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Musician + Brew Master Registered: 03/20/10 Posts: 452 Loc: UK Last seen: 3 years, 2 months |
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I recently did an essay about the relationship between music and trance, its not that long but probably worth reading if you're interested in that kind of thing. Let me know if you like it and how it reads.....
Does Music Play A Role In Triggering And Maintaining ‘Trance’ States? Discuss with Reference To Two Specific Rituals Found in Africa and/or Asia In this essay I will be looking at what trance is, how this altered state is achieved, and most importantly how it relates to, and is possibly triggered and maintained by music. I will also look at two specific rituals to provide a context to my arguments, and to help explain certain points. The two rituals I’ve chosen to study, are first the Barong/Rangda ritual from Bali, Indonesia; and second, the sama ritual, performed by the Sufis in many parts of the world. I think that the best place to start would be to clarify what the word ‘trance’ actually means, without even thinking about its relation to music. According to the Oxford Dictionary, it is ‘a half-conscious state characterized by an absence of response to external stimuli, typically as induced by hypnosis or entered by a medium’1. Alternatively, Taber provides a different definition of the word in his Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary as: “a sleeplike state, as in deep hypnosis, appearing also in hysteria and in some spiritualist mediums, with limited sensory and motor contact, with subsequent amnesia of what has occurred during the state.” (1963: 93). Both of these are to an extent similar, but I think the latter definition is more informing and relative to this essay. One other thing I thought worth noting, was how in several of the books I have looked at, some of the authors differentiate ‘trance’ from ‘ecstasy’, claiming that these are different states of consciousness. Rouget in particular comes to mind, as he lists the different characteristics of each of these states. He explains that ecstasy on the one hand, is recognized by symptoms such as immobility, silence, sensory depravation, recollection and hallucination; whilst trance is quite near the opposite of this. Its traits are movement, noise, being in the company of others, amnesia and no hallucinations (1985: 11). I think the first three of the latter strongly imply that music has some involvement in inducing a trance and that it is a social event. It must also be considered that these points are not set-in-stone, as there will always be exceptions; but generally they seem to be true. In Judith Becker’s book Deep Listeners, she provides a similar thesis, albeit worded differently: Unlike meditation, where strong emotions are to be eliminated or set aside or transcended, trancing in religious contexts draws on emotion, depends on emotion, and stimulates emotion through sensual overload: visual, tactile and aural (2004: 66). Trance can be induced on purpose or by accident. Usually, some kind of a medium is needed to help them enter the trance state, whether it be narcotics, dance, music or perhaps even something as mundane as reading a book. What brings on the state is doing something repetitively for a prolonged period of time; so in the case of a tribal ritual, many of these elements may be brought together to create the perfect atmosphere for entering a trance. Repetitive drum patterns, praying, chanting, singing and dancing are all common in rituals across the world. I feel I should also talk briefly about some of the reasons why people enter trance states in the first place, and what there is to gain from the experience. I thought the best way to explain this, was by quoting Charles Tart, an acclaimed psychologist of the 20th century: Man has often sought to induce altered states of consciousness in an effort to gain new knowledge, inspiration or experience. In the realm of religion, intense prayer, revelatory and prophetic states, mystical and transcendental experiences, and divination states have served man in opening new realms of experience, reaffirming moral values, resolving emotional conflicts, and often enabling him to cope better with his human predicament and the world about him. It is also interesting to note that among many primitive groups, spirit possession [a form of trance] is believed to impart a superhuman knowledge, which could not possibly be gained during waking consciousness. (1969: 20). This points out some of the reasons why people enter trance states, and that it is not necessarily just about religion or ritual, but there is also a deep founded social importance to many of these events. In particular, I thought that “reaffirming moral values” and “resolving emotional conflicts” were some of the most interesting things that Tart mentions, as I might not otherwise have considered that side of why people trance. This brings me onto the main question, where does music fit into all this, and does play a role in triggering and/or maintaining a trance? There are of course many complex biological reasons, which explain what goes on in the body when a person enters a trance accompanied by music; but I feel there is too much to have to consider for me to cover it in this