Some Sociological Aspects Of Music

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

THE LOUIS CHARLES ELSON MEMORIAL FUND

SOME SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS
OF MUSIC

A LECTURE DELIVERED BY

JAAP KUNST

KANSAS CFTY, IV I
PUBLIC L l*Alf

JAN 2 9 1959

780.07 K96s
Runst

780.07

63-11871
: Tjec'ts of
63-11871

of

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

DATE DUE

-GTS

J>ology

KUNST, JAAP, 1891-

Some sociological aspects of music, a lecture delivered in
the Whittall Pavilion of the Library of Congress, October 27,
1956. Washington, 1958.

iii, 25 p. 23 cm. tLouis Charles Elson memorial lecture^

At head of title: The Library of Congress, The Louis Charles Elson
Memorial Fund.
Bibliography included in "Notes" (p. 21-25)

1. Music, Primitive. 2. Music and society. 3. Musical instru-
ments, Primitive. r. Tide. (Series)

ML3547.K938 780.07 58-60094
Copy 3. Z663.37.A5 1956a

Library of Congress

LOUIS CHARLES ELSON was born on April 17, 1848, and died
on February 14, 1920. He was educated in Boston, his native city,
and Germany. As a teacher at the New England Conservatory of
Music, as music editor for Boston newspapers, he exerted a great
influence for music in this country over a period of many years. He
also served as musical correspondent for several European and South
American papers, and enjoyed distinction as a lecturer to the public
as well as in tie classroom. As author, composer and editor, he had
a career of great significance in America's musical development.

In 1945 the Library of Congress received a bequest from the late
Mrs. Bertha L. Elson, widow of Louis Charles Elson, to provide
lectures on music and musical literature in memory of her husband.
Dr. Kunst's lecture was one of the series made possible by Mrs. El-
son's generous bequest, which also supplied fluids for this publication.

m

SOME SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS
OF MUSIC

IF IN THE UNITED STATES or in western Europe a music lover
should decide to play a certain composition or have it played
for him, or if he should wish to learn to play any musical instrument
that takes his fancy, nothing will stop him, provided, of course, that
he is financially equal to it. Modern Westerners axe inclined to
take this situation for granted and many even will think that this
liberty has always existed and will always exist. Now, this notion
is definitely incorrect. Restrictions exist even in the western world
of today. For instance, take Wagner's Parsifal, which was reserved
for the Bayreuth theatre by his widow, as long as the law permitted
it, or Strawinsky's Ebony Concerto, dedicated to and reserved by
its author for "Woody" Herman. Or, again, think of Bela Bar-
tok's concerto for viola which was written for the British viola vir-
tuoso Primrose, with the restriction that only he was to perform it;
or think of Allegri's Miserere, which was jealously guarded from
the danger of being copied, to make sure that it would never be
heard outside the Sistine Chapel. However, young Mozart, who
had attended one performance, reproduced it by ear. About this,
Leopold Mozart the father wrote in a letter to his wife (April 14,
1770) : "Du wirst ... of t von dem berubmtenj Miserere . . .
gehort haben, welches so hoch geachtet ist, dass den Musicis der
Capellen imter der excommunication verboten ist eine Stimme
davon . . . zu copieren oder jemanden zu geben. Allein, wir
haben es schon. Der Wolfg: hat es schon aufgeschrieben . . .
Weil es eine der Geheimnisse von Rom ist, so wollen wir es night in
andere Hande lassen, ut non incurremus mediate vel immediate in
censuram Ecclesiae" ("You have often heard of the famous
Miserere . . . which is so greatly prized that the performers in

1

the chapel are forbidden on pain of excommunication . . . to copy
it or to give it to anyone. But we have it already. Wolfgang
has written it down ... As it is one of the secrets of Rome, we
do not wish to let it fall into other hands, ut non incunemus mediate
vel immediate in censuram Ecdesiae." Anderson tr.)

Outside of western civilization, however, the fact that certain
compositions and musical instruments are exclusively meant for cer-
tain occasions, persons, or groups of persons, is quite normal. We
may even assume that in primitive communities this was the usual
situation. This phenomenon could have been called musica re-
servata, had it not been for the fact that this term is already used
for an entirely different concept 1 For that reason I had to content
myself with a less characteristic and more longwinded title.

To systematize the various phenomena I intend to discuss, I
shall file them under eleven headings:

L Instruments or orchestras belonging to a certain caste or class;

II. Instruments or orchestras reserved for certain ceremonies or
institutions;

III. Compositions belonging to certain personalities;

IV. Compositions reserved for certain ceremonies or institutions;

V. Instruments which should be played only by either males or
females;

VI. Compositions which should be played only by either males
or females;

VII. Compositions which should be performed only by a given
individual;

VIII. Compositions which should be performed only by one
given group (caste, tribe) ;

IX. Instruments and music which are confined to a given time
or to a given season;

X. Instruments and music which are confined to a given place;

XI. Instruments which should be played only by the owner
himself.

It is true, that the borderlines between the various categories,
thus created, are not clearly defined and I have only done it this
way for the sake of a clearer and simpler picture.

The examples I shall give you presently include some which do
not fully represent the original situation. In many cases, a slacken-
ing of the tradition can be noted which increases in proportion with
the levelling influence of western civilization. In this civilization,
detached from nearly all magical and traditional sources, the origi-
nal situation is completely lost. 2 That this is not always an improve-
ment, that it can often be felt as a cultural loss, will be conceded by
many. Others, to a greater extent rerum novarum cupidi, may per-
haps contest this. It depends entirely on a person's mental attitude.
The still existing musical restrictions in western civilization apart
from liturgic music are usually not based on magic or tradition.
As a rule, the underlying motives are economic ones. In the case
of Bayreuth, quoted earlier, we may assume that motives of piety
played a part, whereas the Strawinsky-Herman and Bart6k-Primrose
cases were based on feelings of friendship and admiration.

Of our first category, the one headed "Instruments and orchestras
belonging to a certain caste or class," the kettle-drum is a typical
example. The instrument is of Oriental, z. e., Persian, origin and it
is there as, for that matter, in India also usually mounted in pairs,
with the difference of a fourth or a fifth between the instruments.
In Arabia and Persia, as well as in Mogol Hindostan, these kettle-
drums are found exclusively amongst the ruler's retinue.

