Chutney music
Encyclopedia
Chutney music is a form indigenous to the southern Caribbean
, originating in Trinidad
. It derives elements from traditional Indian music and popular Trinidadian Soca
music.
people whose ancestors were are from Bihar
, Uttar Pradesh
, Bengal
and the South Indian area around Madras. They were taken as indentured servant
s by the British to replace laborers on sugar plantations after emancipation. Chutney music was established in the 1940s within temples, wedding houses, and cane fields of the Indo-Caribbean
. There were no recordings until 1958 when Randeo Chaitoe of Suriname, a small country in South America, recorded an early rendition of Chutney music. The album was titled King of Suriname and all of the songs were religious in nature. However, he soon became a household name with East Indians not just in Suriname
, but throughout the Caribbean
. Although the songs were religious, they had a dance vibe throughout each track. For the first time Indo Caribbeans had music that spoke to them and was not not Indian, or European/American in style. This was a breakthrough for East Indian Caribbean music but the fame was short lived.
Chutney music exploded again in 1968 with a woman named Dropati
. She released an album titled Let's Sing & Dance which was made up of traditional wedding songs. These songs became huge pop hits within the East Indian Caribbean community. The album gained recognition for Chutney Music
as a legitimate art form and united the East Indians of the Caribbean regardless of their birth place.
1970 was the biggest turning point for Chutney Music
because of Sundar Popo
. He modernized the music by including western guitars and early electronics into his music. Sundar Popo
became known as the "King of Chutney." Other artists, such as Nisha Benjamin, followed in his footsteps by adding new modern instrumentation into their music.
The 1980s saw more evolution within the genre. Chutmey Artists started to fuse Calypso
, Soca
and American Rhythm & Blues into their music, changing the name to Indian Soca. A young female artist named Drupatee Ramgoonai
from Trinidad
emerged from this new scene. In the beginning she was criticized for being dutty, (rude or crude in creole), because she wrote about sex and alcohol. This was nothing new, as she in the footsteps of other Calypsonians, where they sing about issues in their life or what is happening within the community. Nevertheless, the criticism did not affect Drupatee and she was later given the title "Queen of Chutney." By the end of the 1980s Chutney Music
went global and was introduced in Indian films. Even in Holland, a new artist, Atiya
, emerged on the Chutney scene.
Starting in the 1990s Chutney music's popularity started to grow out of the Caribbean islands. The United States and Canada started to pick up Chutney artists for their recording companies. These included the hugely successful Jamaican Me Crazy (JMC) Records, Spice Island Records, Mohabir Records & JTS Productions. The establishment of nightclubs such as Soca Paradise and Calypso City in New York and Connections and Calypso Hut in Toronto, coupled with these new recording companies were all factors instrumental in promoting Indo-Caribbean music overseas and in the West Indies for they provided the necessary outlets for the music to grow.
The modern chutney artist writes lyrics in either Hindi
, Bhojpuri or English and then lays it on top of beats that come from Indian beats from the dholak mixed with the Soca beat.
Chutney is an uptempo song, accompanied by electric guitar
, synthesizer
, dholak
, harmonium
, and dhantal
, tassa drums played in rhythms imported from filmi
, calypso
or soca
. Early chutney was religious in nature sung by mainly women in Trinidad and Tobago. Chutney is unusual in the predominance of female musicians in its early years, though it has since become mixed.
Chutney artists include Rikki Jai
, Rakesh Yankaran
, Devanand Gattoo, Nisha Benjamin, Heeralal Rampartap
and the late Ramdew Chaitoe
, who composed the Surinamese based Baithak Gana in his album The Star Melodies of Ramdew Chaitoe. Among the best known examples of chutney music are Sundar Popo
's Pholourie Bein Chutney or Sundar Popo's first recorded song "Nani And Nana", Sonny Mann's Lotalal, Vedesh Sookoo's Dhal Belly Indian, Anand Yankaran's Jo Jo, Neeshan 'D Hitman' Prabhoo's Mr. Shankar Ravi B's Rum Is Meh Lova and Rikki Jai
's Mor Tor.
