Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

9-2026

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Music

Advisor

Eliot Bates

Committee Members

Anaar Desai-Stephens

Peter Manuel

Antoni Pizà

Subject Categories

Ethnomusicology

Keywords

Nāgasvaram, nagaswaram, South India, Tamil nadu, tavil, music

Abstract

This dissertation is a study of nāgasvaram ensemble music in South India based on ethnographic research in Tamil Nadu conducted between 2022 and 2026. Drawing from observations of its various performance contexts and extensive interviews with contemporary practitioners, teachers, students, impresarios, and archivists, this study examines how the aesthetics, social contexts, and circulation of nāgasvaram ensemble music have evolved over the last four decades. Countering prevalent narratives of its decline and highlighting its endurance, I argue that this musical practice is undergoing a revival, both shaped by and contributing to ongoing social transformations.

Nāgasvaram ensembles featuring the double-reed woodwind instrument

nāgasvaram, and the double-headed drum, tavil, are believed to have existed for over a millennium. These ensembles have been central to South Indian Hindu temple worship, with key roles in religious rituals and festive celebrations, and have a more recent presence in classical music concerts. Since the early twentieth century, its practitioners have encountered exclusions due to their caste and class backgrounds. By the mid-twentieth century, loss of patronage and dwindling circulation undermined the livelihoods of many musicians. These developments, and the surrounding discourse that endured, fostered a widespread belief in the music’s long-term “decline” or “decay”. Studying the recent developments around nāgasvaram music has given essential insights into how music traditions adapt, how people ensure that marginalized traditions are not forgotten, and how music revivals can themselves serve as apparatuses to challenge social hierarchies. Focusing on a music that has been underrepresented in ethnomusicology, this project draws on a range of perspectives and contexts to provide a broader picture of how a longstanding music is positioned within society and what it reveals about the people connected to it.

This dissertation frames the revival of nāgasvaram music as a process of musical change, and as a medium of social change—a set of processes that unfold incrementally and inconsistently, sustained by the participation of its marginalized musicians, aspiring students, institutions, archivists, and listeners. These are driven by broader social change that influence participation and reception, targeted efforts to preserve and circulate the music, and the musicians’ individual motivations. I present case studies from the following contexts: Focusing on institutional settings for nāgasvaram and tavil instruction, I show that individuals from marginalized communities are now able to pursue new aspirational trajectories and construct middle-class identities by participating in this music. Through a discussion on young emerging professional nāgasvaram musicians, I show that they strengthen the relevance of this music, and challenge established narratives based on caste and gender. Analyzing various archival and promotion efforts, I show that individuals and special interest communities create new infrastructures via online platforms and advocacy, producing alternate memories and histories from within the nāgasvaram music ecosystem, thereby countering the dominant narrative of its decline. I argue that the resurgence of nāgasvaram ensemble music does not merely reflect a restoration of the past; it catalyzes social change, involving reconfigurations of the power structures of caste, class, and gender. I illustrate that, reciprocally, the endurance and revitalization of this longstanding music is a direct consequence of its historically marginalized practitioners resisting unfavorable hegemonies in newer ways. This ethnographic analysis of nāgasvaram music includes musical analyses of select original contributions of nāgasvaram/tavil musicians in melodic, rhythmic, and compositional realms, illustrating their relevance in the broader musical landscape of South India.

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