Kirtan
Encyclopedia
Kirtan or Kirtana is call-and-response
chant
ing or "responsory
" performed in India's devotional traditions
. A person performing kirtan is known as a kirtankar. Kirtan practice involves chanting hymns or mantra
s to the accompaniment of instruments such as the harmonium, tablas, the two-headed mrdanga
or pakawaj drum, and karatal hand cymbals. It is a major practice in Vaisnava devotionalism, Sikhism
, the Sant
traditions, and some forms of Buddhism
, as well as other religious groups.
states that great souls worship and glorify him single mindedly. In Maharashtra state of India Kirtan is a unique devotional solo performance and theatrical folk art which accompanies spiritual story telling along with call-and-response
chant
ing or "responsory
" that most of the times includes combinations of multiple element of Performing arts
. Narada
is considered originator of this tradition. The practice of kirtan was popularized as a means to this end in the Hindu devotional revival of the Moghul era.
The Varkari
saint Namdev
(c. 1270–1350), a Shudra
tailor, used the kirtan form of singing to praise the glory of god Vithoba
.
In the early 16th century CE Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
traveled throughout India, popularizing Krishna sankirtan.
of Kirtan or Gurmat Sangeet
was started by Guru Nanak at Kartarpur
in the early 16th century and was strengthened by his successors, particularly Guru Arjan, at Amritsar
. In spite of several interruptions, kirtan continues to be performed at the Golden Temple
and other historical Gurdwara
s.
Sikh
s refer to a hymn or section of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib
(SGGS) as a Shabad . The first shabad in the SGGS is the Mool Mantar. The hymns are arranged in chapters named after musical ragas, all the shabads in any chapter to be sung to that particular raga with due attention to tala
and dhuni
(See also Sikh music
).
, Kerala
and Tamil Nadu
. It means "Hymn sung in the praise of God".
Paramhansa Yogananda was an early proponent of kirtan in the west, chanting Guru Nanak Dev
Ji's Hey Hari Sundara ("Oh God Beautiful") with 3,000 people at Carnegie Hall
in 1923. Kirtan became more common with the spread of Gaudiya Vaishnavism
by ISKCON's founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
in the 1960s. Kirtan is currently growing in popularity in the West, with singers of Western kirtan including Krishna Das, Bhagavan Das and Jai Uttal
as well as Snatam Kaur
, Lokah Music
, Deva Premal
and Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits
. Yoga centers report an increase in attendance at kirtan. According to Pure Music’s Frank Goodman, kirtan, like the unpredictable rise and rejuvenation of the many forms of yoga in recent years, is everywhere now and there is a growing number of people flocking to the kirtan scene.
In ISKCON, the term sankirtan is also used to refer to preaching activities, such as distribution of religious literature to the public.
Call and response (music)
In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first...
chant
Chant
Chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures Chant (from French chanter) is the rhythmic speaking or singing...
ing or "responsory
Responsory
-Definition:The most general of a responsory is any psalm, canticle, or other sacred musical work sung responsorially, that is, with a cantor or small group singing verses while the whole choir or congregation respond with a refrain. However, this article focuses on those chants of the western...
" performed in India's devotional traditions
Bhakti movement
The Bhakti movement is a Hindu religious movement in which the main spiritual practice is loving devotion among the Shaivite and Vaishnava saints. The Bhakti movement originated in ancient Tamil Nadu and began to spread to the north during the late medieval ages when north India was under Islamic...
. A person performing kirtan is known as a kirtankar. Kirtan practice involves chanting hymns or mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
s to the accompaniment of instruments such as the harmonium, tablas, the two-headed mrdanga
Mrdanga
A mrdanga is a double ended East Indian drum similar to the South Indian mridangam. It is used predominantly in Gaudiya, or Bengali Vaishnava devotional music, and especially in kirtan....
or pakawaj drum, and karatal hand cymbals. It is a major practice in Vaisnava devotionalism, Sikhism
Sikhism
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
, the Sant
Sant
Sant is an Indian term derived from a Sanskrit verb that means both "to be good" and "to be real". From the fifteenth century the term has often referred to those who sing the name of God and worship Him, particularly the bhakti poets of Marathi...
traditions, and some forms of Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, as well as other religious groups.
