Dapha music


Dapha music is a Newa artform in which singers and musicians perform devotional music, based on classical raga and taal system. The music is performed by a group of musicians called Dapha khalah in places called dabu. Dapha is the oldest surviving devotional music of Nepal, with its origin in the 17th century. The dapha music saw a growth in the early 18th century with royal patronage. It expanded during that era to include sets of nine different drums that are standard today.

History

Classic devotional music has been in existence in Nepal for more than a thousand years. The time period between 11th to 17th century saw an increase in literary activity in Kathmandu. Numerous devotional music, dances, and plays have been found from this era. Most experts believe that the literary development during this era culminated in the development of Dapha music form.
The earliest treatise on dapha found till date is a book in Nepal Bhasa called Sangit Chandra. The book was written as an appendix to Natya Shastra by the king of Bhaktapur Jagat Jyoti Malla and his minister Vanshamani Ojha. The book elaborates on Bharata Muni's Natya Shastra and Abhinavagupta's Abhinavabharati. This was followed by Gayanlochan, written during the reign of Jitamitra Malla. Gayanlochan focuses more on introduction to raga, their characteristics, and performance. Various treatises on musical instruments used in Dapha such as Taal anukaranam, Mridanga anukaranam, Panchataal baaja etc. have also guided Dapha over centuries.

Performance

The dapha ensemble consists of percussion instruments consisting of moo dhimay, khin, paschima, nyah khin, jwo nagara, damaru, accompanied by cymbals such as taa, bhusya and kaynpin. The melody is maintained by flutes called basuri. Dapha has a set of rituals from the initiation of a musical performance to its end. The pieces of music played are called gwaras and the first gwara is always "Nasa dya gwara" or "Dyah lhaaye", which is a devotional piece dedicated to Nasa dya. The ragas sung are preceded by a short alap. Dapha music moves from Dyah lhaaye, then proceeds to chuma, bhatwa, lajah, chali, gau, dhocha, arati and finally ends with dyah lhay.
The dapha music is performed according to a fixed schedule. There are specific pieces of music which are played during specific season, specific day of week and specific hours of day. The following is a list of musical compositions along with their timings
Seasonal variation in dapha music

SeasonFestivalSongComments
Grishma Sithinakha to Gathāmuga ChareSinjyā
Warshā Gathāmuga Chare to Yanlā PunhiTukājyā
Sharad Silu mye
Hemant Dashian MālshreeIncorporated into mainstream Nepalese music as the music of Dashain
ShishirHoli mye
BasantaShree panchami to Buddha JayantiVasantaPlayed to Head of state of Nepal in Nasalchowk on Vasant Panchami


The schedule of different ragas played by Dapha on different times of day are as follows-

RāgTime of day
KolaMidnight to 1 am
Namāmi1 am to 2 am
Mālawā2 am to 3 am
Bihan chuli3 am to 5 am
Bhakta5 am to 7 am
Jayashree7 am to 9 am
Māluwā9 am to Noon
BibhasNoon to 1 pm
Asavari1 pm to 2 pm
Padmajati2 pm to 3 pm
Desh3 pm to 4 pm
Kausi4 pm to 6 pm
Kedar6 pm to 7 pm
Wijaya7 pm to 10 pm
Wimāsa10 pm to 11 pm
Nāya11 pm to Midnight