Naqqarkhana

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Naqqarkhana in the Red Fort of Delhi (around 1650)

A Naqqarkhana ( Hindi नक़्क़ार ख़ाना , Urdu نقّار خانہ) or Naubat Khana (Hindi: नौबत ख़ाना , Urduنوبت خانہ) refers to a 'drum house' and the associated palace orchestra in the Persian-Indian culture, which was used in court ceremonies at receptions or just to entertain the ruler, his guests and the ladies.

etymology

The name is derived from the Arabic word naqqara ( Arabic نقارة, DMG naqqāra ), sometimes also written naghara or nakkare , which means " ceremonial drum ". Naqqarkhana ( naqqara khana ) or naubat ( nobat ) denote the orchestra in which not only drummers but also players of the long trumpet karna , the trumpet nafir , the bowling oboe shehnai and other musicians were active. Naubat ("nine players") has been preserved to this day as the name of the classical Indian shehnai ensemble, to which, in addition to the melody-leading shehnai, other shehnais and the drum pair duggi or increasingly the tabla belong.

history

At the time of the caliphate only the respective rulers had the right to maintain a palace orchestra; later this was also allowed to the provincial governors. A 17th century report from Persia mentions an elevated location for the orchestra. In addition to Persian architects and court officials, the Indian Mughal rulers also largely took over the Persian court ceremonies. The earliest known building of a Naqqarkhana in India is in Fatehpur Sikri , founded by the Great Mogul Akbar I.

architecture

While no independent buildings are known (any more) from Persia and the neighboring areas, the Indian examples are all two-story, with the basement often only serving as a passage and possibly as a guard room. The actual musical event took place on the upper floor, the continuous room of which remained open in the early days, but was later closed with wooden or stone window bars ( jalis ) so that the musicians could not cast curious looks outside and thus be distracted from their playing. In almost all of the surviving buildings there is more or less a representative triumphal arch scheme .

Examples

In two of the examples shown, the former function is not clearly clarified.

literature

Web links

Commons : Naqqar Khana  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gregory D. Booth: Brass Bands: Tradition, Change, and the Mass Media in Indian Wedding Music. In: Ethnomusicology, Vol. 34, No. 2, Spring – Summer 1990, pp. 245–262, here p. 252
  2. ^ Alain Daniélou : South Asia. Indian music and its traditions. Music history in pictures. Volume 1: Ethnic Music . Delivery 1. Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1978, p. 32