The instrument came to the West through the Crusades. In this
connection, Curt Sachs s quotes Joinville, brother in arms and his-
torian of Louis the Holy (1214-1270), who writes about the Sara-
cens in 1309 : "La noise que il menoient de leur nacaires et de leurs
cors sarrazinnoiz, estoit espoventable escouter." ( cc The noise
they made with their nacaires and with their Saracen horns was
awful to hear.") The place can be found in the Histoire de Saint
Louis by Frangois Michel * and it shows that even at that time the
French language had already formed the word naccdre from the
Arab word f or kettle-drum: naqqara.

In the West too, the kettle-drum long remained the instrument of
the court and a royal prerogative for splendor and war, afterward
becoming through the mounted surroundings of the prince the
most favored instrument of the horsemen. The Hungarian and

German courts were famous for their kettle-drum playing during the
middle of the 14th century. Only later was the instrument ac-
cepted in Western Europe. Not until the reign of Louis XIV were
all cavalry companies of the Maison du Roy,, except the musketeers,
and all Mestre de Camp companies issued kettle-drums. In 1683
Sir James Turner says about the kettle-drum : "The Germans, Danes
and Swedes permit none under a baron to have them, unless they
are taken from the enemy in battle." In this connection we note
that, until 1742, the kettle-drummers of the Saxon cavalry regiments
did not wear uniforms, but electoral livery.

These and many other points of interest can be found in Curt
Sachs' excellent Handbuch der Musikinstrumentenkunde*

At first, the metal straight trumpet, of Asiatic origin also, has the
same social status as the kettle-drum. The two instruments belong
to each other inseparably at the Arabian, Persian, and Indian courts.
Apart from that, the trumpet is often a sacred instrument as well,
both in the countries around the Mediterranean (the Hebrew
hasosra, the Greek salpinx, the Roman tuba), as well as in the Far
East (the Chinese la-pa, the Tibetan kang, the Indian and Hindu-
Javanese karana).

The Crusades introduce the long and straight trumpet to the
medieval West as a war and temple instrument. There, too, the
trumpet remains at first the prerogative of the nobility and knight-
hood. Later it is adopted by the horsemen. Common people and
foot-soldiers have to content themselves with horns. This was al-
ready so in ancient and medieval India, where the ordinary soldiers
had to use the bent horn, the sringa. The social relation between
trumpet and horn is expressed in the Italian proverb: arrivare colle
trombe e partire coi corni, which means "arriving with a trumpet and
leaving with horns," said of someone who arrives bragging and is
men considerably cooled off. 5

ITie high Javanese nobility too has its own ensembles, such as the
gamelans Munggang and Kodok ngorek in the Central- Javanese
krat&ns, the gamelans Degung in the kabupatens of the Sundanese
Regents, the gamelans sekati, both at the courts of the four princi-
palities as well as at the long since mediatized Cheribon Sultan's

courts. As a matter of fact we could have put these orchestras
with the exception of the gamelan Degung in our group II as well,
because these orchestras are at the same time reserved for special
occasions. For instance, the gamelan Munggang is played to add
lustre to the arrival of high guests; to the former Saturday tourna-
ments; to the nightly official repasts on the last five odd days of the
month of fasting; to the first official meeting of a princely couple; to
the Garebegs; to three large religious kraton celebrations; to the act-
ing in state of the ruler; and formerly, to the arrival of a letter from
one of the other Javanese rulers or from the Governor General.

The gamelan Kodak ngorek is played on the occasion of the first
official meeting of a princely couple. It is also played on the ruler's
birthday; at the circumcision of a young prince; when during a
Garebeg the gunungans, the sacred heaps of food, are brought in;
during the highlights of a wayang wong performance; and in the
olden days when, for popular entertainment, tigers were released
in an arena after which they were speared when trying to escape,
or during a fight between a tiger and a kerbau. 8

Finally, the gamelan sekati is heard only during the sekaten-
week, i. e. 3 the week in which the Javanese people commemorate
the birth and death of the Prophet Mohammed, and on a few rare
occasions, such as the 40th anniversary of the rule of His Princely
Highness Paku Buwana X. 7

The high esteem in which these age-old orchestras are held is
apparent from the titles preceding their names: Kangjeng Kjahi,
Venerable Sir. When any of these gamelans are to be played, they
are assembled at a special traditional spot. (They could, there-
fore, have been discussed also in our group X.)

In Bali, which is still Hindu, the gamelans Selunding, which are
found in a limited number in some villages of the Bdi-aga, the
original Balinese are performing a similar function. 8 These orches-
tras play only on special occasions, such as certain religious cere-
monies, a visit of the Governor General, the breaking out of a
contagious disease, and certain calamities at the hand of Fate. Such
magic powers are attributed to these orchestras that they must never
go through a door or gate. They have to be lifted over the walls

48476569 2 5

surrounding all Balinese home properties. He who has touched
a corpse and who consequently is considered sebel, impure, is barred
from contact with the gamelan Selunding for the period of one
month and seven days. The players at least in the Bdi-aga vil-
lage of Bungaja form a venerable corps of old men, who are
pledged to remain with the gamelan until the tabuh, the playing
mallet, falls from their powerless hands. A stranger or an uniniti-
ated person is not permitted to touch the Selunding. Even the
orchestra's guardians would think twice before sounding the instru-
ments at unauthorized times. Dr. Korn 9 writes that one of the
Selunding orchestras is particularly holy and is said to have de-
scended directly from heaven.

Professor G. Hooykaas pointed out to me recently that the sub-
ruleis of the Malayan peninsula were not allowed to possess the
complete Malaka orchestra, but that they had to see to it that their
ensemble had at least one instrument less than that of their overlord.

D. H. Meyer's investigations have once again confirmed that in
the Indonesian cultural world, the large wooden slit drums could
only be possessed by certain chiefs and that only males were per-
mitted to play them. 10

It is not the Euro-Asiatic civilizations alone which furnish ex-
amples of special instruments reserved for specific social groups.
This phenomenon is found also in Africa.

