Reprinted from The Veddas
by C. G. Seligmann and Brenda Z, Seligmann
Published by the Cambridge University Press
VEDDA MUSIC
BY
C, S. MYERS
r
VEDDA MUSIC
BY
C. S. MYERS
I'l/I
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2016
https://archive.org/details/veddamusicOOmyer
CHAPTER XIII
MUSIC
By C. S. Myers.
Introductory.
The account of Vedda music given in this section is based
upon an examination of thirty-four phonographic records of
songs obtained from the Veddas by Dr and Mrs Seligmann^
These songs are probably simpler in structure than any other
native songs hitherto studied.
Nine of the tunes are composed of only two notes. In three
others the tune consists also of two notes, but with the addition
of one or more unimportant grace-notes. These twelve songs
may be conveniently classed as belonging to Group A.
Twelve other songs consist of three notes only. These we
shall class under Group B.
Nine songs contain four notes, and one consists of five notes.
These we shall consider as Group C.
Of the songs in Group A, in no case is the range sensibly
greater than our whole-tone interval. With the exception of
two anomalous songs, no song in Group B has a range sensibly
greater than our minor third. With one exception, no song in
Group C has a range greater than a fourth.
There is evidence that the songs of Group A are more
archaic than those of Groups B and C. For, unaware of the
above system of cla.ssification. Dr Seligmann was asked to
indicate those songs which appeared to him (on grounds of
language, ceremonial, etc.) most probably archaic and those
We received the manuscript of tliis cha]’)ter from Dr Myers in November 1909,
but owing to our absence from England, publication was deferred for six months.
Meanwhile, in the Quarlerly ATagaztne of the International Musical Society (Year xi.
Part 2, 1910) there appeared a short account of Vedda music by Herr Max Wertheimer,
based on an examination of four phonographic records obtained by Frau M. Selenka.
Dr Myers has thus had no opportunity of alluding to Hen Wertheimer’s observations
in this chapter.]
I 2
4
THE VEDDAS
which were likely to be modern or foreign. Of the ten songs
which he considered to be probably archaic, four belong to
Group A, four to Group B, and only two to Group C ; while of
those in which he suspected modern, or foreign influence, only
one belongs to Group A, five to Group B, and five to Group C.
None of the Sinhalese songs collected by Dr Seligmann belongs
to Group A.
In this connection it is also noteworthy that the Sitala
Wanniya Veddas are considered by Dr Seligmann to have been
less exposed to outside influence than other Veddas, and that of
the three songs sung by them belonging to Group C two are
believed by him to be late or foreign. There are altogether
eight songs of the Sitala Wanniya Veddas, in only two of which
is an interval sung sensibly greater than a whole-tone.
While the Sitala Wanniya Veddas may be considered the
most primitive, the Veddas of Dambani and Bulugahaladena
are semi-civilised, having absorbed much Sinhalese culture,
and the Bandaraduwa Veddas are also much affected by the
Sinhalese, with whom they are now living. The Henebedda
Veddas have only lately begun to be affected by the Sinhalese.
Not only is Vedda music primitive because the notes of each
song are so few and the range so small, but also because the
natives are ignorant of any other than vocal music. Dr Seligmann
writes that the “uncontaminated Veddas,” e.g. those of Sitala
Wanniya, have no musical instruments whatever. Others, how-
ever, e.g. those of Henebedda, although they had no drums at
the time of his visit, borrowed them, when opportunity offered,
from the Sinhalese, especially for songs belonging to the
kolamaduwa ceremony. The two oldest Vedda ceremonies,
namely, the dancing round an arrow in order to get game
(p. 213), and the kirikoraha ceremony in which the dance is
round an offering of coconut milk (p. 218), were accompanied
by the rhythmic slapping of the hands on the abdomen and
thighs. At Bandaraduwa, the Veddas were found to possess
drums of Sinhalese pattern and make.
The songs of the Veddas may be divided according to their
purpose into two main classes, the one consisting of charms and
invocations, the other of lullabies and songs sung for amuse-
ment. Dr Seligmann observes that among all Veddas the
MUSIC
5
invocation son:^s are accompanied by dance movement, and that
the purpose of such song and dance is to produce possession by
the yakiL or spirits.
Methods of Analysis.
