Marfa is a form of celebratory rhythmic music and dance among the Hyderabadi Muslims in the Deccan region adapted from Afro-Arab music of Hadhramawt in

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. It is played at a high tempo using instruments such as marfa, '' daff'', '' dhol'', '' sticks'', steel pots and wooden strips called ''thapi''. The

chorus effect Chorus is an audio effect that occurs when individual sounds with approximately the same time, and very similar pitches, converge. While similar sounds coming from multiple sources can occur naturally, as in the case of a choir or string orch ...

s and vocal

meter The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

are set according to beats. It was introduced during 18th century in Hyderabad State by the East African Siddi community, who used to serve as

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

guards in Asaf Jahi Nizams irregular army. Asaf Jahi Nizams patronized ''marfa'' music and it was performed during official celebrations and ceremonies as they also claimed Arab ancestry from the first Caliph Abu Bakr Siddique through the Bayafandi Clan of Asir province in

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. It became popular in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, particularly in Hyderabad state. It was brought there by the diaspora of Siddis and Hadhramis. The associated marfa dance is typically performed with janbiya daggers and/or talwars (swords) and latts (canes), and is likely to have been derived from the ''Bar'a'' () dance of Yemen.

Origin

''Marfa'' is a

Yemeni Arabic Yemeni Arabic () is a cluster of varieties of Arabic spoken in Yemen and southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is generally considered a very conservative dialect cluster, having many classical features not found across most of the Arabic-speaking world ...

word used for the kettledrum. Due to the Hadhrami people's influence on the culture of the

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

n Siddis, the word ''marfa'' became a symbol of the music played using the kettledrum. Kettledrums are replaced with Handi kettledrums in the Siddi form of ''marfa'' music played in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

Forms

''Marfa'' music is created from three different musical rhythmic beats also called ''teen maar taal''. A typical dance involves jiggling with

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

s and sticks based on the music's tempo and rhythm. The music is performed only by men, whereas dances and jiggling are common among both men and women. Popular marfa rhythms include: * ''sewari'' * ''bamb sheklah'' * ''ya abu bakar-ya abu salah'' * ''salaam almukallah'' * ''jumbali zimbali'' * ''benazeer benazeer'' * ''ahlan wasahlan''

Popularity

Playing ''marfa'' has become popular in

and it is considered a traditional sign of welcome. Since 1951, it is performed officially by the

government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

as part of the annual celebration on the occasions of

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

and Republic Day at Red Fort,

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. It is also played at Hyderabadi Muslim weddings, with great fervour.

External links

Old Original marfa in Hyderabad India

References

{{reflist Culture of Hyderabad, India Arabic music Classical and art music traditions Muhajir culture Music of India Indian styles of music

Origin

Forms

Popularity

See also

External links

References