Orality, Writing and Music in South Asia
Orality, Writing and Music in South Asia

Summary/Abstract: In South Asia, orality and literacy have co-existed continuously and symbiotically for at least 3,000 years. Writing has been employed for numerous purposes, from accounting to the preservation of sacred, literary or technical texts, but until recently it has not enjoyed the prestige and ubiquity that it has had in the West. Memory in South Asia has traditionally been regarded as a superior vehicle for wisdom, less vulnerable than perishable palm-leaf or paper. Even when written down, texts are often recited, chanted or sung, in other words orally performed, preferably from memory, rather than read silently. The objective in this paper is to consider the implications of orality for music in South Asia, and the relationship of written texts – song texts, music notation, and music theory – to musical performance.

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