The speed of the phonograph used for studying the records
of these songs was so regulated that every record reproduced
a tone c' = 256 vibrations per second, a tone of this pitch, emitted
by a pitch-pipe, having been always sounded into the recording
phonograph just before each record was taken by Dr Seligmann
in the field. Consequently when the reproducing phonograph
emitted the note, one was sure that the speed of this instrument
agreed with that of the instrument into which the song had been
sung. That is to say, the reproducing phonograph reproduced
the exact tempo and pitch of the recorded song.
A rough notation was then made of the song, a metronome
being employed to determine its approximate tempo.
Finally a more accurate determination of the pitch of the
various tones was made by means of an Appunn’s Tonmesser,
an instrument consisting of a box of carefully-attuned metal
tongues, any one of which could be sounded at will by means
of a bellows worked by the feet. The particular instrument
employed contained 65 tongues, the pitch of each tongue differing
by two vibrations per second from its neighbour and the extreme
range being an octave, from c° to c , i.e. from 128 to 256 vibra-
tions per seconds
The songs are transcribed as accurately as our European
notation allows. Bars are only inserted when the regularity of
the rhythm clearly permitted their use. A -F or — above a note
indicates that it should be somewhat sharpened or flattened.
Greater precision may be obtained by observing the numbers
written beneath the notes. These give the mean vibration -
frequency of the tone in question, obtained by comparison
with the standard Tonmesser. The sign V indicates a “breath
mark,” i.e. a short rest during which the singer draws a breath.
^ For further details in manipulation, the reader is referred to the writer’s Essay
on “The Ethnological Study of Music,” in Anthropological Essays presented to
Edivard Burnett Tylor, Oxford, 1907, pp. -235 — 254.
6
THE VEDDAS
Notation of the Records.
GROUP A.
No. 40. Invocation to the Nae Yaku sung by Kuina of Dainbani.
J = 1 60.
No. 22 A. Commemorating women whose husbands were treacherously
killed while collecting honey ; sung by Hudumenike of Bandaraduwa.
= 160.
r>~ V
£:£EEErazzt:|z— =EiL£T:|=:Fr— b r | - |-| r — =3
No. 21. Sung by women to men returning without honey; song of
Sitala Wanniya Veddas.
J=I44-
etc.
No. 38. Sung while taking honey ; song of the Sitala Wanniya Veddas.
J= 108.
384 422
— etc.
No. 1 1 (2). Amusement Song of the Veddas of Bandaraduwa ; sung by
Tissahami, the “Vedda Arachi.”
1=196. Zve lower.
etc.
<
MUSIC
7
No. i8 (2). Song of the Bandaraduwa Veddas when driving monkeys.
J=io4.
No. I (i). Invocation at the kirikoraha ceremony of the Kovil Vanamai
Veddas; sung by the “ Vedda Arachi.”
No. I (2). Invocation at the kirikoraha ceremony of the Kovil Vanamai
Veddas; sung by the “Vedda Arachi.”
No. 19. Lullaby; sung by Hudumenike of Bandaraduwa.
J=2 o8 .
8
THE VEDDAS
No. 52. Invocation sung during ceremony to exorcise Yaku from the
sick.
,’=104. Zve lower.
No. 42. Song {Taiidhia etc.), sung by the Vidane (headman) of the
Dambani Veddas.
^^=108. Zve lower.
No. 43. Song {Talapita Sindu), sung by Kuma of Dambani. The tune
is that of No. 42, but the tones are e and /, corresponding to 160 and 172
vibrations per sec.
GROUP B.
No. 30(1). Invocation at the Ruwala ceremony of the Yaka and Yakini
of Walimbagala.
J= 100. Zve lower.
MUSIC
9
No. 37. Song; the first part sung by Tandi, wife of Handuna of Sitala
Wanniya.
J= 180.
55-2 592 504
etc.
-hi h
The second part sung by the husband to the same tune but in different
pitch b'
No. 31. Amusement Song; sung by Sita Wanniya of Henebedda.
^ = 1 76. Zve lower.
-I 1
232 214
H
-
- ^ ^ -
1 1 1
1 1 1
liJ
F—
-|
I_J
etc.
No. 20. Song asking for gifts ; sung by a woman of Bandaraduwa.
J=I 76 .
mi:
etc.
