The mashak (also known as , , , ', ', ', ', '', )'' is a type of

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, N ...

found in Northern India,

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in the North India, northern part of India. It is often referred to as t ...

, Sudurpaschim Province (especially Baitadi and Darchula district) of Nepal and parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The pipe was associated with weddings and festive occasions. In India it is historically found in

Garhwal Garhwal may refer to the following topics associated with Uttarakhand, India: Places *Garhwal Himalaya, a sub-range of the Himalayas *Garhwal Kingdom, a former kingdom *Garhwal District (British Garhwal), a former district of British India *Garh ...

(kumaon) in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

and

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. This bagpipe uses

single reed A single-reed instrument is a woodwind instrument that uses only one reed to produce sound. The very earliest single-reed instruments were documented in ancient Egypt, as well as the Middle East, Greece, and the Roman Empire. The earliest types ...

s, and can be played either as a

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

or as a

melody A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combina ...

instrument.

Etymology

The etymology of the term ''mashak'' stems from its common use in India, referring to a skin bag used for carrying water. This skin bag shares a similar function to the air bag of the bag pipes.

Relation with the Scottish Highland pipes

Some academics dispute any indigenous origins of the mashak; researcher

Ander Burton Alter The masculine name Ander is a variant of the Greek name "Andreas". Other variants of the Greek name "Andreas" are Andrés and Andrew, as well as Anders. The masculine name Ander is a variant Basque form of Andrew. Notable people with the name And ...

wrote in 2000 that the pipes today played in Kumaon are Scottish Highland bagpipes with one bass and two tenor drones, with no local manufacturer or evidence of existence prior to British rule in 1814. Organologist Anthony Baines, however, described an intermediary development stage wherein Indian musicians imitated the Highland pipe by tying "an extra pipe or two" into their mashak. Similarly, the ''New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments'' (1984) describes the traditional mashak as becoming rare as it is displaced by the Scottish pipes.

Garhwali bagpipes

The Garhwali bagpipe is the name to which the

Garhwali people The Garhwali people are an Indian ethnolinguistic group native to the Garhwal, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, who speak Garhwali, an Indo-Aryan language. Etymology In modern usage, "Garhwali" is used to refer to anyone whose linguis ...

of Northern India have given the masak baja.

Cultural significance

In the central Himalayan region of

Northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

the masak baja is an important part of rural wedding ceremonies. The masak baja is played to process with the groom's on their way to and from the bride's village. The masak is accompanied by two pipers and drummers. The masak and its accompanying instruments send a clear message across the audible area that a wedding is taking place.

Discography

*Various Artists –
Footprints In The Desert...
''track ''Rajasthan's Bagpipe (Mashak)''. De Kulture *Various –
Music From The Shrines Of Ajmer and Mundra
' track ''Populat Naubat Shahna'i''. Topic Records (UK), 1995

References