Abstract

Dhimsa is a community dance form of the tribes of the North Coastal belt of Andhra Pradesh. This tribal dance form serves as a significant expression of social connectivity, seasonal celebrations, and spiritual devotion. The proposed research study provides an ethnomusicological exploration of the indigenous musical instruments primarily utilized in the Dhimsa dance performances at Chompi village, located in the Araku Valley of Andhra Pradesh. A certain type of wind and percussion instruments are usually seen playing by the tribes as a musical support for Dhimsa dance. This research paper is based on an ethnographic study conducted in the Chompi village as part of an ICSSR project on the Dhimsa dance. The research identifies and analyses the musical aspects that were involved while playing certain instruments during the Dhimsa dance performance. This study also provides information on the construction of these indigenous instruments, as collected during the ethnographic study. The paper also discusses the socio-cultural understanding of tribal music, highlighting the significance of embodied music and explaining how musical instruments serve as symbols of oral history and indigenous identity. The findings also throw light on the subtle shifts in the tribal musical soundscape that are occurring due to modernization and on how the traditional musicians of Chompi village continue to preserve the authentic musical instruments and tunes that define the voice of the Eastern Ghats.