No. 31 A. Dance Song; sung by Sita Wanniya of Henebedda.
^^ = 88. 87'e lozoer.
312 '280 264
- etc.
No. 34 (2). Lullaby ; sung by Tandi, wife of Handuna of Sitala Wanniya.
I
etc.
508 464 428
I - 5
lO
THE VEDDAS
No. 27. Invocation of the Mahayakino at the kolamaduwa ceremony;
sung by Handuna of Henbedda.
J=i32. %ve lower.
^ 256
240 212
No. 36 (2). Amusement Song; sung by Handuna of Sitala Wanniya.
^ = 210. Zve lower.
No. 29. Invocation to the Nae Vah^ ; sung by Wannaku of Uniche.
J = 92. Sve lower.
232 204
No. 2. Mallgi, a honey-collecting song of the Ilenebedda Veddas ; sung
by Tissahami, the “ Vedda Arachi.”
^^126. 87/^ lower.
No. 39. Amusement Song; sung by Kuma of Bulugahaladena.
J= 120.
etc.
MUSIC
I I
No. 14 (2). Invocation used by the Bandaraduwa Veddas; sung by
a Sinhalese^
J=io4. Zve lower.
-T-^—
rf — it- it-.
cJ
Repeated ad lib.
GROUP C.
No. 32. Invocation of Bambura Yaka; sung by Handuna of Sitala
Wanniya.
No. 33. Mulpola Itia Waniya; sung by Kaira of Sitala Wanniya.
208. Zve lower.
No. 26 (i). Invocation sung at the kh'ikoralia ceremony at Bandaraduwa.
1 38. Zve lower.
004 10Q 040 OK4 ^ ^ ^
242 254
At end.
etc.
etc.
No. 53 (i). Sinhalese rice-harvesting song; sung at Hemberevva (see
footnote, p. 356).
(=132. Zve lower.
-^ + + + + + + + -f-
+ + + + + + +
210 254 276 232
1 Dr Seligmann is uncertain when this invocation is used; it is probably foreign.
12
THE VEDDAS
No. 44. Sung when taking honey; sung by Poromala of Henebedda.
J=i68. Zve lower. g
-h-h- I - h -[— I— r
e:g^:g: -r r r :
--:e=^r=er=P=P
1— h-l— ht-t
:t=Lt=t:
1— h
A
No. 28 A. Song commemorating two women who committed suicide
(cf. p. 323) ; sung by Wannaku of Bandaraduwa.
J=8o.
r —
No. 34(1). Lullaby; sung by Tandi, wife of Handuna of Sitala
Wanniya.
_L,
■96,
fi:.-rb-o 1
> >
[-te^
rff
f — -a 1
608 576 5
12
L-Q-I — ^L
etc.
MUSIC
13
No. 51. Sinhalese song; sung at Alutnuwara at night while watching
the crops (see footnote, p. 356).
132. ^ve lower.
p:pr
Lj ^
No. 5 (2). Invocation to Bilindi Yaka and Kande Yaka at the Kirikoraha
ceremony.
= 80. Zve lower.
-0- N Jfi-S- M pi— K— I S— lo n
224 246 272
No. 41. Invocation by the Dambani Veddas of the Nae Yaku.
^^152. Zve lower.
+ + + + + +
> > > + V
206
+ + +
'1^ 230
232 204 192
1—7
THE VEDDAS
Analysis of the Intervals.
The So7igs of Group A.
The two columns headed “quotients” and “cents” in the
accompanying table are obtained from the transcript by the
following means :
Song No.
Quotients
Cents
42
1-075
125
43
1-075
125
38
1-099
164
52
I -1 10
168
21
I -104
171
II (2)
1-104
171
1 (2)
ri2i
198
40
1-121
200
22 \
ri25
205
18(2)
1-128
208
I (0
V133
216
The quotient is the result of dividing the larger by the smaller
of the two numbers which express the vibration-frequencies of
the two tones in each of the songs of this group. Thus in the
case of Song No. 42, 230 divided by 214 (the figures given in the
transcript) yields the quotient ro75. The cents are hundredth
parts of our own tempered semitoneb
It is obvious that the intervals intended to be used in the
songs of Group A are three in number. The averages are given
in the following table:
Interval
Quotient
Cents
(fl)
1-075
125
0)
I-104
168
(r)
ri26
205
Of these the largest (7) is approximately our own whole-tone
interval, the smallest (a) amounts to five-eighths of our whole-
tone interval, while the intermediate interval (/8) is almost
^ Various methods for calculating cents from the vibration-numbers of an interval
are given by Ellis in his annotated translation of Helmholtz’s Sensations of Tone
(3rd edition, London, 1895), pp. 446 — 451,
MUSIC
15
exactly half-way between the values of the two extremes^ The
interval (a) occurs only in two songs sung by different indi-
viduals, who, however, were both Dambani Veddas. The
Dambani singer of No. 43 is also responsible for No. 40, the
interval of which falls in (7).
