The Lotus and the King: Imagery, Gesture and Meaning in a Hindustani Rāg

Leante, Laura

Abstract

This article brings together investigation of gesture and imagery in the study of North Indian classical music, focusing on a particular rāg—Śrī rāg—in detail. The research, based on extensive ethnography and analysis of audiovisual recordings, reveals how the embodiment of sound as patterns of movement is a key to understanding how musicians associate particular images and emotions with rāgs, and at the same time how such processes of signification are intertwined with culturally embedded meanings.

Citation

Leante, L. (2009). The Lotus and the King: Imagery, Gesture and Meaning in a Hindustani Rāg. Ethnomusicology Forum, 18(2), 185-206. https://doi.org/10.1080/17411910903141874

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2009
• Deposit Date: Oct 4, 2010
• Publicly Available Date: May 1, 2015
• Journal: Ethnomusicology Forum
• Print ISSN: 1741-1912
• Electronic ISSN: 1741-1920
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 185-206
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17411910903141874
• Keywords: South Asia, Hindustani classical music, Rāga, Gesture, Imagery, Meaning construction.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1515849