The past and the present chronotope of the pāncai bājā repertoire in Nepal
Abstract
This study attempts to shed light on the changing dynamics of the pāncai bājā from past to present, particularly with regard to performance occasions, performing communities, ritual functions, and professional practice. The study draws on Bakhtin’s theory of the chronotope in literature and cultural performance, Alan P. Merriam’s anthropological approach to music studies, and Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus as analytical frameworks in examining the pāncai bājā musical repertoire. Together, these approaches provide a systematic theoretical framework. In the past, when Nepali society was predominantly agrarian and traditional, Damain community performed the pāncai bājā repertoire professionally on special occasions and rituals. However, today the Damain community has largely shifted to other occupations. Internal migration, access to education opportunities, modernization, foreign employment opportunities and declining social prestige are among the reasons behind their profession shift. These days, commercially motivated so-called upper caste people form pāncai bājā bands in urban areas. As a result, the Damain community is gradually losing control over this musical heritage. In the course of studying the chronotope of pāncai bājā tradition, we have employed a mixed-methods approach, including interviews with different respondents and key informants. Purposive sampling with observation and content analysis are other methods applied in this research. Moreover, the study is based on extensive library and archival research on the pāncai bājā tradition. The term pancai bājā refers to a traditional Nepali mixed ensemble consisting of shawms, kettledrums, cymbals, natural trumpets and drum traditionally played by the Damain community.
Keywords: chronotope, habitus, pāncai bājā, repertoire, Damain community, ensemble
For citation: Niroula, D. R., Dahal, B. P., & Baral, C. R. (2026). The past and the present chronotope of the pāncai bājā repertoire in Nepal. Contemporary Musicology, 10(2), 154–190. https://doi.org/10.56620/2587-9731-2026-2-154-190References
Bakhtin, M. (1981). Forms of time and of the chronotope in the novel: Notes toward a historical poetics. In M. Holquist (Ed.), The dialogic imagination: Four essays (C. Emerson & M. Holquist, Trans., pp. 84–258). University of Texas Press.
Bemong, N., & Borghart, P. (2010). Bakhtin’s theory of the literary chronotope: Reflections, applications, perspectives. In N. Bemong, P. Borghart, M. De Dobbeleer, K. Demoen, K. De Temmerman, & B. Keunen (Eds.), Bakhtin’s theory of the literary chronotope: Reflections, applications, and perspectives (pp. 3–16). Academia Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1990a). In other words: Essays towards a reflexive sociology. Stanford University Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1990b). The logic of practice. Stanford University Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1985). The social space and the genesis of groups. Theory and Society, 14(6), 723–744.
Bourdieu, P. (1996). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste (R. Nice, Trans.). Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1979)
Dahal, B. (2023). Listening old music in modern studios; Study of music market in Nepal. International Journal of Anthropology, 38(3–4), 153–178. https://doi.org/10.14673/IJA2023341108
Darnal, R. S. (2003). Nepali bājā (Nepali musical instruments). Ratna Pustak Bhandar.
Flick, U. (2010). An introduction to qualitative research (4th ed.). Sage.
Herzog, G. (1946). Comparative musicology. The Music Journal, 4(6), 11.
Holquist, M. (2010). The fugue of chronotope. In N. Bemong, P. Borghart, M. De Dobbeleer, K. Demoen, K. De Temmerman, & B. Keunen (Eds.), Bakhtin’s theory of the literary chronotope: Reflections, applications, and perspectives (pp. 19–33). Academia Press.
Hood, M. (1960). The challenge of “bi–musicality”. Ethnomusicology, 4(2), 55–59.
Keunen, B. (2010). The chronotopic imagination in literature and film. In N. Bemong, P. Borghart, M. De Dobbeleer, K. Demoen, K. De Temmerman, & B. Keunen (Eds.), Bakhtin’s theory of the literary chronotope: Reflections, applications, and perspectives (pp. 35–55). Academia Press.
Ladin, J. (1999). Fleshing out the chronotope. In C. Emerson (Ed.), Critical essays on Mikhail Bakhtin (pp. 212–236). Hall.
Merriam, A. P. (1964). The anthropology of music. Northwestern University Press.
Morozova T. (2024). Muzykal’naya kul’tura Nepala: ot drevnikh traditsii k traditsiyam novykh pokolenii [Musical culture of Nepal: From ancient traditions to the traditions of new generations]. State Institute for Art Studies (In Russ.).
Regmi, D. C. (2023). Music, myth and melody: A brief history of Nepali music. Bookhill.
Rehbein, B., & Saalmann, G. (2014). Begriffe: Habitus (habitus). G. Fröhlich, & B. Rehbein (Eds.), Bourdieu–Handbuch: Leben, Werk, Wirkung (pp. 110–118). J. B. Metzler.
Seeger, A. (1987). Why suya sing: A musical anthropology of an Amazonian people. Cambridge University Press.
Thapa, A., & Khanal, B. (2025). The Impact of Contemporary Capitalist Society on the Decline of Musical Identity in a Changing Society: Panche Baja Musicians of Rupa Rural Municipality Nepal. Tri–Chandra Journal of Anthropology, 2(01), 17–31. https://doi.org/10.3126/tja.v2i01.82768
Tingey, C. (1990). Heartbeat of Nepal: The pancai bājā. Royal Nepal Academy.
Webb, J., Schirato, T., & Danaher, G. (2002). Understanding Bourdieu. Sage Publication.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56620/2587-9731-2026-2-154-190
Copyright (c) 2026 Dhundi Raj Niroula
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/