The Songs of Group B.
Song Number
Quotients
Cents
Rar
Quotients
ige
Cents
29
1-043
1-137
73
223
i
4 - 186 ’
[ 299 ;
36 ( 2 )
I ’050
1-124
84
202
1
I-I 80 '
[ 287 ^
2
1-057
1-129
96
210
’ 1 - 193 '
[ 306 ’
27
1-067
1-132
1 12
215
4-208
[ 327 .
39
. 1055
nil
94
181
[ 1 - 172 ]
[ 275 ]
31 A
ro6i
n 14
102
187
1-182
289
34 ( 2 )
1-084
1-094
140
157
I-I 86
297
30 (i)
1-087
1-104
144
172
[ 1 - 200 ]
[ 316 ]
31
1-084
ri2i
140
197
I- 2 I 5
337
37
1-072
1-095
121
157
[i'i 75 ]
[ 279 ]
20
1-132
1-122
199
219
1-270
414
The columns headed “quotients” and “ cents” in the fore-
going table measure the intervals — in this Group the pairs of
^ For purposes of comparison, the following details may prove useful :
Interval.
Quotient.
Cents.
Our tempered semitone
1-059
100
,, „ tone ...
1-122
200
,, ,, minor third
... 1-189
300
5, ,, major third
1-260
400
,, ,, fourth ...
1-335
500
,, ,, tritone...
1-414
600
,, M fifth
1-498
700
Our just (or pure) semitone
(15 : 16)
1-06
111-731
,, ,, ,, minor tone
( 9 : 10)
1 "1 1 1
182-404
,, ,, ,, major tone
(8:9)
1-125
203-910
,, ,, ,, minor third
(5:6)
1-200
315-641
„ ,, „ major third ( 4 : 5)
1-250
386-314
,, ,, „ fourth
(3:4)
1*3
498-045
,, ,, ,, tritone
(32 • 45)
1-406
590-224
„ „ „ fifth
(2:3)
1-500
701-955
i6
THE VEDDAS
intervals — for the various songs as in the previous Group. The
last column, headed “ range,” expresses (also in the form of
quotients and cents) the interval between the highest and lowest
notes of each song. When that interval is not actually sung but
only calculated, the figures are enclosed in brackets. Song
No. 14 (2) is omitted from this group as its range and structure
are obviously different from the rest. Dr Seligmann inde-
pendently characterises this song as “almost certainly foreign...
1 find it was sung by a Sinhalese. I should neglect it.”
Song 20 is again exceptional. Its range exceeds four semitones
(400 cents), or a major third. Here again Dr Seligmann —
having regard only to evidence of a non-musical character —
observes that “the words of this song are very late.” Song
No. 37 is somewhat exceptional. The intonation, moreover, is
not very reliable.
The remaining songs of this Group fall into three divisions,
the averages for which are shown in the following table :
Interval
Quotients
Cents
Rat
Quotients
ige
Cents
(S)
1*054
1*130
92
213
I-192
305
(0
1-059
I-I 12
98
184
1*177
282
(f)
1-085
rio6
142
175
1-200
317
It is evident that the range of notes in these three divisions
is not sensibly different. It amounts approximately to our minor
third.
This interval is divided in the case of divisions (8) and (e)
into two intervals, one of which is somewhat smaller than our
semitone, while the other is in (S) larger, in (e) smaller than our
whole-tone.
In the case of division (f) the interval of a minor third is
divided into two intervals which are much more nearly equal to
one another. The same feature characterises Song No. 20, where
the major third is almost equally bisected.
In only four of the eleven tunes of this group is an interval
appreciably larger than a whole tone actually sung by the singer.