The nature of current chutney songs are simple. They Speak about life and love for many things, whether that love is for a significant other or for an object of possession. Some Chutney songs favor the topic of food or drink, however like most West Indian music, normally there can be a hidden message found in the song if you were to read between the lines.
, dhantal
and harmonium
. The melody of the music is provided by the harmonium, and the dholak and dhantal for the rhythm. More modernly, drum machines playing tassa
have been incorporated into chutney as well. Tassa is drumming used in the Muslim Hosay
festival.
. As chutney music comes from the Indian culture, it is only natural some of the languages are from India. Traditionally speaking, the lyrics of chutney are religious, but that has changed over the years. In modern chutney music, including the newer subgenres, the lyrics have evolved to be more contemporary.
, roughly 40% of the country's population is of Indian descent, another 40% of African descent, and the remaining 20% composed of a mix of European, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and other ancestry. This has allowed chutney to fuse with other genres and/or implement new instruments into its own style, creating an array of syncretic subgenres including ragga chutney, chutney-bhangra, chutney hip-hop, soca-bhangra, and chutney soca.
Chutney soca is the most notable of these, as it has become virtually indistinguishable from what is considered normal chutney in recent years. Drupatee Ramgoonai
coined the term with the release of her album, "Chatnee Soca," in 1987. The style had an emphasis on Hindi lyrics and the beats of the dholak
and dhantal
. It was further popularized by the 1994 album, "Soca Chutney," by Sonny Mann. It was credited as the best selling Indo-Caribbean album ever, with its title track hitting the top of charts not only in the Caribbean, but in the United States, Canada, and England.
Modern chutney soca, like many chutney subgenres, has incorporated more use of keyboards, drum machines, and other electronic instruments.
Chutney-style dancing was mainly performed by lower-class women during certain parts of formal weddings. In countries like Guyana
and Suriname
(residing on the northern border of South America), similar rituals were performed by male dancers. Men from Guyana created these chutney-style dance moves during the 1950s; through folk songs and other up-tempo songs. During weddings, men would dance in this chutney style with either each other or with launda (male cross-dressers).
The chamars (men of the lower class), were recognized for their jhatke ki nach (hip dancing). This dance would occur the night before a wedding ceremony, where the groom's company would pick their best dancer to perform. Over time, these skilled dancers became highly praised. Groups of people began to place bets on their favorite dancers; with the winner being judged on overall agreement by the audience. These competitions would often lead to fights that would end in the destruction of the whole wedding' lasting for hours upon hours.
Although it was around, the chutney dance style had little in common with the music going on around these countries. Instead, the style revolved around basic gestures; combining hand, arm, and pelvic movements. A common dance involves one hand being held behind the person's back; with the other hand placed on the top of their head. This set of moves can be utilized with an assortment of improvised and traditional styles. To people who are unfamiliar with chutney dance, certain gestures performed by men (as well as women) might appear "unmanly," but to those familiar with the style, these movements are typical of men and women (where sexual expression and grace are not viewed as unacceptable).
Social restrictions on dance occurred over a period of several decades. Guyanese female dancers began to perform rajdhar dance in public; even though it was considered to be socially unacceptable. Their rise in popularity helped to loosen these restrictions for generations to come. The gradual acceptance of men and women dancing in the same space is just as important. In the past, a man who danced with women at a wedding or other event would have been considered "unmanly," while a woman who danced with men would be considered to have "weak," morals. By the 1960s and 1970s, such ways of thought dissipated in Trinidad; which in turn, impacted countries such as Guyana and Suriname mentioned above. Many Indo-Caribbean private weddings came to include chutney-style dancing performed by women and some men with encouragement for the audience to do the same.
