Context The ballads, folklore and songs of the Langa-Manganiyar artistes are being preserved through an initiative for documentation and digitisation.
The project is aimed at saving the rapidly disappearing narrative traditions of these communities.
The Jodhpur-based Rupayan Sansthan has extended support to the initiatives taken by the Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology at the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) in the research project.
Who are Langas and Manganiyars?
The Langas and Manganiyars are hereditary communities of Muslim musicians residing mostly in western Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer and Barmer districts and in Pakistan’s Tharparkar and Sanghar districts in Sindh.
The iconic and internationally acclaimed folk artistes have, been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apart from the pandemic, this vital heritage is also facing a threat from changes in patronage and increased urbanisation in these districts.
The music of the two marginalised communities, who were supported by wealthy landlords and merchants before Independence, forms a vital part of Thar desert’s cultural landscape.
