”
The writer is an Itanagar-based journalist and blogger writing about the Northeast.