An extensive drum ensemble is a rigidly maintained prerogative
of the chief of the (Wa)Tu(t) si, a Hamitic pastoral people in East
Africa. 11 It is played in ever-changing rhythms on all state occa-
sions. At the accession of a new ruler the drums are carried to the
place in hammocks as if they were royal personages. They are the
Kalinga, the most holy of them all; the Chim'umugizi, or he who
makes the possessor of the throne rule ; the Mpats*ibihugu, or he who
is protecting the country; the Ichyfumwe, or the drum of the country
of which the ruler is the uncontested master; the Butare, or strong
as a rock; the Gisaba rwanda, or he who can be heard all over the
country; the Singkangimilyanga, or he who does not fill the subjects
with fear, etc. Other drums remind the people of the daily rou-
tine: the Ndamutsa is sounded at 8 o'clock in the morning when the

ruler is showing himself to the court and his subjects, in other words,
during the event which in Versailles, at the time of Louis XIV, was
called "le grand lever." The Nchabagome announces the sentenc-
ing of great criminals. The largest of all is the Gihumurizu or Ny-
ampundu and it represents public rejoicing when the ruler gra-
ciously moves amongst his people. One drum is specially used for
the tattoo. Another one, again, is used to announce that the ruler
has retired. Still others mark the beginning of a war, the trium-
phant return from a war, the making of the "sacre du printemps."
The drums are so closely connected with the life of the ruler, that
the language contains expressions such as "during the peaceful
drum of King" so and so; "a drum of peace and prosperity"; in
which the word "drum" has replaced the word "government." In
other expressions the word "drum" is used as the equivalent of the
word kingdom, or even of the king himself. 12 (In our western
world we could point to the same usage, as when we speak of "the
Holy See," meaning the Pope or the Vatican as a theological or
political power.) The excellent recordings made by the Denis
Roosevelt expedition and, recently, by Hugh T. Tracey, convey a
fair idea of the mighty sound of these drums. 18

The position of the tabl d-kabir> the great drum, at the 14th cen-
tury court of the Mughal Il-Khans in Bagdad, can be compared with
the position of these royal Watutsi drums. It was the personal em-
blem of the Il-Khan and was always destroyed at his death. These
monster drums, almost the height of a man, were sometimes carried
on a chariot. 14

According to Father Marcel Pauwels, 15 in Ruanda forged iron
bells are made, to be worn as a mark of distinction by men who
have killed an enemy or a lion; by women who have borne at least
ten children; by cows which have given birth to a record number
of calves, and by first-rate hunting dogs. 16

As for adjacent Uganda, Dr. Wachsmann 17 says: "This entada
or entamiivu (i. e. an orchestra consisting of a 12-key xylophone
and five drums) was the Kabaka's (the King's) privileged orches-
tra, which only a few important heads of clans and tribal chiefs
were allowed to possess. ... at the present time the Queen Mother

and one other official of the court are known to keep an entamiivu
complete with xylophone." 1S

After reading the first Dutch edition of this treatise, Dr. Hans
Hickmann (Cairo) wrote to me: "I have noticed that the sociologi-
cal ties in music, so eminently characteristic and so clearly existing,
seem to be unknown of Ancient Egypt, presumably, because these
things are completely buried in the Egyptian literature. This is to
be regretted because it concerns here a historically demonstrable first
proof in history, which also has the advantage of being recorded in
writing. In this connection I think of the magico-religious use of
the trumpet w which even in the modern state is considered a manly
and royal instrument and which is manufactured in pairs. Fur-
ther I refer to the ceremonial and magical instruments, each one of
which has been dedicated to a deity, and also to the double function
of each kind of instrument, namely as a religious ceremonial^object,
and as a sound-producing apparatus. In many cases this is quite
striking. Finally I mention the custom of the ceremonial breaking
of music instruments and the interment of lutes, lyres, harps and even
clappers (a couple of clappers were found in a small sarcophagus,
where they had been enshrined ceremonially), of bells and other
sound devices, carefully wrapped in linen, like mummies." 20

During the discussion of the sacred and "Herrenschicht" orches-
tras, we have, as you will have noted, moved from our first group
to the group of the "instruments or orchestras, reserved for certain
ceremonies or institutions."

New Guinea provides us with examples of a purely magico-re-
ligious nature, such as the "holy" flutes and the bull-roarers (skdbiek,
sosom}. These instruments are or were played by men only and
they served to imitate the voices of spirits, the former on the north
coast, the latter at various places in the interior. The women of the
tribe had to exercise care not to set eyes on the source of the sound
whenever they heard it. Besides, they were supposed to provide
an ample supply of good food (mainly sago cakes, preferably sea-
soned with succulent palm grubs), because the ghost was always
hungry. It is almost needless to say that the spirit would choose the
men's house as its place of residence. The food, hurriedly taken to

8

the spirit's abode, was invariably found eaten to the last bit the fol-
lowing morning. In earlier times a woman who had seen such a
musical instrument, or who had entertained doubts as to the spiritual
appetite, would have been killed without mercy. 21 This knowledge
undoubtedly strengthened her religious fervor.

It is no different with the kende, the oblong iron bells, sounded
with a stick and belonging to the Kissi who live northeast of Sierra
Leone and Liberia. They are initiation instruments, carefully
guarded from the eyes of women. And of the men themselves, only
a few specially chosen dignitaries, the sfkoa kengda, are allowed to
sound the kende during the initiation ceremonies at specified

moments. 22

Amongst the Kissi, too, the bullroarers, in these rites, play exactly
the same part as the sosom amongst some Papuan tribes. About
this, Andr6 Schaeffner says: "The men tell the women that this is a
terrible thing, the Thing toma. The buzzing sound they can hear
is the roar of a large ferocious animal, which has fallen down from
heaven and which is now devouring their children in the sacred
forest. If one of them sets eyes on the bullroarer, or if she meets a
man carrying one, or if she simply finds out what produces this sound,
she runs the risk of being killed." M

Edwin D. Neff discovered recently that amongst the Camayuras,
a South American Indian tribe in the territory around the source of
the Xingu, the flute stands in the same relation to the women. Only
the men blow these very long flutes, which serve to promote the
catching of fish. A woman setting eyes on one of these flutes is
subject to group assault. 2 *

The Chinese "scraping tiger," the yu or ki*a, is an instrument with
an exclusively ritual function. 25 (Being inseparably bound to one
definite spot, just as the gamelans Hunggang, Kodok ngorek, and
Sekati in Java, it could also have been mentioned in our category X. )

It is again the Javanese principalities which give us examples of
our third category : "compositions belonging to certain personalities. 53
The gamelan composition Hundur-hundur kadjongan was only

played in the Solonese Kraton when, during a festivity, thfc ruler
moved in state to another part of the palace and during the dance
of the chantang balung, those officials whose task it was to find at-
tractive and gracious wives for His Princely Highness.

