The WAU 2025 Congress (Antigua, Guatemala) webpage and call for panels are now open - Please visit waucongress2025.org for more info.

WORLD ANTHROPOLOGICAL UNION

CONGRESS 2024​

Paper

Singing poetry, voicing tradition: Conveying Anthropology through musical performance

presenters

    Pornima Rajkarne

    Nationality: India

    Residence: India

    National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

    Presence:Online

Anthropological research often risks hegemonizing cultural narratives by positioning academic authority as supreme. Such a dynamic leaves little room for meaningful dialogue with non-academic audiences and prevents people from reclaiming their narratives. Consequently, knowledge creation becomes a political practice, where the ‘research participants’ are separated from the produced research. Hence, the paper discusses an innovative method for disseminating anthropological research to non-academic audiences through musical performance in the context of the Varkari Sampradaya, a Bhakti tradition in Maharashtra, India. This mode of communication draws from the poetry of the Varkari saints showcasing the tradition’s religious ideas. Performing the tradition’s poetry weaved into music, can bridge the gap between academic knowledge and public engagement. These compositions, supported by narrative interludes drawn from ethnographic and historical understandings, aim to paint a holistic picture of the Varkari tradition. Hence, making their religious ideas tangible and merging analytical insights with artistic expression. By extending invitations to diverse audiences to engage with the anthropological study of the Varkari religious concepts through musical performances, the researcher endeavors to enhance the accessibility and inclusivity of the discipline. This initiative seeks to cultivate a deeper understand of the Varkari tradition while ensuring that research authentically represents its ideological underpinnings. The proposed method aims to reshape the boundaries of anthropology by promoting reciprocity and creating a feedback loop between academia and the public. By engaging with non-academic audiences, this approach aims to prevent the suppression of community voices by dominant academic discourses. Hence, the method aims to prevent anthropology from becoming a ‘political project’ and reduce the entrenching power dynamics between academia and the public. Ultimately, the paper highlights the potential of creative modes of expression to enrich relevance of anthropology. It also focuses on reinterpreting the role of the anthropologist as a communicator.

Keywords:

Anthropology, musical performance, Varkari, non-academic audiences