MUSIC
17
This is shown by the unbracketed numbers in the columns
headed “range.” In No. 20 an interval of 414 cents (slightly
exceeding a major third) is sung, but this song, as we have
already observed, is exceptional. In Nos. 31 A and 34(2), an
interval somewhat less than a minor third is sung, in the former
of 289, in the latter of 297 cents. In No. 31 the interval
(337 cents) slightly exceeds a minor third.
The intervals sung in the anomalous song No. 14 (2) are of
467 and 269 cents.
The various average values of quotients and cents in the
songs of groups A and B are set out in the following tables :
Quo/ie?tts.
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
ro 54
1-075
1-085
1-104
1-126
1*177
ro 59
I -106
1*130
1-192
ri 12
I -200
Cents.
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
92
125
142
168
205
282
98
175
213
305
184
317
It will be noticed that the difference between I and II, III
and IV, IV and V is about thirty cents, and that the difference
between V and VI is about thrice this value.
The Songs of Group C.
It will be remembered that the songs of this group contain
four different notes. The intervals between the highest and
lowest notes (maximal range), the intervals between alternate
notes (an intervening tone omitted) and the intervals between
8
THE VEDDAS
immediately successive notes are shown in the following table
of quotients. Brackets indicate, as before, that the interval in
question was not actually sung but only calculated.
Song
Number
Maximal
range
Interval between
alternate notes
Interval between immediately
successive notes
32 (also 46)
1-23
[■■17]
V13
I'lO
I ‘06
ro6
33
[1-24]
[■•17J
[ri 7 ]
no
i’o6
ro6
53 ( 1 )
[I- 3 I]
[1-21]
[I-I 9 ]
no
1*09
1-09
26 (i)
[1-28]
r22'
[i'i 3 ]
V13
I '09
1-05
34 (0
1-32
[1*19]
ri2
n I
ro6
'51
i '34
1-24
I "20
I'I 2
n 1
ro8
28 A
1-35
1*26
[I-I 7 ]
ns
I ’09
ro7
44
? 1-37
[? 1-29]
? ri9
? ri6
? ri2
? ro6
5 (2)
1-43
1-30
? 1-27
? ri 8
n I
no
41
146
1-37
r2i
ri 3
no
I -05
The songs appear to fall into four divisions. In the first of
these the maximal range is expressed by the quotient i‘235 —
equal to 365 cents — (nearly a neutral third), and the intervals
between successive notes are expressed by the quotients ro6,
rio, — equivalent to loi and 165 cents respectively. In the
third division, the maxirnal range amounts to 1*33 or 496 cents
(almost exactly equal to a just fourth) while the successive notes
average ro6, no and 1*14, i.e. loi, 165, and 227 cents. A very
similar interval in song No. 53 is trisected into almost equal
intervals, each approximately of 165 cents. In the case of the
last division, the maximal range averages i’445, equivalent to
637 cents (an acute diminished fifth), and the intervals comprise
again an almost pure fourth, a slightly exaggerated major third,
and other intervals common to other songs of the group. Of
the two songs in this division Dr Seligmann writes that in
“No. 5 there are signs of foreign influence in the invocation
as it stands, but it has a good old Vedda basis,” and that
“No. 41 is probably late.”
Hence the most significant of the smaller intervals between
’ These songs are said to be Sinhalese, but in most respects they closely resemble
the Vedda songs of this group and are therefore included in it.
MUSIC
19
successive notes occurring in the songs of Group C are equal to
loi, 165, 227 cents, which are successively different by about
63 cents. But it will be remembered that the difference between
certain intervals employed in Group B was found to be about
30 cents, half of the difference just observed. In Group C we
have just found the neutral third of 365 cents divided into two
intervals, one of lOi and the other of 165 cents, representing
approximately three and five of these hypothetical units, each of
33 cents. The same intervals were found in the division of the
fourth of 496 cents into 5, 3 and 7 of such units. Again in three
songs of Group B, the average interval of 317 cents is divided
into intervals of 142 and 175 cents, differing by 33 cents. In
view, however, of the want of precision in intonation, it is difficult
to believe that these differences are significant.
