カースト競合の「場」としてのカリスマ的演奏家 : T. N. ラージャラッティナム・ピッライと南インド古典音楽文化

Tiruvavadudurai N. Rajarattinam Pillai (1898-1956) was an undisputedmaster of the nagasvaram (a double-reed aerophone) in SouthIndian classical music. Because of his exceptional musicality and colorfulpersonal life, Rajarattinam Pillai has commanded attention from,and exerted tremendous influence over, other performers, connoisseurs,and patrons, both during and after his lifetime. In this article, I documentthe heterogeneous interpretations of Rajarattinam Pillai by thethree prominent caste groups of musicians and patrons: Brahmans, IsaiV lalars and Maruttuvars. By doing so, I aim to demonstrate that theidentity of their musical traditions is contested through the act of interpretingRajarattinam Pillai's music and life. The relationship betweenthese three groups is highly ambivalent and sensitive, and the existence oftheir rivalry and conflict is widely acknowledged but seldom discussedpublicly or written about.Classical music in South India is divided into two traditions today:Periya Melam music and Karnataka music. Periya Melam is a genre ofinstrumental music which accompanies daily worship and calendricalfestivals at Hindu temples as well as lifecycle rituals such as weddings.The ensemble features nagasvaram of which Rajarattinam Pillai was amaster and the tavil (double-headed drum) . Karnataka music ensemblemost typically features a vocalist accompanied by a violinist and amridangam (drum) player, and is performed most prominently in con-cert-hall recitals.I aim to inquire how the discourse on Rajarattinam Pillai is sociallyand politically significant in South Indian music culture, instead ofyielding to the notion that the genius is a self-complete unit for analysis,and asking only what musical features make this particular individual agenius. The changing positions of the three groups examined in this articlein social and musical hierarchy can be identified as simultaneouslyaffecting and reflecting the interpretation of Rajarattinam Pillai.For Brahmans, the trenchant attack on Brahmanical culture in thenon-Brahman sociopolitical movements during this century generatedthe need to establish a cultural arena in which to ascertain their threatenedidentity and to maintain moral superiority. Constructed with anecdotesof Rajarattinam Pillai, their perception of Isai Vlalars as corrupt,uneducated and unrefined has provided Brahmans with an effectivepretext for refusing non-Brahmans due public recognition, and hastherefore enabled Brahmans to project Karnataka music as their owncultural arena.The Isai Vlalars find in Rajarattinam Pillai a means of symboliccultural resistance to Brahman hegemony. Although their counter interpretationsare rarely advanced face to face with Brahmans to avoidretaliation, Isai Trlalars can maintain pride in their own musical heritageand even a sense of musical superiority by projecting the image of RajarattinamPillai as a musician with unprecedented talent who foughtagainst Brahman dominance. The discourse on Rajarattinam Pillai alsoserves to legitimize the drastic changes in Periya Melam music during hislifetime and its increasing alienation from the original ritual performancecontext.Analysis of the differences in interpretation of Rajarattinam Pillaibetween Isai Vlalars and Maruttuvars reveals some aspects of the complexinterplay between dominant and subordinate discourses. The appropriationof the primacy of vocal music by Isai Velalars for maintaininga superior position to the Maruttuvar musicians has the effect of reinforcingBrahman appropriation of the same aspect of music against IsaiVlalars themselves. This unwitting endorsement and reinforcement ofdominant discourse is not uncommon among subordinate groups.While the non-Brahman musicians criticize the tendency for preferentialtreatment of Brahman musicians by Brahman-controlled organizations,once they are individually given benefits, such as performance opportunities,awards and musical titles, from the same organizations, theprestige associated with organizations is often utilized to establish theirsuperior position against other members.As Hobsbawm and Ranger's important study, Invention of Culture(1983) , and many others inspired by it inform us, the past is used for themanipulation of the present. In order to account for, justify, understand,and criticize the present, the past is selectively appropriated,remembered, forgotten or invented. Multiple interpretations of RajarattinamPillai reflect and embody the distribution and exercise of power inSouth Indian music culture, as the polysemy of his charisma derivesfrom, and corresponds to, the conflicting yet interdependent relationshipsbetween Brahmans and non-Brahmans and between non-Brahmangroups. Rajarattinam Pillai serves as a site of contestation where amultitude of interpretations are accorded to his attributes for thelegitimization of one's desired position and for securing one's identity.