The educational, social, spiritual, health and innovative value of music

• In the western world, the arts are used widely in all areas of life. Music is used in the health sector for the betterment of individuals and society. It is used in hospitals by music therapists. The neurological effect of music has been studied widely. Music is an integrated art form with every cultural element from birth to death. Therefore, it cannot be isolated as an art form
• We are a nation that has experienced a three-decade-long civil war. We are also fully aware that all minority cultures represented in this land contribute significantly to Sri Lanka’s rich mosaic of ethnic, religious, linguistic, and other identities in constant and dynamic interactions. So, we should think of a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-ability society, rooted in the philosophy of love and compassion. We can show all these qualities through arts, especially music 

By Surya Vishwa

We feature today an interview with Dr. Lasanthi Manaranjanie, musician, ethnomusicologist and senior lecturer at the Department of Fine Arts, University of Kelaniya. She holds a doctorate in musicology from the Department of Musicology, University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. She received her first degree from the Department of Fine Arts, University of Kelaniya with First-Class Honours, and obtained the Master of Music (First Class), from the Faculty of Performing Arts, Banaras Hindu University, India.

She has represented Sri Lanka at the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD) since 2007 and is the Chair of the ICTMD-Sri Lanka National Committee. She will talk about this organisation later in the interview. 

This discussion with Dr. Manaranjanie is part of the overall goal of Harmony page to assist Sri Lanka to better mainstream all forms of arts into the economic and social tapestry of the country so that it could contribute economically and holistically to the wellbeing of the nation and the world at large. 

Excerpts:

Q: How did you get into music?

A: I took to music thanks to my father. He was a mathematics teacher, and recognised my musicality at a very early age. He encouraged me to follow the path that my heart desired. Following his guidance, and singing, humming, with a love for poetry, humour, whistling, and playing instruments I became a passionate singer. But my mother, also a teacher, strongly believed that singing is not sufficient without a good education and wanted me to learn music seriously. Thanks to them I am today in my chosen field. 

 

Q: You did your PhD in Slovenia? How did it happen? 

A: Yes. Let me start my musical journey from my formal education. I started music learning under guru P.A. Victor at Minuwangoda Central College and later became a disciple of Shantha Ramani Dias, Layanal Liyanawatta, and B. Victor Perera. Under their guidance, I won a gold medal for violin at the National School Music and Drama Competition organised by the Education Ministry, Sri Lanka and completed the Sangit and Vadya Visharad exams and became an auditioned classical violinist at the SLBC. I then followed my Master’s course at Banaras Hindu University, India and was a disciple of Prof. V. Balaji. Under his guidance, I completed the Master of Music degree.

Thereafter, I received a Chinese Government Scholarship to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music to read for my Ph.D. However, halfway through my study program in China, I got the opportunity to continue my doctoral studies at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. 

 

Q: Could you explain briefly the music heritage of China that you were exposed to?

A: Frankly, I did not study any Chinese traditional music during my two and a half year stay in Shanghai. The first year that I spent at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music was fully engaged in mastering the Chinese language, and the next year and a half were devoted for course work. Soon after, I left for Europe to continue my research. Nevertheless, Chinese music is very colourful, and is one of the oldest musical systems in the world. Mostly it is based on a pentatonic scale. Traditional Chinese Opera is a complete art form that we should separately discuss. The colour of the music is really wonderful and unique. There are many traditional musical instruments that I had wished to learn such as the Erhu or Pipa. For a Sri Lankan and Indian music specialist, Chinese music gives a whole new experience. Each musical culture has its own legacy, beauty, and pride, and should be studied deeply to understand people’s geographical, historical, ethnic, religious, economic, political, and other functional needs and values. 

 

Q: Could you speak about your PhD thesis chosen by you in China and later Slovenia; on music therapy and medical ethnomusicology?

