Kodava song as private resistance

Résumé 0

The Kodava form a substantial minority in the Kodagu (Coorg) district of South India. This paper examines a core musical repertoire of the Kodava, the dudikotapat, and how it relates to the Sanskritisation theory of cultural transmission. Conveying texts grounded in ancestor worship, accounts of localised deities and heroes, the relationship of the Kodava to adjacent regions, and the minutiae of life-cycle rituals, these songs are presented in a melodic style that the Kodava themselves regard as austere and limited. They are most frequently sung in circumstances that might lead one to conclude that both singers and listeners treat with scant regard the music that represents them and allows them to identify and situate themselves culturally: Dudikotapat songs are most frequently sung in the midst of processions and rituals featuring much louder simultaneous performances, against a background of dancing and fireworks, or while people chatter. Kodava regard these performances as essential, and derive greater pleasure from singing. Drawing together various threads of discussion, this paper shows that though there are more visible markers of Kodava identity in the form of dress, martial games and ritual, the dudikotapat form a crucial means of self-identification and of resistance to both Sanskritisation, and, through the seeming indifference of performers, the exoticising gaze of the broader community.