essay. Instead, what I am going to look at is the qualities of the music and its relation to the people trancing. One of the first things I’d like to consider, is the path that music, or sound waves can take to get into ones body. The most obvious point would be the ears, as these are designed to pick up sound, but there are many other ways that we can be affected. Gilbert Rouget explains how if you were to touch the body of a violin whilst it’s being played, you could “feel the sounds quivering against ones fingertip” (1985: 120). From this you can easily think of many other examples, such as if you were to stand next to a large gong from the Balinese Gamelan ensemble, you could literally feel the vibrations go right through your body. Thus, Rouget states, “ ‘To bathe in music’ is not just a metaphor. It happens that we truly perceive it [sound] through the skin” (1985: 120). It is this idea that I think plays a large role in the relation between music and trance, and that the way that musical vibrations get inside you have a profound and highly influential effect on people. If we look at the qualities of trance-inducing ritual music across the world, there seems to be a common theme, that being the use of drums. From the Agbekor ensemble of West Africa, to the Sema Rituals of the Middle East, to the various gamelans of Indonesia; all of these have drums and percussion at their heart. Other instruments are also common; often some kind of stringed instrument and/or flute is used, but there seems to be something fundamental about the drums that really affects people. Judith Becker explains, “although any kind of music can be associated with trance, it remains significant that much trance music is rhythmically vibrant and somewhat loud, or at least with a piercing tone quality” (2004: 66). This seems as though it’s referring to drums and percussion. I think now would be a good time to begin looking at my chosen examples to help explain the relation between music and trance further. For my first example, I will look at the Barong/Rangda ritual from Bali. This ritual is performed if some misfortune befalls a village, such as a bad crop or pestilence. What is interesting about it, is that the participants are put into a trance before the ceremony begins. This is done at the temple, and the state is achieved by a chorus of women from the village singing long lines of classical poetry slowly. There are several types of trance, and some may undergo a special type so they can act out certain parts of the ritual (Becker 2004: 83). According to Becker, ‘there are about a dozen different words that are translated into English as “trance,” each distinguishing a different configuration of possession trance (2004: 40).’ You would perhaps think that the frantic sound of the gamelan would be the key to inducing trance, but it is in fact quite the opposite. Although it is playing continuously throughout the public part of the ceremony and is intrinsically involved with the theatrics, the accompanying gamelan does not cause the trance. Members of the audience also hear the music, but seldom go into trance. Conversely, Becker also claims that neither the trance, nor the ceremony would be possible without the gamelan (2004: 84). So in this particular ritual, the evidence shows that instrumental music has the role of helping to maintain the trance, rather than trigger it; and it is in fact human chanting that is the key to triggering the altered state. I also found it particularly interesting how the participants of the ritual enter the trance, as it seems much more tranquil than what I would expect to be needed. Although it congruous with Rouget’s list of the features of trance rather than ecstasy, it seems more like group meditation than a trance ritual. One other piece of information that I found concerning Balinese trance, was once again out of Music And Trance. Although it isn’t strictly part of the Barong/Rangda ritual, I feel that what it mentions could be seen as quite important in the debate about whether music is essential to induce trance: In Bali, Jane Belo (1960, 48) describing the initiation of a medium, tells us that it was as the result of a series of trances undergone in various places and circumstances (but always outside of any ceremony and thus in the absence of music) that the person concerned, after having consulted a priest on the meaning of these attacks, became convinced that “the gods were calling him.” (Rouget 1985: 66) This I find particularly interesting, firstly because it makes it sound as though the trances were not entered voluntarily; they are described as “attacks”. Secondly, it states that these trances were happening in the absence of music, which provides grounds to say that music is not essential in inducing a trance state at all. The only issue with this bit of information is that there is not much here that describes the conditions in which these trances were entered, it’s quite vague and there is hardly any detail about the places and circumstances that were involved. This means we cannot be completely sure what extent is meant by “in the absence of music”. It may that there were no instruments used, or perhaps it was just one person chanting or reading poetry. It might even have been that there really was no music of any kind and that the person concerned entered