The value of the fourth, when actually sung in the songs 28,
34 (i), 51 of Group C, averages 1*337 or 503 cents. Conse-
quently it is almost pure. A pure minor third is sung in
No. 34 (i). A neutral third is sung in No. 32, the value of
which is 1*235 or 365 cents. In No. 5 (2), the minor third
which is sung is small, amounting to 1*176 or 281 cents. The
diminished fifth and the fourth sung in No. 41 correspond
respectively to 655 and 543 cents.
Of the smaller intervals, the interval of 165 cents is certainly
one of the most important. It occurs frequently in Group C
and also (as 168 cents) in Group A, where it is exactly midway
between the other two intervals (125 and 205 cents) met with in
this group.
Analysis of the Rhythms.
In the majority of the songs the time is fairly regular, but
the accents often recur irregularly owing to the variable numbers
of syllables. The following extracts from the writer’s note-book
will serve to illustrate this general lack of regular measure :
No. 22 A. Want of regular accent ; number of notes ad
libitum according to words.
No. 21. Irregular accent according to number of syllables
(see notation).
No. 38. Time regular but without regular accent.
20
THE VEDDAS
No. I (i). Frequent interpolation of extra beats owing to
extra syllables. Rate of beats constant. Little or no grouping
of beats into larger units (i.e. no measure, bar or tact).
No. 53. The words dictate the number of notes.
No. 20. Considerable variation in time and in number of
notes, regulated by breathing and by number of syllables.
No. 26. With variations according to recitative.
No. 28. No regular accent.
In some songs, however, the measures were more obvious.
Thus,
No. 51. Very rhythmical, but occasionally an odd syllable
is inserted.
No. 5. Fairly regular, save for a few extra syllables.
In only a few was the rhythm very well marked, as the
following extracts show :
No. 1 1 (2). Very regular rhythm and accent.
No. 18 (2). Very regular rhythm. •
No. 34 (1). Regular save for breath-marks.
No. 14 (2). Strict tempo save for breath-marks.
No. 36. Strict time.
In five songs, the rhythm is particularly noteworthy owing to
the occurrence of bars of five beats. Thus, in No. 18 (2), a bar of
five beats is inserted three times in the course of the song. One
of them is shown in the part transcribed. In No. 14 (2), a five-
bar is introduced in strict time at the close of the tune. Again
in Nos. 33, 34 (i), 36 (2) there are alternate groups of three and
five beats. In other words a bar of eight beats is sub-divided
into two bars containing three and five beats respectively.
With these exceptions and the striking exception of No. 20,
no one of the songs is clearly in triple measure, although
occasionally, e.g. in No. 22 A, a bar of three beats is introduced
into a song.
Generally speaking, where the accent occurs sufficiently
regularly for the measure to be apprehended, the accent is found
to lie on the first of every two or four beats.
MUSIC
2 1
General Character of Songs.
The songs have an exceedingly plain character, and are
devoid of the ornamentation with which we meet in many
examples of primitive music. The few embellishments which
occur in Nos. i (i), i (2), 2, 29, 32, are quite slight and simple.
They present a contrast in this respect when compared with
Nos. 50 and 23, which are records of other than Vedda music
from Ceylon. I am indebted to Mr R. R. Broome, B.A., of
Christ’s College, Cambridge, for their notation.
No. 50. Charm (reputed to be Arabic) sung by the Arachi of Girandura.
Time very ^'regular.
No. 23. Sinhalese Love Song.
22
THE VEDDAS
Another feature is the precision with which the notes arc
hit. There is not a single example of that glissando from note
to note, which is so frequently met with among certain primitive
peoples.
In only one song does more than one singer take part, and
in this, No. 37, the second singer merely repeats the melody of
the first when the latter has finished. There is hence no instance
of two or more simultaneously sung notes.
But perhaps the most striking characteristic of Vedda music
is the apparent feeling for tonality. In every song a tonic note
is clearly present, which is, so to speak, the centre of gravity of
the melody, emphasi.sed by accent, duration, or frequency — a
note to which the melody seeks to return.
In the majority of songs of Groups A and B the melody
starts from the highest tone and proceeds (directly or by an
intermediate tone) to the tonic, which is consequently the lowest
tone. This description essentially holds, (i) for all the songs in
Group A, excepting the opening phrase of No. 38, which is
distinct from the rest ; (ii) for the twelve songs of Group B,
excepting Nos. 36 (2) and 37, where the tune ascends from the
tone below the highest before descending, and Nos. 14 (2) and
39 which ascend direct from the lowest (tonic) to the highest ;
and (iii) — but for the introduction of a leading note— for four of
the songs in Group C.