The rise of chutney music as a popular dance genre can be credited to Sham and Moean Mohammed; two Trinidadian music promoters who set up several successful shows for many Surinamese artists that performed up-tempo chutney music during the early 1960's. Sundar Popo
, one of the Mohammed brother's pupils, became very successful in 1970 with his hit Nana and Nani, along with other light, chutney-style songs. However, the true rise of popularity for chutney music occurred during the mid-1980s, when Mohammed brother sponsored chutney dance competitions became extremely popular; which hundreds of dancers attended. Because of the widespread popularity, most sexually segregated connotations about social dance etiquette were removed. Most men and women decided that the genre's dance style was simply way too fun to be restricted by social norms.
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, originating in Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
. It derives elements from traditional Indian music and popular Trinidadian Soca
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
music.
History
This contemporary fusion of genres was created by Indo-CaribbeanIndo-Caribbean
Indo-Caribbean people or Indo-Caribbeans are Caribbean people with roots in India or the Indian subcontinent. They are mostly descendants of the original indentured workers brought by the British, the Dutch and the French during colonial times...
people whose ancestors were are from Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
and the South Indian area around Madras. They were taken as indentured servant
Indentured servant
Indentured servitude refers to the historical practice of contracting to work for a fixed period of time, typically three to seven years, in exchange for transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities during the term of indenture. Usually the father made the arrangements and signed...
s by the British to replace laborers on sugar plantations after emancipation. Chutney music was established in the 1940s within temples, wedding houses, and cane fields of the Indo-Caribbean
Indo-Caribbean
Indo-Caribbean people or Indo-Caribbeans are Caribbean people with roots in India or the Indian subcontinent. They are mostly descendants of the original indentured workers brought by the British, the Dutch and the French during colonial times...
. There were no recordings until 1958 when Randeo Chaitoe of Suriname, a small country in South America, recorded an early rendition of Chutney music. The album was titled King of Suriname and all of the songs were religious in nature. However, he soon became a household name with East Indians not just in Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
, but throughout the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. Although the songs were religious, they had a dance vibe throughout each track. For the first time Indo Caribbeans had music that spoke to them and was not not Indian, or European/American in style. This was a breakthrough for East Indian Caribbean music but the fame was short lived.
Chutney music exploded again in 1968 with a woman named Dropati
Dropati
Considered by many to be the mother of modern day Chutney music, Dropati was introduced to Indians in the Caribbean by way of her album, Let's Sing and Dance...
. She released an album titled Let's Sing & Dance which was made up of traditional wedding songs. These songs became huge pop hits within the East Indian Caribbean community. The album gained recognition for Chutney Music
Chutney music
Chutney music is a form indigenous to the southern Caribbean, originating in Trinidad. It derives elements from traditional Indian music and popular Trinidadian Soca music.-History:...
as a legitimate art form and united the East Indians of the Caribbean regardless of their birth place.
1970 was the biggest turning point for Chutney Music
Chutney music
Chutney music is a form indigenous to the southern Caribbean, originating in Trinidad. It derives elements from traditional Indian music and popular Trinidadian Soca music.-History:...
because of Sundar Popo
Sundar Popo
Sundar Popo was a Chutney musician from Trinidad and Tobago. He popularised Chutney music, beginning with his 1970 hit Nana and Nani.-Biography:...
. He modernized the music by including western guitars and early electronics into his music. Sundar Popo
Sundar Popo
Sundar Popo was a Chutney musician from Trinidad and Tobago. He popularised Chutney music, beginning with his 1970 hit Nana and Nani.-Biography:...
became known as the "King of Chutney." Other artists, such as Nisha Benjamin, followed in his footsteps by adding new modern instrumentation into their music.
