• Barso

    Barso is a birth and naming ceremony of the Nava Hindu Gavda community of Goa, where barso songs are sung and people come to visit the child with gifts.

    Track Information : "Jo jo re Sukumara" sung at a barso in Nauxin, Goa. The meaning of this song is that the child is an avatar of the God Datattreya. The song prays the child will lead a good life, while the mother of the child rocks the cradle.
    Performer(s) : Datta Palkar
    Collection : ARCE Archives and Community Partnership

    Fugdi

    Fugdi are songs and dances which happen in a range of contexts in Goa as well as Maharashtra. This Fugdi song is sung in the Christian Gavda community for the 6th day "Sutti" ceremony. Women clasp hands and whirl around in this version of the fugdi.

    Track Information : Fugdi for "Sutti" ceremony.
    Performer(s) : Soccorina Fernandes
    Collection : ARCE Archives and Community Partnership

    Halaria

    Halariya are lullaby songs, which are sung in connection with birth and birthdays. The texts of the songs are usually fixed and name the relatives of the new born, giving legitimacy to the child. Halariya songs also call upon various people to celebrate the birth of the child in the songs. For example, the Brahmin to bring the horoscope to suggest a name for the new born, the goldsmith to make the jewellery, the carpenter to bring a cradle, drummers to play the drums, and for all to wish for a long life for the child.

    Saora Lullaby

    The Saora tribe of Eastern India are one of the most ancient tribes. Their language is also called Saora and belongs to the Austro-Asiatic family. They are known to be very musical and most Saoras can compose songs that have a lot of humour and romance. Saora are, for the most part, settled in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.

    Track Information : This lullaby is sung by a group of Saora men of the Tame Gorjang village. They sit on the floor and sing, accompanied by the jenjerungrai, which is a two string fiddle, and the tiriduy, a bamboo flute.
    Performer(s) : Saora men of the Tame Gorjang village
    Collection : Rolf Killius

  • Palna

    Palna is a lullaby form of Maharashtra. Palna songs are sung during the naming ceremony of the child.

    Track Information : This palna song is addressed to the child Shivaji. It describes the child's restlessness and the mother's attempts to put him to sleep. Recorded by Arnold Bake in Belgaum, Karnataka in 1934.
    Performer(s) : Madhumalati & Sneha Dhopeshwarkar
    Collection : Arnold Bake

    Lali Madhavada

    Some of the most beautiful of the folk songs of Andhra Pradesh are the lullabies, or Lali Patalu as they are termed in Telugu. The mother often compares her child to the divine babies, Rama and Krishna, and feels that the blessings of the divine are bound to descend on her little ones while singing these lullabies.

    Track Information : Lali Madhavada and Lali Pudave- Two Lullabies in Telugu. From the Fox-Strangways Collection, this is probably the earliest field recording made in India.
    Performer(s) : Various Artists
    Collection : Fox-Strangways