The close similarity between the various songs of Group A
is so obvious that no further comment is necessary to establish it.
It is not difficult to trace the development of many of the
songs of Group B from those of Group A. For example :
No. II (2).
No. 42.
0 " '
-r-f-r-r-r--
^ I — t- 1
No. 31 A.
MUSIC 23
r>om the last song, No. 31 A, there is an easy transition to
certain other songs of the same group, e.g. to
No. 31. No. 34 (2).
We can also indicate the relation between No. 42 of Group A
and five other songs of Group B.
No. 42.
No. 36(2). i
No. 37.
Again, No. 19 of Group A
by a change comparable to that occurring in the opening phrases
of No. 38 easily becomes
and this passes easily into No. 39 of group B : —
24
THE VEDDAS
The introduction of a fourth note into the melody is seen in
its most elementary form in the case of song No. 44^ Here, a
division into two phrases, A (modified at A^) and B, is clearly
possible. Of these B consists of three notes, and has the general
characters of the songs of Group B, while A contains the tonic,
the lowest tone of the phrase B, preceded by the tone below the
tonic, that is to say, by the leading-note. The use of the
leading-note is clearly foreshadowed in the opening phrase of
Song No. 38 in Group A. Four other songs in Group C,
Nos. 28, 34 (i), 51 and 5 (2), have a definite leading-note. In
Nos. 28, 34 (i) and 51, the leading-note is followed immediately
by the highest note, whence a descent is made to the tonic as in
the songs of Group B. Hence four of the songs in Group C
only differ in structure from those of Group B by the addition of
a leading-note.
No. 53 (i) is exceptional in that it starts from the tonic and
ascends by intermediate tones to the highest, whence a gradual
descent is made to the tonic. It is a Sinhalese song.
No. 26 (i) should perhaps be classed in Group B, — of so little
importance is the highest or fourth note introduced. Apart from
its opening phrase, it may be compared with Nos. 36 (2) and 37
of that group, both of which ascend from the note below the
highest, before descending to the tonic.
Only one other song of Group C remains unmentioned. And
this. No. 33, is extremely like No. 36 (2) of Group B, not only
in structure but in the curious rhythm. An unimportant semi-
tone is introduced beneath the tonic.
No. 36 (2).
I
No. 33.
There are so few tones in these songs that we can hardly
expect to meet with a strict division of the melody into phrases.
’ See transcript, p. 350.
MUSIC
25
Yet in songs Nos. 26 ( 1 ), 38, and 44 there arc opening phrases
distinct from the body of the song. And in No. 44 this opening
phrase (marked A in the transcript) is repeated in its original
(or, as at A\ in a modified) form during the song. The melody
is thus very easily divisible into a series of alternating phrases,
attaining a higher stage of development in this respect than any
other of the melodies under investigation. Nos. 26 (r) and 41
(both of which Dr Seligmann suspects to be of modern date)
have a short terminal phrase, clearly separable and differing in
character from the remainder of the song.
Conclusions and Comparisons.
In the Vedda music we seem to meet with the very
beginnings of melody-building. At the lowest stage (Group A)
we have a two-note song descending from the higher to the
lower tone. Then (in Group B) a third note is added higher in
pitcli than either of the preceding. Lastly (in Group C) a fourth
note is introduced, generally a tone below the tonic, the influence
of which throughout most of the songs is very clearly felt.
There is no other people in whose music the gradual con-
struction of melody on these simple lines can be discerned. If
we turn to Australian musich we usually meet, it is true, with
small intervals between successive tones, but the range of tones
throughout any one song is considerable. Among the American
Indians it is also rare to find a song consisting only of two notes.
Only four of the forty-three American Indian melodies collected
by Abraham and v. HornbosteL consist of two notes, and in
three-of these the interval is a neutral or minor third. Similar
results are yielded by the older collections of Baker^ and
StumpfL The music of the natives of New Guinea, Borneo and
Africa is decidedly more complex than that of the Veddas.
