Sikh Music in Bangkok: The Sangeetacharya Band

Abstract

The objective of this research is to study Sikh Sangeetacharya Band in Bangkok, with regards to their background, their performances of music to accompany devotional hymns, their musical knowledge learning and transmission and their musical art. It was found that Sikhs from Punjab state in India have migrated to Thailand since the reign of King Rama V (1868-1910).The first Sikh temple was founded in Ban Moh district, Bangkok and the Sikh association was established in 1932 to be a center of religious activities. The important identity of the Sikhs, which they strictly observe, is their musical accompaniment to hymns performed every day and at every stage of their lives. Concerning musical knowledge, the Sangeetacharya members have to learn Gurmat Sangeet, which emphasizes the musical performance to accompany hymns from sacred scriptures. To transmit this knowledge, those who are interested in learning the music can enroll in courses taught by the musical masters of the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Sikh Association; they first learn prayers from the sacred scriptures. Instruments used to create the music used with the chants are the sitar, mandolin, harmonium and tabla drums.