Moreover, each of the four Central Javanese rulers had his private
composition* For instance, the ladrangan Srikaton was the one be-
longing to Susuhunan Paku Buwana X. The ketawang Baranggan-
jur belong to Sultan Hamangku Buwana VIII. The ketawang
Puspawarna to His Highness Nangku Nagara VII. Nowadays these
compositions are sometimes played in other places as well and they
have nearly lost their "princely signature tune" quality.

Central Java also gives us a good example of our fourth category:
"compositions reserved for certain ceremonies or institutions." It
is the gamelan composition Bedaya ketawang which is played ex-
clusively to accompany the dance of the bedaya's, one of the two
specifically princely dancing groups (the other one being the group
of the serimpfs). An atmosphere of venerability surrounds both
the bedaya dances in any case this one as well as the accompany-
ing music. The dancers are supposed to be priestesses or envoys of
the pre-Hindu Goddess of the South Sea (i. e. the Indian Ocean),
Ratu KiduL During the dance it is believed that she is present in
the Kraton. About 1920, the nyaga's (musicians) and the Kraton
inmates had still such a respect for the dance and the composition
Bedaya ketawang that rehearsals took place only on Anggara kasih,
i. e. the Thursday coinciding with the Pasar-day Kliwon, which is
once every 35 days. Furthermore, the dancers had to be absolutely
pure and were dressed like brides. The humming of the holy
melody was strictly forbidden (no one would have dreamt of doing
it anyway) , and if it were necessary to write the melody down, it was
seen to it that at least one error was made. To produce a complete
perfect notation would have been felt as evil presumptuousness in
the face of higher powers.

A western counterpart of such an attitude towards a certain
melody although not so rigidly maintained is, or at least was
in 1913, embodied in the old Island of Terschdling song Wat hoor
ik hier in *t midden van de nacht?* This song, which is a para-

10

phrase of a passage of the Song of Songs (Chapter 3, Verse 1-4),
illustrates the coming of Jesus to the Soul-Virgin, in a free transla-
tion of an 1 Ith-century carmen by the famous cardinal-bishop of
Ostia, Petms Damianus. The present Terschdling people merely
see it as a nightly visit of a lover to his girl. However, the relation
with the carmen mentioned seems certain on account of the con-
tent, the identical use of words and the peculiar rhyming scheme
which, in both instances, show the same departure from the norm.
Now, this song and this also seems to testify to its spiritual origin
until recently was only sung at the conclusion of the large Terschel-
ling festive summer wagon drive (which, originally a heathen mid-
summer festival, later turned into the Christian St. John's proces-
sion) and was timed so that the final strophe, which mentions the
heavenly court, occurred at the moment the wagons were making
their final run around the church.

The restriction that certain instruments "should be played only
by either males or females" our fifth group is found all over the
world. Take the flute, for instance: among most peoples, past and
present, playing the flute almost any kind of flute is regarded
as a masculine prerogative, and, as we have stated above, some-
times prejudice has gone so far in this direction as to forbid a woman
even to look at this instrument on pain of death. Yet, on the other
hand, for some inscrutable reason that rather rare variety, the
central-hole flute, may be played, or at least is played, only by
women. I noted this myself among the Ngadanese and Nagess of
midwestern Flores, 27 and Van der Tuuk records the same custom
among the Toba-Batak. 28 The same applies to the use of the pan-
pipes in some regions, as, for instance, among the Nacao Indians
in Venezuela and the Tinguians in North Luzon ( Philippines ).*

On the island of Nias, off the West coast of Sumatra, the doli-doli,
a primitive xylophone, is only used when the rice is ripening and
the fields are guarded (our group IX), and then by women only. 80

The above mentioned Batak tribe also makes a distinction be-
tween the kind of mouth-harp played by girls and that reserved for
the use of the young men: among the ornaments suspended from

11

the instrument meant for the men there is always a miniature bam-
boo spring clapper which is never found on the girls 5 harps.

Among the Bunum tribe on the island of Formosa, the musical
bow is solely for the use of the male, the mouth-harp usually for the
female. The flutes restricted to male use are played only on occa-
sion of triumphal head-hunting, not for amusement. 31

Regarding the flutes of the Venda of Northern Transvaal, Kirby
states: They "are made in a special area, which is protected by spe-
cial sacred ceremonies and taboos, by a specialist maker, and their
sale is a monopoly. They are constructed in sets, and are always
placed in charge of a selected individual. , . . The players are
always males." 82

The Central African marimba (m'bila, timbila, balajon] is a
typically male instrument; the same may be said of the wooden
slitdrum of Indonesian culture. 38

In Surinam, women, the principal singers, never play drums.
They believe that if they break the taboo their breasts will grow to
the ground. 8 *

On Manam Island (New Guinea) girls are called upon to sound
a single death beat, but do not use drums at any other time. 8 *

Among the Kissi, already mentioned, the soo, a rattle made from
a gourd, is a woman's instrument in that it is made as well as played
by women only, and furthermore is used, except sporadically in
very special cases, exclusively for accompanying women's dances; s5
the Baganda (British East Africa) have castanets made of a par-
ticular kind of seeds which only girls are allowed to play, 88 while
the Big Namba (Malekula, New Hebrides) consider the musical
bow definitely a woman's instrument. 87

To what extent this assignment of use of a given kind of instru-
ment to one sex or the other is connected with the sex-suggestion
inherent in some instruments, I do not know. Sometimes such a
connection seems quite evident, as in the case of the flute, which
is commonly regarded as a phallic symbol and to which naturally
(one is reminded of certain equivocal expressions in many Western
languages) male characteristics are ascribed, even though feminine.

12

But in other cases no such connection exists or perhaps we should
say exists any longer.

