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The book is based on field research conducted in Hanol, a Jaunsari village in the Western Himalayan region of India. The daily puja ceremonies in Hanol are central to the social and spiritual life of the community. A ritualistic drumming style is the central component of this ceremony. During the ceremony, the Bajgis – hereditary musicians, perform a series of talas (rhythmic cycles) that bring the spirit of the deity into oracles known as bakis or malis.

The Bajgis are defined reflexively and socially through their drumming, as are the Brahmins by their priestly duties. A variety of ethnographic methods are employed to analyze the religious belief systems, the performer and audience relationship, and reflexive methodologies of participation / observation. Performative activity brings together the fields of self-awareness, personal and collective identity, the body in performance, knowledge, and belief systems. All of these elements do manifest in the music.

This book’s basic premises are two: that islands and their cultures are concentrated convergences of ‘place’; and that intersections of power dynamics, multiple histories, self/other relations, and communal well-being are revealed through songs. Both are well supported through the book’s diverse essays. Awareness of place is key to creating a meaningful life, and song itself is a complex negotiation of identity in the current globalized world.