Kirtan and the Bhakti movement
In the Bhagavad-gita (9.13-9.14) KrishnaKrishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
states that great souls worship and glorify him single mindedly. In Maharashtra state of India Kirtan is a unique devotional solo performance and theatrical folk art which accompanies spiritual story telling along with call-and-response
Call and response (music)
In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first...
chant
Chant
Chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures Chant (from French chanter) is the rhythmic speaking or singing...
ing or "responsory
Responsory
-Definition:The most general of a responsory is any psalm, canticle, or other sacred musical work sung responsorially, that is, with a cantor or small group singing verses while the whole choir or congregation respond with a refrain. However, this article focuses on those chants of the western...
" that most of the times includes combinations of multiple element of Performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
. Narada
Narada
Narada or Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Vaisnava tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana...
is considered originator of this tradition. The practice of kirtan was popularized as a means to this end in the Hindu devotional revival of the Moghul era.
The Varkari
Varkari
Varkari is a Vaishnava religious movement within the bhakti spiritual tradition of Hinduism, geographically associated with the Indian states of Maharashtra and northern Karnataka. Varkaris worship Vithoba , the presiding deity of Pandharpur, regarded as a form of Krishna, an Avatar of Vishnu...
saint Namdev
Namdev
Sant Namdeo or Bhagat Namdeo was born on October 29, 1270 in the state of Maharashtra village of Narasi-Bamani, in Hingoli district . His father, a calico printer/tailor, was named Damshet and his mother's name was Gonabai...
(c. 1270–1350), a Shudra
Shudra
Shudra is the fourth Varna, as prescribed in the Purusha Sukta of the Rig veda, which constitutes society into four varnas or Chaturvarna. The other three varnas are Brahmans - priests, Kshatriya - those with governing functions, Vaishya - agriculturalists, cattle rearers and traders...
tailor, used the kirtan form of singing to praise the glory of god Vithoba
Vithoba
Vithoba , also known as Vitthala and Panduranga , is a Hindu god, worshipped predominantly in the Indian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa and Andhra Pradesh. He is generally considered a manifestation of the Hindu god Vishnu or his Avatar Krishna...
.
In the early 16th century CE Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India in the 16th century, believed by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to be the full incarnation of Lord Krishna...
traveled throughout India, popularizing Krishna sankirtan.
In Sikhism
The Sikh traditionSikhism
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
of Kirtan or Gurmat Sangeet
Gurmat Sangeet
Gurmat Sangeet is the art and science of singing and playing the hymns of the sacred scripture Siri Guru Granth Sahib in the prescribed Rāga, and with the original string instruments created and promoted by the Sikh Gurus in the historic times. These instruments are: Rabaab, Saranda, Jori, Sarangi,...
was started by Guru Nanak at Kartarpur
Kartarpur
Kartarpur , was established by Guru Nanak in 1522. When Guru Nanak died, Hindus and Muslims disagreed on how to perform his last rites. A samadh lies in the Gurudwara and a grave lies on the premises as a reminder of this discord...
in the early 16th century and was strengthened by his successors, particularly Guru Arjan, at Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
. In spite of several interruptions, kirtan continues to be performed at the Golden Temple
Harmandir Sahib
The Harmandir Sahib also Darbar Sahib , also referred to as the Golden Temple, is a prominent Sikh gurdwara located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab . Construction of the gurdwara was begun by Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh Guru, and completed by his successor, Guru Arjan Dev...
and other historical Gurdwara
Gurdwara
A Gurdwara , meaning the Gateway to the Guru, is the place of worship for Sikhs, the followers of Sikhism. A Gurdwara can be identified from a distance by tall flagpoles bearing the Nishan Sahib ....
s.
Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
s refer to a hymn or section of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Granth Sahib
Sri Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Granth, is the religious text of Sikhism. It is the final and eternal guru of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 angs, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh gurus, from 1469 to 1708...
(SGGS) as a Shabad . The first shabad in the SGGS is the Mool Mantar. The hymns are arranged in chapters named after musical ragas, all the shabads in any chapter to be sung to that particular raga with due attention to tala
Tala (music)
Tāla, Taal or Tal is the term used in Indian classical music for the rhythmic pattern of any composition and for the entire subject of rhythm, roughly corresponding to metre in Western music, though closer conceptual equivalents are to be found in other Asian classical systems such as the notion...
and dhuni
Dhuni
A dhuni is a sacred site represented as a cleft in the ground. This cleft is emblematic of the yoni or female vulva and generative organ. A dhuni therefore represents a site of worship dedicated to Shakti. The etymology of the word Dhuni is connected with the Sanskrit root dhvan, to dun or to din...
(See also Sikh music
Sikh music
See also KirtanSikh music began in the 16th century as the musical expression of mystical poetry conceived by the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak. Following him, all the Sikh gurus sang in the then-prevalent classical and folk music styles, accompanied by stringed and percussion instruments...
).
As a given name
The female given name Kirtana/Keerthana is used in South India, particularly Andra Pradesh, KarnatakaKarnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
and Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. It means "Hymn sung in the praise of God".
In the West
Guru Nanak Dev
Guru Nanak was the founder of the religion of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. The Sikhs believe that all subsequent Gurus possessed Guru Nanak’s divinity and religious authority, and were named "Nanak" in the line of succession.-Early life:Guru Nanak was born on 15 April 1469, now...
Ji's Hey Hari Sundara ("Oh God Beautiful") with 3,000 people at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in 1923. Kirtan became more common with the spread of Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Gaudiya Vaishnavism is a Vaishnava religious movement founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in India in the 16th century. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gauḍa region with Vaishnavism meaning "the worship of Vishnu"...
by ISKCON's founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was a Gaudiya Vaishnava teacher and the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna Movement"...
in the 1960s. Kirtan is currently growing in popularity in the West, with singers of Western kirtan including Krishna Das, Bhagavan Das and Jai Uttal
Jai Uttal
Jai Uttal is an American musician and singer-songwriter born in New York City. Often performing with his "Pagan Love Orchestra," Jai's music is influenced by his R&B roots of the 1960s and '70s and by traditional Indian music, which he first became familiar with at age 19.When he was 19, Jai moved...
as well as Snatam Kaur
Snatam Kaur
Snatam Kaur Khalsa , is an American singer and songwriter. She lives in Española, New Mexico. Kaur performs Indian devotional music, kirtan, and tours the world as a peace activist. The name "Kaur", meaning "princess", is shared by all female Sikhs....
, Lokah Music
Lokah Music
Lokah Music is an American pop band from Miami, Florida which was formed in the summer of 2007.The band consists of two lead vocalists, Sri Michael Shlofmitz and Uma Nanda Saraswati. The band's debut album, The Ivy Ceiling, features the vocal Stylings of Sting and a spoken word introduction by...
, Deva Premal
Deva Premal
Deva Premal , is a musician known for her meditative spiritual New Age music, which puts ancient Sanskrit mantras into atmospheric, contemporary settings....
and Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits
Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits
Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits is a musical project signed to Equal Vision Records' new sub-label, Mantralogy. They perform Krishna-conscious music.-History:...
. Yoga centers report an increase in attendance at kirtan. According to Pure Music’s Frank Goodman, kirtan, like the unpredictable rise and rejuvenation of the many forms of yoga in recent years, is everywhere now and there is a growing number of people flocking to the kirtan scene.
In ISKCON, the term sankirtan is also used to refer to preaching activities, such as distribution of religious literature to the public.