In Indonesia and elsewhere the drum is f dt to be feminine. In
those regions this instrument belongs to a group of concepts includ-
ing darkness, an empty cavity, moisture, the maternal womb, the
moon ideas obviously related to the subconscious in true Freudian
fashion. Yet for all that, the beating of the drum is not confined
to one sex only. On the islands of Java and Bali the instrument
is played by men exclusively, but in Timor and West Flores I saw
it oftener, though not always, being played by women. It is quite
possible that the cultural phase still manifesting itself on the Lesser
Sunda Islands and perhaps the same may be said of Borneo, where
the Dyak priestesses often beat a narrow, high, one-headed drum
(ketobung belian] is an older one which clings more closely to
the original view of things. The fact, as stated by Marius Schnei-
der, 88 that drums were originally used to produce rain, accords with
the above in that it is suggestive of one of the components of the
group of concepts already mentioned, namely moisture. 89

Our sixth category, "compositions which should be played only
by either males or females," takes us again to the tropics.

In his analyses, Hiibner * shows that the women of Lamuschmus
in northern New Ireland, sing songs totally different from those sung
by the males. These women's songs are examples of pentatonic sing-
ing, performed with "sehr zarter Tongebung" (f. e., with a very soft
tone), "ein etwas ans Wimmern gemahnender Gesang" (i. e., remi-
niscent of whimpering) , which according to this author is charac-
teristic of the so called "Walzenbeilkultur" (a neolithic culture found
also in New Guinea) . In other women's songs he was struck by the
"dunkelweiche Abdominalklang" (L e., the dark and tender abdomi-
nal sound) . On the other hand, the male songs from Lamuschmus
"stellen ein von starken motorischen Energien erfiilltes, naturalist-
isches Geschehen dar, in den die Krafte auf exponierten Hochton
zusammengeballt werden um sich in 'strain'-artigen Abf all, zuweilen
mit geradezu ausbruchshafter Gewalt, zu endaden" (f. e., represent
a naturalistic phenomenon filled with strong forces, in which the
energy is concentrated on a high-pitched exposed tone that dis-

13

charges itself in a 'strained' descent, often explosively dynamic), in
other words, it concerns the same manner of singing I found amongst
the Papuans in the Van Rees Mountains and which also charac-
terizes the songs of some Australian tribes. Von Hornbostel called
this melodic type "Treppenmelodik" * and I have named it "tiled"
melodies." * 2 Represented by Werner Danckert, the "Kulturkreis"
ethnologists see these melodies as a characteristic expression of the
totemistic cultures. Other examples can be found in the Congo
area. They are magic songs, sung exclusively by women for the
purpose of ensuring a favorable hunt for the males. A priceless
example of this kind of singing is on a record published by the Paris
"Bolted Musique" (No.Part5471/110).

Of our seventh category: "compositions which should be per-
formed only by one given individual," the literature shows some
typical examples.

Amongst certain Eskimo tribes each man has his own song which
is to be performed only by himself, this restriction being the strongest
form of copyright one can imagine. Estreicher, in his treatise La
musique des Esquimaux-Caribous* says on the authority of Eskimo
expert Jean Gabus: "si le compositeur d'un chant est consid&6
comme son unique possesseur, c'est parce que le chant est 'le porteur
de son me,' " (if the maker of a song is considered the sole possessor
of that song, it is because it is "the carrier of his soul") . And he
adds: "cette explication indique clairement que les^ Esquimaux-
Caribous voient dans une mflodie Texpression individuelle de la
personalite de son compositeur" (this explanation shows clearly that
the Caribou Eskimos see in a melody the individual expression of the
composer's personality) . This is also the reason why such a melody
disappears when the singer-owner dies. The song is never taken
over by another unless it is of special benefit to family or tribe as a
magic song. In that case the song is inherited by the next of kin. 44

In the island of Biak, in Gedvink Bay, North New Guinea, a kind
of copyright at least for the tribe elders is also recognized for
certain songs. 45 And about the South African Basuto we read:
"Each chief his his own tribal song or 'mukorotib.' " "

14

About the ecoc (ec hoick) which is a conical end-blown flute of
the Lango, a Bantu tribe, Driberg says: "Every man has his own
whistle motif . . . which may be memorized by a few words, a catch
or phrase of a private song . . . The motif may not be played by
anyone else, and an infringement of this rule will certainly cause a
violent quarrel, and may even lead to bloodshed. Nor is this sur-
prising when it is remembered that a man blows his whistle motif
in war and hunting to signify that he has obtained a kill, and that it
is his method of revealing his presence or identity from a dis-
tance . . ." 4r

The right to an individual melody is also known amongst the
North American Indians. Thus Apel's Harvard Dictionary of
Music says: "The property idea regarding songs is common to
many tribes and the individual owner of a song was often known to
sell it to another member of the tribe. It could then be sung only
by the purchaser." 48

Helen H. Roberts, in her most recent publication on the songs of
the Nootka Indians of western Vancouver Island, mentions examples
of this kind: "Many songs," she says, "including practically all
gambling songs . , . may be used by anyone, but many others, in-
cluding all wealth-display songs, are the exclusive property of differ-
ent chiefly families. As such, they come under the general class of
intangible possessions or topa-ti which, along with tangible property
. . . constitute the touchstones of social status . . . The song itself
is a topa-ti; a dance may be a topa-ti or the two taken together; even
an entire ceremonial, embracing four days of ceremonial practices,
may be the topa-ti of a certain family." 49

In a recent publication w another well-known American ethno-
musicologist, Miss Frances Densmore, says: "It is difficult for a white
person to understand the feeling of the Indian toward his individual
song, probably received in a 'dream'. In another tribe an old In-
dian recorded a song, then bowed his head in apparent grief. The
interpreter said: "Niskigwun says he thinks he will not live long
because he has given you his song/ "

Our 8th category "compositions which should be performed
only by one given group" or tribe takes us to Australia. Regarding

15

the central tribes (Aranda and others) it is known that they some-
times confer a so-called "corroboree," L e., a ritual song and dance
festival, upon a friendly tribe as a token of goodwill and friendliness.
The corroboree thus transferred, plus the songs belonging to it, will
never again be performed by the donor tribe, but exclusively by
the receiving tribe. 51 It happens too that a corroboree is learned
from another tribe against payment of, for instance, blankets or other
goods. 52 In this fashion melodies sometimes travel for hundreds of
miles, their passing-on subject to payment each time. The result is
that often songs are sung of which the words have no significance at
all to the performers. In those cases the songs have come from a
different language-region.