the trances in silence. The second ritual I chose to look at is the sama ritual, performed by members of the Sufi order of Islam. This ritual has been performed for centuries from northern Africa right through to India, the purpose being “to progress though the evolutionary stages of the soul toward the ultimate goal of experiencing the absolute reality of Allah” (Miller & Shahriari 2006: 217). This progression is achieved by entering a trance, which to the Sufis, is one of the most important aspects of the ceremony. In Music and Trance, Rouget talks about this ceremony in a fair amount of detail. Thus he explains: It [sama] denotes a very particular thing, peculiar to Sufism, which is the ceremony made up of prayer, music, and dance that brings dervishes together for the purpose of adoring God and practicing trance (Rouget 1985: 255). This establishes the fact that music has significant involvement in sama and trance, but also that dance and prayer have an equal role to play. What it does not say, however, is whether music helps to trigger or maintain the trance state, or if it is the dancing or praying that does this. It could well be that they each individually have the power to push one into trance, or perhaps it is the combination of all three. Interestingly, Rouget also explains that “the relation between sama as ceremony and trance is so close that the word sama, in this sense, also signifies the trance state” (1985: 256). I now feel it would be appropriate to talk about the specifics of the ritual, and what exactly it consists of. Mohammad Mokri described it as “a spiritual concert” (1961: 1014) where music was mainly sung, but also contained an instrumental element of varying importance. The concert consisted of several successive phases, some using these musical elements individually, and some using them in conjunction. The participants would listen to the music seated, and would be gradually overcome by trance. When it became too intense, they rose (MacDonald 1902: 9) and began to dance. It is evident from this description of a ceremony that music is extremely important, and that it is helping to trigger and maintain the trance. As I said earlier, prayer and dance as also important here, although I don’t think dance is triggering the trance in this case, only maintaining it. Also prayer is often done in conjunction with the music, as the words can be sung rather than read. In relation to the Barong/Rangda ritual, the sama is similar in one significant way; it is the fact they both use singing or chanting prayers as the means to trigger the trance. Perhaps there is something more effective and emotional about noises generated by the human body when compared to using inanimate instruments; and that is why they use this method. Having said that, we know that instruments are still very important, especially in the case of the gamelan and the Barong/Rangda ritual, but also with the sama; although they are used with ‘varying importance’ here as I mentioned earlier. I have now looked at the reasons why people trance, and the relation between trance and music. From the evidence I’ve looked at I think it’s fair to say that music is influential, but certainly not paramount for inducing this altered state of consciousness. Trance can be triggered in any situation regardless of whether it was done on purpose or not; music is just a contributing factor. I also think it is important to consider that music is a very broad term, and that from the examples I’ve looked at, it is the chanting and singing that have the most influence. In the Barong/Randa ritual, it was the singing of long lines of classical poetry that triggered the trance; and with the sama ritual, it was also claimed to be mainly singing that did this. The instruments seem to play the role of maintaining the trance and keeping the ritual going at an energetic level. Thus I conclude, that music can play a significant role in triggering and maintaining trance, but it is not essential. BIBLIOGRAPHY MacDonald, Duncan B. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 1902. Miller, Terry & Shahriari, Andrew. World Music: A Global Journey. Taylor and Francis Group, 2006. Mokri, Mohammad. Sufism. In Encyclopedia of Music 3:1014-15. 1961. Rouget, Gilbert. Music And Trance. University of Chicago Press, 1985. Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, 9th ed, 1963. Tart, Charles. Altered States of Consciousness. New York: Wiley, 1969. 1 Oxford Dictionaries Online, definition of the word ‘trance’. Available at: http://oxforddictionaries.com/vi Accessed on 11 April, 2011. Edited by dillweed4 (04/30/11 11:16 AM)
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Stranger Registered: 07/17/10 Posts: 1,102 Last seen: 10 years, 3 months |
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i guess all i have to say is....
duh? i mean that's what shamans do man, they are the musicians of the consciousness. the way a shaman works is he sings icaros, songs that effect and change the current mood and experience of the trip. he's not the source of the knowledge, he is the translator. -------------------- vi veri veniversum vivus vici What she said : "I smoke 'cos I'm hoping for an Early death AND I NEED TO CLING TO SOMETHING !" Edited by desert father (04/30/11 12:25 PM)
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