Tamang Selo

The Tamangs, a Tibeto ethnic group, are one of the oldest communities in Nepal. Tamangs constitute 5.6% of Nepal’s population and are also found in significant numbers in Sikkim, North Bengal and in some parts of Bhutan. Primarily residing in the hilly regions of Nepal and the Eastern Himalayas, the Tamang community has its own language and is rich in culture, customs and traditions. The strong influence of Buddhism is felt in its music, arts and architecture.

One of the richest cultural assets of the Tamangs has been the Selo – the traditional performative songs of the community. Performed during rituals and ceremonies like weddings and cultural gatherings, the selo is an important part of the Tamang folk music and oral tradition. The social interaction that happens in a man’s life from his birth to death are the primary subject matter of the Selo songs. Traditional Tamang songs ( “whai'' in Tamang language) may be broadly divided into two categories - socio-religious songs called Tamba la whai sung by the Tamba (oral historian / poet/ social leader) and folksong called Whai that are are sung by the ordinary village folk. The Tamang Selo songs combine the elements of both Whai and Tamba la Whai, thus making it an amalgamation of the different streams of Tamang music tradition.

A section of scholars claim that the word ‘Selo’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘shaili’ or ‘performance’. According to Dasgupta and Tamang, “While many others claim that the root word comes from Tibetan ‘se’ means something that can be sung and ‘lu’ means song. Some other theories also content that ‘selo’ is a derivative of the word ‘syalu’ which is an invitation to join in dance”

The story of Tamang selo is deeply tied to the story of the musical instruments that accompany it. Musical instruments used damphu, tungna, murchunga and binayo, among others. Of these, the Damphu has the greatest cultural significance in the Tamang community. Tied to the very origin story of the Tamangs, the Damphu is a percussion instrument made of leather, wood and bamboo and resembles a big tambourine.

Folklore has it that a king and an ancestor of Tamangs named Peng Dorje once killed a beautiful deer - and act that deeply saddened his wife who was moved to tears. Peng Dorje then decided to cheer her up by making a drum using the deerskin. He fetched a piece of wood, four feet in length, and shaped it into a circle of four inches' width. He also made thirty-two small sticks and tightened the dry skin of the deer to one side of the circle with the help of these sticks. He then began singing songs, remembering the gods and his ancestors, keeping beat with his newly created instrument. The music produced was so exquisite that it stirred the forest and enlivened all the creatures of the forest who began dancing to the tune. Eventually, his wife forgot her sorrow and joined in the dance. 'Danphe', a Himalayan pheasant, danced so beautifully that Dorje decided to name his instrument after her. The Damphu soon became an integral part of the lifestyle of the Tamangs. The Damphu is said to symbolise the Buddha and the Bodhisattwa, with the thirty-two bamboo sticks representing the Buddha's thirty-two symbols. This instrument thus became an integral part of the Tamang cultural heritage. The killing of the deer, the making of the damphu and the creation of music is also a powerful tale of how art is created through suffering and sacrifice and how artistic beauty, borne of suffering, has the capacity to heal the hurt and make one forget the deepest of sorrows.

The history of Selo is as old as the history of the Tamangs itself. The Tamang community expresses its cultural identity, rituals and philosophy of life with the help of the Tamang Selo. Because Selos are primarily a part of the oral tradition, many Tamang Selo songs use mnemonic devices and refrains that help the singers to memorise the song for a long time.

Presently, several communities that originated in the hills claim the Tamang Selo songs to be a part of their cultural identity. While Tamang Selo derives its thematic content from Tamang language, it uses Nepali - the lingua franca of the hills- as the linguistic medium of expression. This has established the link of Tamang Selo with the wider Nepali culture as a result of which modern Tamang Selo songs have become an important genre of Nepali folk music. Tamang Selo songs have now become a part of the cultural identities of the people living in Darjeeling and adjoining regions. Tamang Selo has contributed to the vibrant heterogeneity of Nepali folk music as can be seen by the incorporation of Selo beats in different musical forms. The footprint of Tamang Selo is felt even in cultural performances like Dheusi where elements of Selo are increasingly being incorporated into Dheusi songs.

When it comes to folk music tradition, preservation lies in performance. Same has been the case with Tamang Selo. Because Tamang Selos are performed on a regular basis, it has evolved through the ages. Contemporary Tamang Selo songs try to integrate socio-political elements in the songs and also remodel the genre by integrating age-old themes pertaining to human existence with themes that can be related to the contemporary socio-politico-cultural developments. This has made Tamang Selo not only a medium of cultural preservation but also a vehicle for giving voice to socio-political causes.