Generational Innovation among Tamil Hindu Ritual Drummers

Abstract

Drawing on field research with Hindu drummer-priests (pampaikkārar) in Tamil-speaking
South India, this paper considers a range of innovations that shape the performance
repertoire of one multigenerational troupe of musicians. Across diverse performance
contexts, these drummers enact musical, ritual, and technological innovations. DiCerent
from interpenetrations of folk theater and recitation that characterize elder drummers’
songs and stories, younger generations’ points of reference include devotional, fusion, and
film music as well as digital technologies. During the pandemic, for example, one younger
drummer released new songs on YouTube about COVID-19. Many have adopted Facebook
Live and Instagram, bringing their performances additional visibility. Younger drummers
developed visually appealing ritual decorations that newly privilege anthropomorphic
icons. Musically, some favor faster drum cadences, while older artists emphasize
storytelling styles merging narrative and song. This paper suggests that these innovations
are responsive to changing aesthetic tastes and devotional sensibilities and aim to ensure
the pampaikkārar’s art will appeal to contemporary audiences and flourish in mediatized
environments. It argues for analyzing transformations in performance repertoires in light of
drummers’ social and economic aspirations, especially given their traditionally low status,
and the tides of globalization and neoliberal consumption so prominent in Tamil society
today.