The 1980s saw more evolution within the genre. Chutmey Artists started to fuse Calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
, Soca
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
and American Rhythm & Blues into their music, changing the name to Indian Soca. A young female artist named Drupatee Ramgoonai
Drupatee Ramgoonai
Drupatee Ramgoonai is a Trinidadian chutney and chutney soca musician from Penal. She had her biggest hit in 1988 when her " Mr. Bissessar" was a Road March contender.Drupatee Ramgoonai was born in Penal, Trinidad...
from Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
emerged from this new scene. In the beginning she was criticized for being dutty, (rude or crude in creole), because she wrote about sex and alcohol. This was nothing new, as she in the footsteps of other Calypsonians, where they sing about issues in their life or what is happening within the community. Nevertheless, the criticism did not affect Drupatee and she was later given the title "Queen of Chutney." By the end of the 1980s Chutney Music
Chutney music
Chutney music is a form indigenous to the southern Caribbean, originating in Trinidad. It derives elements from traditional Indian music and popular Trinidadian Soca music.-History:...
went global and was introduced in Indian films. Even in Holland, a new artist, Atiya
Atiya
Atiya is a village in the municipality of Sozopol, in Burgas Province, in southeastern Bulgaria.-References:...
, emerged on the Chutney scene.
Starting in the 1990s Chutney music's popularity started to grow out of the Caribbean islands. The United States and Canada started to pick up Chutney artists for their recording companies. These included the hugely successful Jamaican Me Crazy (JMC) Records, Spice Island Records, Mohabir Records & JTS Productions. The establishment of nightclubs such as Soca Paradise and Calypso City in New York and Connections and Calypso Hut in Toronto, coupled with these new recording companies were all factors instrumental in promoting Indo-Caribbean music overseas and in the West Indies for they provided the necessary outlets for the music to grow.
The modern chutney artist writes lyrics in either Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Bhojpuri or English and then lays it on top of beats that come from Indian beats from the dholak mixed with the Soca beat.
Chutney is an uptempo song, accompanied by electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, dholak
Dholak
The Dholak is a North Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese double-headed hand-drum Madal. The name dholki may also refer to a slightly different instrument that uses high-pitch tabla style syahi masala on its treble skin. This instrument is also known as Naal or Dholki....
, harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
, and dhantal
Dhantal
The dhantal is a long steel rod which was adapted from the axle used to connect the yokes of the bullocks that transported the cane-filled carts on the estates in Trinidad and Tobago. The metal horseshoe used on the estate's horses and mules was used to strike the dhantal. In this way the dhantal...
, tassa drums played in rhythms imported from filmi
Filmi
Filmi is Indian popular music as written and performed for Indian cinema. Music directors make up the main body of composers; the songs are performed by playback singers and it makes up 72% of the music sales in India....
, calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
or soca
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
. Early chutney was religious in nature sung by mainly women in Trinidad and Tobago. Chutney is unusual in the predominance of female musicians in its early years, though it has since become mixed.
Chutney artists include Rikki Jai
Rikki Jai
Rikki Jai is an Trinidadian chutney-soca artiste born Samraj Jaimungal in Friendship Village, San Fernando.-Career:Jai's 1988 debut single Sumintra told the tale of an Indo-Trinidadian woman from Debe who informed her boyfriend of her preference for soca over the music of Indian artist Lata...
, Rakesh Yankaran
Rakesh Yankaran
Rakesh Yankaran, nicknamed "The Raja" is an award-winning chutney musician from Trinidad and Tobago. He is the son of classical Indian musician Isaac Yankaran and brother of chutney musician Anand Yankaran....
, Devanand Gattoo, Nisha Benjamin, Heeralal Rampartap
Heeralal Rampartap
Heeralal Rampartap is an Indo-Trinidadian entertainer. He has repeatedly produced hits and has won numerous awards both locally and internationally. He is a three-time International Chutney Soca Monarch — in 1997, 2003 and 2005 — and the National Chutney Monarch of 2002 and 2003...
and the late Ramdew Chaitoe
Ramdew Chaitoe
Ramdew Chaitoe was a Surinamese artist and a harmonium player, who released a Chutney/Baithak Gana album called, "The King Of Suriname a.k.a The Star Of Ramdew Chaitoe" in 1967....