We find the same situation in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands,
and the islands in the Torres Straits. Father Schmidt, 53 Myers, 54
Schmidt-Ernsthausen, 55 Guppy, 56 and Sdigmann 57 refer to this. 58
Father Andr6 Dupeyrat, in a commentary on Papuan songs he re-
corded in East New Guinea, also mentions a song of the Kittoro-
type which the tribe of the Roro (a coastal tribe opposite Yule
Island) had bought from the Rigo tribe, 130 miles to the east, be-
cause they wanted to sing this song themselves.

However, it is not amongst the primitive races only that we find
this phenomenon of certain musical forms and compositions being
confined to specific social groups. According to Robert Lach 59
Japan's entire musical heritage is (was?) divided into four cate-
gories. The old classical hieratic music, which originated in China,
belongs exclusively to the Gagaku, the highest social level consisting
of courtiers and nobility. The repertoire of the second social level,
the Genin, has a less artful kind of music which is always profane.
The third class, the Inakdbushi, is the group of blind musicians, of
whom the most prominent, the Kengio subcast, are permitted to
wear white trousers. This group, too, confines itself to popular
music, but of a land different from that of the Genin. And finally
there is a fourth cast, the Geishas, servants of the light Muse, inter-
preters of streetsongs and hit-tunes. Each of the four social groups
mentioned has its own set of scales.

16

Of our 9th category: "instruments and music which are confined
to a given time or to a given season," the examples are legion. For
instance, the Central Javanese patets, melodic registers, each of
which belongs to its specific time during the night of a wayang per-
formance. 80 Another example is supplied by the registers used in
the incantations of the ancient Aryan soma ritual, from which the
patet division has possibly originated. From the Rig-Veda I quote:
"in the morning ceremony one should employ a breast-tone like the
roar of the tiger; at noon, a guttural tone like the monotonous
quacking of the cha-krawana (a bird species) ; at night, the tone
should ascend to the head so that it will sound like the voices of a
peacock, goose and cuckoo." 81 The phenomenon is found also
amongst the Indian ragas, melodic patterns, carefully selected for
certain periods of day and year, to which they are characteristic. 62

In the Ngada district in West Flores, according to Father Arndt, 88
the playing of the foi dea, the double flute, is permitted only during
the ripening of the rice. The first playing of the year is always
accompanied by a certain ritual. The village elders take their
flutes to the loka tua, the sacred place where the palm wine is kept.
They take a mouthful of this wine and then pronounce a prayer of
gratitude. Then they proceed to the vitu sipi (the grinding stone) ,
another holy place, formerly the place where the little rice-knives
were sharpened. They seat themselves on the holy stone and start
to play. After that they return to the village where they happily
tell the people that the flute playing season has begun again and
that everybody may now play to his heart's content

In olden times in Zululand the umtshingo (kind of flute) was not
to be played until the time of the umkosi, or annual festival of the
Zulu king. This was held about Christmas time, and the entire
Zulu people, including every one of rank and the entire army, as-
sembled in court dress at die Royal Kraal. During this festival
the king himself was "charmed" by the doctors, special songs were
sung in praise of ancestors, new laws were proclaimed, and the people
were formally given permission to partake of the new season's crops.
The holding of the umkosi was the signal for all of the shepherds
to make and play the umtshingo and also the igemfe, another wind

17

instrument made from reed. The whole countryside would be
filled with joyful piping, which would last until the following Feb-
ruary; thereafter the pipes would be silent until the next umkosi* 4

Naturally, the ritual harvest songs, playing such an important
part in the lives of some North American Indian tribes, are confined
to a definite season.

Our 10th group, "instruments and music which are confined to a
given place," does not have to be examined separately, because as
a rule it coincides with the 2nd and the 4th group, comprising, re-
spectively, instruments and compositions reserved for special cere-
monies and institutions. These are usually confined also to a per-
manent place (temple, palace, sacred menhouse, etc.).

Of the 1 1th category, "instruments which should be played only
by the owner himself/' ethnologist John Niles provides a charac-
teristic example. He found that the flutes belonging to the men
of the Kumaon tribe in the highlands of Eastern New Guinea are
only to be played by the owner or possibly by a very dose relative.
These flutes are supposed to represent a kind of family guardian
spirit. It happens occasionally that another man, not belonging
to the family, plays the flute. However, this is done to punish the
owner for an offense. The playing of the flute by another person
is felt as an intrusion upon the property which has the effect of
exacting punishment.

Among the Koryaks of Siberia, according to Mrs. Drinker, every
woman has her own drum and her own individual drumbeat.

A 12th category could be added to the preceding eleven groups,
music characterized by the fact that its being reserved for special
persons, places and occasions is not because of the special right to
these songs, or because of the special nature of the place or the
moment of performance, but because of the nature of the melodies
and texts themselves. I am referring to the group of magic songs
and formulas so prominent in cultural history. In fact, if sufficient
data were at our disposal, we would presumably find that many if
not all restrictions as regards performance and use, characterizing
the phenomena examined, have sprung from the conviction that the
way of singing or the tone of the instrument had a powerful magical

18

influence, beneficial to the person or group claiming exclusive right.
On this subject, interesting as it is, I cannot now go into any further
detail. However, if this should cause any disappointment amongst
my readers, I may refer to a work by Jules Combarieu, La Musique
et la Magie. Although the book was published in 1909, it is still
of value. 65

To conclude I have made it clear, I hope, that it is not these
remarkable sociological restrictions and reservations that form an
exception; on the contrary, it is modern Western musical art and its
relative freedom from regulation and privacy that may be said to
be exceptional.

19

NOTES

1. Grove, Sir George, Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Fifth edition,

London, Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1954. Vol. 5, p. 1016a.
See also:

Crevel, Marcus van, Adrianus Petit Coclico, The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff,
1940;p.393ff.