A. My Ph.D. study lay under two scholarly streams, that of music therapy and medical ethnomusicology. Under the music therapy project, I had the opportunity to work with the Austrian Heart Association due to my co-supervisor; German psychotherapist, Prof. Wolfgang Mastnak. In that project, we were able to test the lowering of high blood pressure with Indian music. Under the second project, I did research on Sri Lankan healing rituals and their therapeutic potentials (medical ethnomusicological approach) under the supervision of Slovenian musicologist, Prof. Leon Stefanija. 

Q:  Could you explain about Slavic music traditions?

A: Slavic music traditions captured my heart after I moved to Slovenia. In Slovenia, I was able to travel intensely, and once when I was in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we visited a Bosnian music museum. For the first time in my life, I heard about Sevdah or Sevdalinka traditional songs there. It is an urban music tradition that anyone would love to sing. The singing style is unique. This music grabbed my heart instantly and led me to learn about the background of Sevdalinkas. I sang some Sevdalinka songs and eventually started to learn Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian, Russian, Ukrainian, Slovakian, and Macedonian folk song repertoires. I also became a member of the Cultural and Ethnomusicological Society Folk Slovenia and gave several concerts with Slavic traditional songs in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Russia, etc.

Q:  Arts, Culture, and Heritage are generally seen in Sri Lanka as outside the mainstream economic framework. It is the nightmare of most parents to think their child would take to the arts. The arts is considered as a sphere in which no economic progress could be made. The Harmony page is running a campaign to discuss the mainstreaming of all forms of arts into the economic structure and ideating beyond the usual route of tourism, wherever possible. In this context, could you explain how music is mainstreamed in countries such as Slovenia?

A: It is a real need in Sri Lanka to commence a discourse on mainstreaming the arts into the economic fabric so that there is more focused discussion on artistes being as economically sound as any other profession. Copyright issues to be protected should be given priority. This is a major gap that the Sri Lankan music industry should fill, that is strongly followed in European countries such as Slovenia. 

The other quality I was able to observe in Slovenia is that they promote their folk arts and culture by every means, including at parties, weddings, and public events. They love and are proud of their heritage, folk music, and dance cultures. A statute requires showcasing a certain percentage of Slovenian folk songs on TV stations. These are missing qualities in the Sri Lankan music industry.

In the western world, the arts are used widely in all areas of life. Music is used in the health sector for the betterment of individuals and society. It is used in hospitals by music therapists. The neurological effect of music has been studied widely. Music is an integrated art form with every cultural element from birth to death. Therefore, it cannot be isolated as an art form. 

An extraordinary practice that I was exposed to in Slovenia is how music and dance are utilised to improve the quality of lives of children with special needs. The State Musical Review of Children with Special Needs in Slovenia is an annually organised concert to showcase those children’s talents with support from the government. 

Another example I experienced in Slovenia is how music and dance can make a pleasant ground for elders living in elderly homes. Many senior citizens who live in such homes are not as happy as in their own homes. For various reasons, children today lodge their old parents in elderly care units. But we should see what kind of care they get. Anyway, my point is that with music, dance, and the arts we can improve elders’ mindset to find a pleasant ground in their unpleasant place, forgetting their loneliness, sadness, isolation, pain, and various health problems. Theresa A. Allison’s research in nursing homes is valuable to follow. 

These are good examples to learn and implement in Sri Lankan society to educate people while removing unwanted phobias, and give equal rights to minorities, in this context people with special needs and elders. 

Why do parents fear that their children would select arts streams for their higher studies? It is because many people do not have a clear idea about its capacity but rather, they think of overnight popularity and money. Music has an economic, educational, social, spiritual, health, and innovative value that people should explore. Popularity is not the key. The media should research and write about these aspects as you are doing now. 

Collaborative research on music and dance is extremely important not for the sake of a degree or any other achievement but for the sake of social good. In ethnomusicology, we name them applied ethnomusicology or engaged ethnomusicology. It is a bit away from instant wealth, popularity, and prestige. It is, of course, a time-consuming and energy-consuming task. These are qualities as an ethnomusicologist, researcher, and educator that I learned from Slovenia and in Europe. I believe, research in general enhances the quality of our society and improves personality, discipline, teamwork, patience, time management, punctuality, accuracy, genuineness, love, care, and dedication at a personal level. If our living background is healthy, happy, and equally fit, every being can be satisfied. The country at large should represent such a background by wise policy-making encouraging such actions. Research-backed policy making would assist in mainstreaming arts into the economy so that the economic uplift of a nation is not one that has a mere peripheral focus on the arts or cocooning it narrowly to represent only cultural events. 