, who composed the Surinamese based Baithak Gana in his album The Star Melodies of Ramdew Chaitoe. Among the best known examples of chutney music are Sundar Popo
Sundar Popo
Sundar Popo was a Chutney musician from Trinidad and Tobago. He popularised Chutney music, beginning with his 1970 hit Nana and Nani.-Biography:...
's Pholourie Bein Chutney or Sundar Popo's first recorded song "Nani And Nana", Sonny Mann's Lotalal, Vedesh Sookoo's Dhal Belly Indian, Anand Yankaran's Jo Jo, Neeshan 'D Hitman' Prabhoo's Mr. Shankar Ravi B's Rum Is Meh Lova and Rikki Jai
Rikki Jai
Rikki Jai is an Trinidadian chutney-soca artiste born Samraj Jaimungal in Friendship Village, San Fernando.-Career:Jai's 1988 debut single Sumintra told the tale of an Indo-Trinidadian woman from Debe who informed her boyfriend of her preference for soca over the music of Indian artist Lata...
's Mor Tor.
The nature of current chutney songs are simple. They Speak about life and love for many things, whether that love is for a significant other or for an object of possession. Some Chutney songs favor the topic of food or drink, however like most West Indian music, normally there can be a hidden message found in the song if you were to read between the lines.
Instrumentation
Chutney music is typically played with the dholakDholak
The Dholak is a North Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese double-headed hand-drum Madal. The name dholki may also refer to a slightly different instrument that uses high-pitch tabla style syahi masala on its treble skin. This instrument is also known as Naal or Dholki....
, dhantal
Dhantal
The dhantal is a long steel rod which was adapted from the axle used to connect the yokes of the bullocks that transported the cane-filled carts on the estates in Trinidad and Tobago. The metal horseshoe used on the estate's horses and mules was used to strike the dhantal. In this way the dhantal...
and harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
. The melody of the music is provided by the harmonium, and the dholak and dhantal for the rhythm. More modernly, drum machines playing tassa
Tassa
Tassa is a form of kettle drum, presumably of Persian derivation. Tassa drums are widespread all over India. Typically, one or more tassa drums are played together with a heavy bass drum called dhol, perhaps along with brass cymbals or a metal shaker...
have been incorporated into chutney as well. Tassa is drumming used in the Muslim Hosay
Hosay
Hosay or Tadjah is a West Indian commemoration, in which multi-colored model mausoleums are paraded, then ritually offered up to the sea, or any body of water...
festival.
Languages
Chutney music is sung in English, Hindi and BhojpuriBhojpuri language
Bhojpuri is a language spoken in parts of north-central and eastern India. It is spoken in the western part of state of Bihar, the northwestern part of Jharkhand, and the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh , as well as adjoining parts of the Nepal Terai. Bhojpuri is also spoken in Guyana,...
. As chutney music comes from the Indian culture, it is only natural some of the languages are from India. Traditionally speaking, the lyrics of chutney are religious, but that has changed over the years. In modern chutney music, including the newer subgenres, the lyrics have evolved to be more contemporary.
Subgenres
The origin of chutney being in the Caribbean has meant that it's been in close contact with different peoples, traditions, and other musical styles since its inception. According to the government of Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, roughly 40% of the country's population is of Indian descent, another 40% of African descent, and the remaining 20% composed of a mix of European, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and other ancestry. This has allowed chutney to fuse with other genres and/or implement new instruments into its own style, creating an array of syncretic subgenres including ragga chutney, chutney-bhangra, chutney hip-hop, soca-bhangra, and chutney soca.