2. As was pointed out to me from various directions, the ties, as referred to here,

have not been so completely destroyed in European culture as I thought
Alex de Jong, an organist of the Old Catholic Church, drew my attention
to various examples of restricted music in the Roman-, Old-, Free-, and
Greek-Catholic liturgies. For instance the "Gloria 1 * a mass hymn is
sung only at ordinary and festive services. It is not to be sung on days of
mourning, *. e. 9 during Advent, Lent, and during the obsequies. When, in
a sung service, the Bishop gives his blessing, he will do this to a melody
sung by hi only. During the Silent Week, the organ is not to be played
at aD.

The former director of the Music Department of the Belgian National
Institute for Radio Broadcasting, Paul Collaer, told me this: "In Neerfeste,
near Brussels, we have recorded shepherds' voices. An 80-year-old man
still knew cries for the rounding up of sheep and cattle. However, he did
not much like our recording these cries. A 40-year-old man told us that
he, too, knew these cries, but he refused to sing them for us as they were
the old man's property. Said he: 'If I were to sing them, all his cows
and sheep would join mine* old magic."

3. Sachs, Curt, Handbuch der Musikinstrumentenkunde, Leipzig, Breitkopf und

Hartel, 1920; p. 85.

4. Joinville, Jean de, Memoires de Jean, Sire de Joinvttle, ou Histovre de Tres-

Chretien Rot, Saint Louis, (ed. Francisque Michel), Paris, Didot, 1858;
p. 47.

5. Sachs, op. cit. f pp. 276ff.
See on this subject also:

Lach, Robert, "Zur Geschichte der musikalischen Zunftwcsens", in
"Sitzungs-Berichte der Akademie der Wissenschaft in Wien" (PhiL-hist.
Klasse, No. 199, Bd. 3, 1923; pp. 3 Iff), where many more particular!
are to be found concerning the special position of kettle-drummers and
trumpeters, namely among the ancient Hebrews, in Rome, and in the
German Middle Ages. I refer further to :

Schaeffner, Andre", "Timbales et longues trompettes", in Bulletin de
Flnstitut frangais d'Afrique noire, (XIV, October, 1952; pp. 1466ff.)

21

6. Kunst, Jaap, Music in Java, The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff, 1949.; Vol. I,

pp. 259, 262.

7. ibid., p. 265ff.

8. Kunst, Jaap and Kunst van Wely, C. J. C., De Toonkunst van Bali, Weltevrc-

den, G. Kolff & Co., 1925; Vol. II, pp. 437ff.

9. Korn, Victor Emanuel, De dorpsrepubliek Tnganan Pagringsingan, Sant-

poort, G. A. Mees, 1933 ; p. 159.

10. Meyer, D. H., "De spleettrom", in Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land-en

Volkenkunde", Vol. LXXIX, No. 2, 1939; pp. 415-446.

11. Devrocy, Egide and van der Linden, R., Le lac Kivu, Brussels, van Campen-

hout, 1939; fig. 7.

12. Boone, Olga, Les tambours du Congo beige et du Ruanda-Urungi, Ter-

vuren, Annales du mus6e du Congo beige, 1951; p. 74-75.

13. Denis Roosevelt expedition, recordings 7, 8 and 9, issued by the Institut

des Pares nationaux du Congo beige, Brussels; and Decca L. F. 1120
(Music of Africa, Nos. 3 and 4) .

14. Grove, op. cit.; Vol. 4, p. 529a.

15. Pauwels, Marcel, "La magie au Ruanda", in Grands Lacs, VoL LXV, No.

1, 1949; p. 47.

16. Trowell, Margaret and Wachsmann, K. P., Tribal Crafts of Uganda, Lon-

don, New York, Oxford University Press, 1953; pp. 326-327.

17. ibid. p. 314.

18. ibid. pp. 366ff.

19. Hickmann, Hans, La Trompette dans Ffigypte ancienne (Annales du

Service des antiquites de PEgypte, cahier No. 1), Cairo, 1'Institute francais
d'arch6ologie orientale, 1946.

See also the same author's "Die kultische Verwendung der altagyptischen
Trompete", in Die Welt des Orients for 1950, (Vol. V, pp. 351-355).

20. Hickmann, Hans Cymbales et crotales dans I'figypte ancienne (Service des

antiques de Tfigypte), Cairo, L'lnstitut francais d'Arch^ologie orientale,
1949.

21. Read, K. E., "Nama Cult of the Central Highlands, New Guinea", in

Oceania, (Vol. XXIII, No. 1, 1952; p. 5.)

22. Schaeffner, Andr6, Les Kissi, une soctite noire et ses instruments de mu-

sique (Actualit6s scientifiques et industrielles, No. 1139, Paris, 1951;
pp. 22ff.)

23. ibid., pp. 74ff.

24. Neff, Edwin D., "The Vanishing Tribes of Brazil", in Natural History,

(Vol. LX, No. 2, 1951; p. 77.)

22

25. Souli6, Charles Georges, La Musique en Chine, (Extrait du Bulletin de

F Association france-chinoise), Paris, Ernest Leroux, 1911; p. 87.
See also:

Courant, Maurice, "Chine et Core"e", in Lavignac, Albert, (ed.) En-
cyclopSdie de la musique, Paris, Delagrave, 1913; Part I, Vol. 1, p. 147.

26. Kunst, Jaap, Terschellinger volksleven, 3rd ed. The Hague, H. P. Leopold,

1951. pp. 84ff.

27. Kunst, Jaap, Music in Flores, (Internationales Archiv fur Ethnographic,

Vol. XLII, Supplement), Leyden, E. J. Brill, 1942; pp. 150ff.

28. Van der Tuuk, H. N., ed., Bataksch-Nederduitsch woordenboek, Amster-

dam, F. Muller, 1861; p. 152a.

29. Sachs, Curt, Geist und Werden der Musikinstrumente, Berlin, D. Reimer,

1929; pp. 49ff.

30. Kunst, Jaap, Music in Nias, (Internationales Archiv fur Ethnographic, Vol.

XXXVIII, Fasc. 1-3) Leyden, E. J. Brill, 1939; p. 23.

31. Kurosawa, Takatomo, "Takasago Bunun-zoku no kyukin to godan onki

hassei no shijun (The Musical Bow of the Bunun Tribe on Formosa and
Some Suggestions Regarding the Origin of the Pentatonic Scale)," in
Toyo Ongaku Kenkyu, December, 1952 (No. 10/11); pp. 18-32.

