The Seni rebab (

Hindustani Hindustani may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Hindustan (another name of India) * Hindustani language, an Indo-Aryan language, whose two official norms are Hindi and Urdu * Fiji Hindi, a variety of Eastern Hindi spoken in Fiji, and ...

: सेनी रबाब ( Devanagari), ( Nastaleeq),

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

: ਸੇਨੀ ਰੱਬਾਬ), also known as the Seniya rabab (

: सेनिया रबाब ( Devanagari), ( Nastaleeq)) is a plucked string instrument used in northern India that is said to have been developed by, and to have taken its name from, the notable musician Tansen in the time of the emperor

Akbar the Great Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

. It has "a large hook at the back of its head, making it easier for a musician to sling it over the shoulder and play it even while walking." It has been used in Hindustani classical music and religiously, in Sikh music. The rebab influenced the development of the sarod, another Indian musical instrument. Three types of Sikh musician - rababis, ragis and dhadhis - flourished during the period of the Sikh gurus.

History

As the ''Dekhani rabāb'', the instrument was listed as a native instrument of Central India by Mughal chronicler Abu'l Fazl. It was played by different castes, from the high Brahmins leading religious songs to "low-caste entertainers." The instrument was associated with the Seniya family, of whom Tansen was one. Tansen has been credited with "popularizing" the rabāb. The name'' seni rabāb'' may be an Indian adaptation from a Persian designation of the instrument; "''Sen-e-rabab''" is supposed to mean rebab of anSen.

Religion

Guru Nanak started the Sikh rababi tradition by engaging Bhai Mardana as his accompanist. The Muslim singers known as

Mirasi The Mirasi ( ur, ; hi, मीरासी, translit=Mīrāsī; pa, , ਮਰਾਸੀ , translit=Marāsī) are a community found in North India and Pakistan. They are the genealogists and traditional singers and dancers of a number of commun ...

s were "rababis", because they played on the rabab or rebec. Some notable rababis after Mardana were his son Shahjada, Balwand and

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, Babak, son of Satta, Chatra, son of Babak, and Saddu and Baddu. Rababis used to perform

kirtan Kirtana ( sa, कीर्तन; ), also rendered as Kirtan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts ...

regularly at Amritsar before the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

in 1947, after which many of the rababis migrated to Pakistan. The Sikh rabab was traditionally a local Punjabi variant known as the 'Firandia' rabab (

: ਫਿਰੰਦੀਆ ਰਬਾਬ ''Phiradī'ā rabāba''), however Baldeep Singh, an expert in the Sikh musical tradition, challenges this narrative. The last of the line of rababis was Bhai Chand. During the 20th century CE the instrument's use in Sikh kirtan was eclipsed by the harmonium but it has been revived. File:Karnati ragini-Women playing veena and seni rabab,1680-1700.png, Women playing veena and seni rabab,1680-1700.

References

Indian musical instruments Sikh music String instruments {{string-instrument-stub