Chutney soca is the most notable of these, as it has become virtually indistinguishable from what is considered normal chutney in recent years. Drupatee Ramgoonai
Drupatee Ramgoonai
Drupatee Ramgoonai is a Trinidadian chutney and chutney soca musician from Penal. She had her biggest hit in 1988 when her " Mr. Bissessar" was a Road March contender.Drupatee Ramgoonai was born in Penal, Trinidad...
coined the term with the release of her album, "Chatnee Soca," in 1987. The style had an emphasis on Hindi lyrics and the beats of the dholak
Dholak
The Dholak is a North Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese double-headed hand-drum Madal. The name dholki may also refer to a slightly different instrument that uses high-pitch tabla style syahi masala on its treble skin. This instrument is also known as Naal or Dholki....
and dhantal
Dhantal
The dhantal is a long steel rod which was adapted from the axle used to connect the yokes of the bullocks that transported the cane-filled carts on the estates in Trinidad and Tobago. The metal horseshoe used on the estate's horses and mules was used to strike the dhantal. In this way the dhantal...
. It was further popularized by the 1994 album, "Soca Chutney," by Sonny Mann. It was credited as the best selling Indo-Caribbean album ever, with its title track hitting the top of charts not only in the Caribbean, but in the United States, Canada, and England.
Modern chutney soca, like many chutney subgenres, has incorporated more use of keyboards, drum machines, and other electronic instruments.
Chutney & Dance
While the music is the most vital part of this genre, the dance aspect of Chutney is just as important.Chutney-style dancing was mainly performed by lower-class women during certain parts of formal weddings. In countries like Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
and Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
(residing on the northern border of South America), similar rituals were performed by male dancers. Men from Guyana created these chutney-style dance moves during the 1950s; through folk songs and other up-tempo songs. During weddings, men would dance in this chutney style with either each other or with launda (male cross-dressers).
The chamars (men of the lower class), were recognized for their jhatke ki nach (hip dancing). This dance would occur the night before a wedding ceremony, where the groom's company would pick their best dancer to perform. Over time, these skilled dancers became highly praised. Groups of people began to place bets on their favorite dancers; with the winner being judged on overall agreement by the audience. These competitions would often lead to fights that would end in the destruction of the whole wedding' lasting for hours upon hours.
Although it was around, the chutney dance style had little in common with the music going on around these countries. Instead, the style revolved around basic gestures; combining hand, arm, and pelvic movements. A common dance involves one hand being held behind the person's back; with the other hand placed on the top of their head. This set of moves can be utilized with an assortment of improvised and traditional styles. To people who are unfamiliar with chutney dance, certain gestures performed by men (as well as women) might appear "unmanly," but to those familiar with the style, these movements are typical of men and women (where sexual expression and grace are not viewed as unacceptable).
Social restrictions on dance occurred over a period of several decades. Guyanese female dancers began to perform rajdhar dance in public; even though it was considered to be socially unacceptable. Their rise in popularity helped to loosen these restrictions for generations to come. The gradual acceptance of men and women dancing in the same space is just as important. In the past, a man who danced with women at a wedding or other event would have been considered "unmanly," while a woman who danced with men would be considered to have "weak," morals. By the 1960s and 1970s, such ways of thought dissipated in Trinidad; which in turn, impacted countries such as Guyana and Suriname mentioned above. Many Indo-Caribbean private weddings came to include chutney-style dancing performed by women and some men with encouragement for the audience to do the same.
The rise of chutney music as a popular dance genre can be credited to Sham and Moean Mohammed; two Trinidadian music promoters who set up several successful shows for many Surinamese artists that performed up-tempo chutney music during the early 1960's. Sundar Popo
Sundar Popo
Sundar Popo was a Chutney musician from Trinidad and Tobago. He popularised Chutney music, beginning with his 1970 hit Nana and Nani.-Biography:...
, one of the Mohammed brother's pupils, became very successful in 1970 with his hit Nana and Nani, along with other light, chutney-style songs. However, the true rise of popularity for chutney music occurred during the mid-1980s, when Mohammed brother sponsored chutney dance competitions became extremely popular; which hundreds of dancers attended. Because of the widespread popularity, most sexually segregated connotations about social dance etiquette were removed. Most men and women decided that the genre's dance style was simply way too fun to be restricted by social norms.