Chutney Music in Guyana
About Chutney
Chutney music is a brand of folk music that is popular is multiracial Guyana. Chutney music is an Indo-Caribbean genre of music that developed in the southern Caribbean. It was imported from Trinidad and Tobago. It has creolized rhythmic and lyrics therefore it was accessible to the wider society and it spread quickly. Its lyrics are a way of asserting an Indo-Caribbean identity. The Chutney music that became popular was that which was influenced by soca and it also has calypso elements. Guyana is flooded with Trinidadian chutney, however few people seem to remember that Chutney is also an indigenous Guyanese tradition.
Chutney traditions were brought to the Caribbean by Indian immigrants who came to British Guiana as indentured servants in 1838 to 1845. This genre derived from folk songs that were only performed by and for women as a part of wedding or birthing ceremonies. It is also played and performed at Indian events. Chutney music has evolved overtime and has deep roots in Guyana. In contemporary Chutney, there are Indian-Caribbean traditions seen. Singers incorporate musical procedures of better-known Caribbean traditions.
Contemporary Chutney is used in east Indian folk tunes, movie tunes and even in bhajans (religious songs). This incorporated Western and African instruments and utilizes a fast calypso or soca-based beat. Chutney music was also sometimes used in a religious context here, although it lost this association over time. Chutney is also used in the Mashramani celebrations (there is a series of Chutney competitions). This genre is also contributing to the cultural bonding between the Indo and Afro Guyanese people, it is a major force in uniting the two races.
There is a debate over preserving the Indian element of Chutney. This is because this genre of music identifies with rural ethos and with an Indian culture, even as it incorporated features of the Afro-Caribbean musical performance styles. It is also believed that Guyanian chutney might be following the footsteps of the Trinidad chutney movement. This is because it went from being exclusively Indian phenomenon to the current position of helping to redefine Trinidad cultural identity, and it is said to be having the same effect in Guyana. It is also said that Chutney in Guyana might just be fighting for inclusion.
Features
Chutney is an up-tempo rhythmic song, typically accompanied by Indian acoustic instruments such as the harmonium, dholak (drum) and dhantal (long metal rod struck with a u-shaped piece of metal bent at both ends). It is also sometimes accompanied by bass guitar, drum machine, electric guitar, these are all played in rhythms imported from filmi, calypso soca. The Western and African instruments used had a fast calypso or soca-based beat. Chutney music is most often played with the dholak, dhantal, and harmonium. The melody of the music is provided by the harmonium, and the dholak and dhantal for the rhythm. More modernly, drum machines playing tassa have been incorporated into chutney as well. Tassa is drumming used in the Muslim Hosay festival, and is also played during Hindu weddings and other celebrations, and these elements are seen in Chutney.
The nature of Chutney songs are simple. They speak about life and love for many different things, whether it be a significant other or for an object of possession. Chutney and its lyrics are also a way of asserting Indo-Caribbean identity. This music is sung in different languages including Caribbean English, Caribbean Hindustani (a form of the Bhojpuri and Awadhi dialect of Hindustani), and sometimes other Indian languages This music does have Hindustani words in it, although it has been deemed ownership by the local Indians here and it belongs to the Caribbean. It has also not been recognized in the Indian music or film industry, it is of Indo-Caribbean culture. Lastly, the lyrics of this music are said to come from folk, classical, and religious music, however that has changed over the years. In modern chutney music, including the newer subgenres, the lyrics have evolved to be more contemporary and include more English.