 

Q:  How can Sri Lanka maximize the potential of humanistic communication including in tourism through music?

A: We are a nation that has experienced a three-decade-long civil war. We are also fully aware that all minority cultures represented in this land contribute significantly to Sri Lanka’s rich mosaic of ethnic, religious, linguistic, and other identities in constant and dynamic interactions. So, we should think of a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-ability society, rooted in the philosophy of love and compassion. We can show all these qualities through arts, especially music. Music/sound is a medium that can easily, meaningfully, and interestingly connect the world. What we do at the forthcoming international symposium of the University of Kelaniya is such a contribution. It intends to provide new knowledge and understanding of these processes, bringing to the forefront music, dance, and other cultural practices of various minority communities, including the Veddhas, Tamils, Moors, Malays, Burghers, and Kaffirs/Manjas, as well as Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. The international gathering we are planning provides a great opportunity to present the remarkable cultural diversity of Sri Lanka and our research results, to receive much-needed scholarly feedback, to learn about the relevant research carried out in other parts of the world, and to encourage new research avenues and cooperation for the future. 

 

Q:  Could you explain about the ICTMD and what it contributes to the world? 

A: It is a scholarly organisation that promotes the study, practice, documentation, and preservation of traditional music and dance in all countries and works in partnership with UNESCO. It was established in 1947 as IFMC (International Folk Music Council) and in 1981 its name was changed to the ICTM (International Council for Traditional Music), and this year to ICTMD (International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance). ICTMD is the world›s leading scholarly organisation on music and dance representing 132 counties and regions. VisitHome | International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ictmusic.org)for more information about the Council.

 

Q:  What is the significance of the 12th ICTMD symposium to be held in Sri Lanka and what does it augur for tourism this Christmas season?

A: The Department of Fine Arts, University of Kelaniya is organising the 12th Symposium of the ICTMD›s study group on Music and Minorities with a joint day with the study group on indigenous music and dance. The event is scheduled from 4-9 December 2023 and would be participated by 60 scholars around the world representingAustria, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, the UK, and the USA. Most  musicians and researchers in music show interest in visiting Sri Lanka to participate in the symposium.

When I came up with the idea of hosting this international symposium in Sri Lanka, Christmas was the highlight in my mind. As it is winter in Europe, the Europeans may be attracted to come to Sri Lanka to engage in this scholarly gathering, spending their year-end holidays in Sri Lanka. One can visualise this as a tourism-promoting action. This is the reason the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) and Sri Lanka Conventional Bureau (SLCB) have given us, the University of Kelaniya, the biggest support to organise this international event in Sri Lanka. On behalf of the Department of Fine Arts and the University of Kelaniya, I take this opportunity to thank the SLTPB and the SLCB for their excellent support in promoting tourism this Christmas season. 

Q: What other assistance do you need to make this event a success?

A: You can imagine what the Department of Fine Arts of the University of Kelaniya may need to organise such a huge international symposium! To name a few, we need to pay minority musicians to come to Colombo to showcase their musical heritage. It is a lot. The other main thing is the transport facility for the post-symposium day excursion on 9 December. We plan to take our foreign delegates to Mahiyanganaya to give them firsthand experience of our indigenous Veddha culture, music, dance, food, and other values. When researchers visit Sri Lanka to engage in an international symposium focused on minority and indigenous music and dance, it is our duty to showcase those cultures as much as possible. The ongoing economic crisis in the country hit us badly, but we are receiving some generous people›s and companies› support which we appreciate very much. The public can get an idea about the symposium at this link: ICTMD Symposium (kln.ac.lk) I take this opportunity to invite any sponsor who wishes to support this initiative financially or materially to contact us. Thank you very much for posing this question.