32. Kirby, Percival R., The Musical Instruments of the Native Races of South

Africa, London, Oxford University Press, 1934; p. 168.

33. Meyer, D. H., *T)e spleettrom", in Tijdschrift van het Bataviaasch Genoot-

schap (LXXIX, 1917; p. 415.)

34. Drinker, Sophie, Music and Women, New York, Coward-McCann, 1948;

p. 57.

35. Schaeffner, Andre*, Op. cit.; p. 9.

36. Trowell and Wachsmann, Op. cit.; p. 325.

37. Deacon, Arthur Bernard, Malekula, a Vanishing People in the New Hebrides,

London, George Routledge & Sons, 1934; p. 42.

38. Schneider, Marius, "Australien und Austronesien", in Blume, Friedrich,

(ed.) Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Kassel and Basel, Baren-
reiter, 1949-1951. Vol. I; col 869-878.

39. The southeast Asiatic bronze drums also are supposed at least many of

them to have served for Regenzauber, i. e. rain magic.

40. Hiibner, Herbert, Die Musik im Bismarck-Archipel (Schriften zur Volks-

liedkunde und volkerkundlichen Musikwissenschaft, ed. Werner Danckert,
Vol. I; Berlin; Bernhard Hahnefeld, 1938); pp. 17ff. Also chart on
pp. 110-1 1 1 and the musical examples 15, 16 and 17.

41. Hornbostel, Erich M. von, review of Walter Konig-Beyer's Volkerkunde im

Lichte vergleichender Musikwissenschaft, in Baessler- Archiv, Vol. XV,
Fasc. I, Berlin, D. Reimer, 1932; p. 56.

42. Kunst, Jaap, A Study on Papuan Music, Weltevreden, The Netherlands East

Indies Committee for Scientific Research, 1931 ; p. 8.

23

43. Estreicher, Zygmunt "La musique des Esquimaux-Caribous", in Bulletin de

la Sotittt neuchdteloise de gSographie, (Vol. LIV, 1948; p. 3.)

44. Preuss, Konrad Theodor, Lehrbuch der Volkerkunde, Stuttgart, Ferdinand

Enke, 1939; p. 130.

45. As I learned from the spoken commentary to some recordings of Papuan

songs, brought back, some time ago, by Miss A. W. Landberg from the
Schouten Islands (Biak and Supiori).

46. B. G. in Die Huisgenoot (Capetown, August 10, 1934, No. 646; p. 47.)

47. Driberg, Jack H., The Lango, London, T. Fisher Unwin, 1923; pp. 124-125.

48. Howard, John Tasker, "American Indian Music", in Apel, Willi (ed.)

Harvard Dictionary of Music, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University
Press, 1944; p. 27.

49. Roberts, Helen H. and. Swadesh, Morris, "Songs of the Nootka", in Trans-

actions of the American Philosophical Society, June, 1955, (Vol. XLV,
part 3; pp. 201-202.)

50. Densmore, Frances, "For the Sake of Indian Song", in The Master key,

January-February, 1955 (Vol. XXIX, No. 1, pp. 27ff.)

51. Spencer, Sir Baldwin, and Gillen, Francis James, The Native Tribes of Cen-

tral Australia, London, Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1889; p. 281.

52. Roth, Walter E. Ethnological Studies among the North-West-Central

Queensland Aborigines, Brisbane and London, Edmund Gregory, 1897;
pp. 117ff.

53. Schmidt, Wilhelm, "XJber Musik und Gesange der Karesau-Papuas, Deutsch

Neu-Guinea," abstract in ///. Kongress der internationalen Musikgesell-
schaft. . . . Bericht. . . . Vienna, Artaria & Co., Leipzig, Breitkopf &
Haertel, 1909; p. 298.

54. Myers, Charles S., "Music", in Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological

Expedition to the Torres Straits, IV, 1912; p. 238.

55. Schmidt-Ernsthausen, Victor, Uber die Musik der Eingeborenen von

Deutsch Neu-Guinea', in Vierteljahrsschrift fur Musikwissenschaft. Vol.
VI, 1890; p. 268.

56. Guppy, Henry B. The Solomon Islands and Their Natives, London, Swan

Sonnenschein, Lowrey & Co., 1887; p. 141.

57. Seligmann, Charles, G. The Melanesians of British New Guinea, Cambridge,

University Press, 1910; p. 152.

58. Kunst, Jaap, Op. cit.; p. 38.

59. Lach, Robert, Op. cit.; p. 10.

60. Kunst, Jaap, Music in Java, The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff, 1949; pp. 338,

344.

See also: Hood, Mantle, The Nuclear Theme as a Determinant of Patet in
Javanese Music, Groningen, Djakarta, J. B. Wolters, 1954.

24

61. Labberton, Dirk van Hinloopen, "Raden Marta Hardjana's Pepakem

Sapanti Sakoentala, met een Nederlandsche vertaling en vergelijkende
aanteekeningen," in Widya Poestaka (No. 1, 1912; pp. 64ff.)

62. Fox Strangways, A. H. The Music of Hindostan, Oxford, The Clarendon

Press, 1914; p. 153.

63. Arndt, P. P., "Die Religion der Nad'a," in Anthropos (VoL XXVI, Fasc. 3,

May-August, 1931; pp. 356-7.

64. Kirby, Percival R., Op. cit.; p. 1 16.

65. As other references, in general, I may mention Chapter X of the recent work

by Marcel Belvianes, Sociologie de la musique (Paris, Payot, 1951); fur-
ther, Kurt Blaukopf, Musiksoziologie, (Vienna, W. Verkauf, 1951) ; Frank
Howes, Man, Mind and Music (London, Seeker and Warburg, 1948) ;
Betty Wang, "Folk-Songs as a Means of Social Control" (Sociology and
Social Research, XIX, 1934; pp. 64ff.) ; ibid. "Folk Songs as Regulators
of Politics", (ibid., XX, 1935, pp. 161ff.); and Max Weber, Die
Rationalen und soziologischen Grundlagen der Musik, Munich, Drei
Masken Verlag, 1924 (2nd ed.).

25

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