Turning to the music of Southern India, we find that only
two or three of thirteen phonographic records, obtained from
' Karl Hagen, Ucber d. Musik einiger Naturvolker, Hamburg, 1892.
Phonographirte Indianer Melodieen aus British Columbia, in the Boas Memorial
Volume, New York, 1906, pp. 447 — 474.
^ Ueher d. Musik d. nordamerik. IVilden, Leipzig, 1882.
Vierteljahrs, d. Musikzviss., 1886, S. 405 — 426.
26
THE VEDDAS
natives of Gujar, Malabar and Tanjore^ at all resemble in
simplicity the Vedda music. Five of them have a range of tones
compassing an octave, while three others range over a sixth. Of
the three most primitive songs one is a prayer, the other two
being children’s songs. It cannot be said that in general
character they very closely resemble the Vedda songs.
The intervals among the Veddas appear to have been
developed by the successive addition of small intervals to those
previously used. There are only two or three exceptional cases
[Nos. 20, 34 (2), 53 (i)] in which the added intervals are approxi-
mately equal to the original ; and these instances are possibly
accidental. In nearly all the remaining songs of Group B, the
additional third tone consists of approximately a semitone added
above the whole-tone interval which starts from the tonic. The
two intervals thus comprise a minor third. This minor third
tends to be smaller than our own tempered or untempered
interval. A major third occurs only in a single song, and a
neutral third is also only once sung. In Group C, the fourth,
when sung, is in most cases approximately true, although in one
song it is smaller, in another decidedly larger, than our own
tempered or untempered interval. A fifth occurs but in one
song and is distinctly smaller than ours.
We can only conclude from these data that in the absence of
musical instruments, musical intervals are by no means fixed
among the Veddas, and that this want of fixity becomes more
striking, the greater the number of notes introduced into the
song. In dealing with the songs of Group A, we were able to
range without difficulty the intervals under three heads. But
with the songs of Groups B and C such classification became
increasingly difficult and more uncertain.
From what we know of primitive music elsewhere, it was not
to be expected that the Veddas would sing pure minor or major
thirds. For a long time, even in European music, thirds were
regarded as dissonant. What does, however, seem unusual, is
that the fifth, in the one Vedda song in which it occurs, bears so
little re.semblance to the con.sonant interval which has the ratio
2 : 3. It is almost a quarter-tone flat. On the other hand, the
^ Saw/)ie!/>. d. in'ernat. Mns 7 k<^csel/sc/i. 1904, Bel v, S. 34S— 401.
MUSIC
27
fourth is several times sung nearly in the consonant ratio of
3 : 4. Inasmuch as the fifth is so much more consonant than the
fourth, we should have expected to have found its intonation
purer than the fourth.
For the same reason we might have expected to have found
the fifth preferred to the fourth, but the fifth only occurs in one
song, while the fourth is sung in several. But the intervals
of the Veddas appear to have been developed, as we have
already said, not by taking a harmonious interval and dividing
it into smaller intervals, but by starting with small (and un-
certain) intervals and adding further intervals to them. It is only
in the more advanced songs (and these are very few in number)
that relatively large intervals are sung. And here we appear
first to meet with the influence of harmony in fixing the size of
such consonant intervals. Despite the fact that to our ears
tonality is so well-marked throughout the Vedda songs, the
approximate consonance of intervals is only reached when the
two tones immediately succeed one another.
As regards the rhythm of the Vedda songs, it is noteworthy
that in Indian music Abraham and von Hornbostel found
frequent instances of the interpolation of a 3- or a 5-pulse
measure in music otherwise of common time. They note that
change of rhythm is “ so frequent that we are often unable to
detect any constant primary rhythm at all, but are compelled to
imagine a continual modification of measured” This remark is
applicable, as we have seen, to much of Vedda music, while in
other Indian and Vedda songs a definite rhythm can be readily
apprehended. In many parts of the world primitive music is
characterised by “a delight in change and opposition of rhythm,
and a demand that relatively long periods filled with measures
of diverse length be apprehended as an organic whole or
‘ phrase ’V’ This is a characteristic of several of the Vedda
songs.
^ op. cit. S. 398.
^ C. S. Myers, Brit. Joitrn. of Psychol. 1905, Vol. i, p. 405.
vCnmlniocif :
PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY. M.A.
A I THE UNIVER.SITY PRES.S