Selected transcriptions, translations, and musical excerpts
Lullaby
CHER RANG SANG
Rabha Lullaby
A traditional Rabha lullaby that references the warmth and brightness of sunlight through gentle, repetitive melodic phrases. Like many lullabies within the community, the song is passed down orally and reflects the intimate role of music in everyday domestic life.
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KO:NI:NAM
Mising Lullaby
A traditional lullaby of the Mising community sung to comfort and soothe children to sleep. Performed in intimate domestic settings, Ko:Ni:Nam songs are passed down orally across generations and reflect the importance of music within everyday family life.
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Narrative Song
SELLOYA
Mising Narrative Song
A traditional narrative song of the Mising community that recounts the migration of the Mising people from the hills of present-day Arunachal Pradesh into the plains of Assam. Structured through call-and-response exchanges, Selloya preserves oral history and collective memory through melodic storytelling and references to movement, landscape, and ancestral journey.
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BOHURANGI GEET
Rabha Narrative & Festival Song
A traditional Rabha song associated with storytelling, celebration, and communal performance. Bohurangi Geet is connected to oral narratives about one of King Boge’s daughters, telling the story of her separation from her lover and his eventual return. Separate from the Bogejari geet sung by Pati Rabhas, which tells the story of Bohurangi’s sister, Bogejari.
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Farming
HAMZAR
Rabha Agricultural Festival Song
A relatively modern composition that has since been widely absorbed into Rabha folk tradition. Hamzar features songs and dances connected to agricultural activities such as planting seeds, cultivating fields, and cutting rice paddy, and is now commonly performed during celebrations and staged cultural programs.
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LOLE
Mising Agricultural Festival Song
A traditional festival song and dance genre of the Mising community performed during Ali-Aye-Ligang celebrations. Lole performances are commonly accompanied by Gumrag dance, with Lotta Sonam traditionally following afterward as part of the broader sequence.
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Courtship/Love
OI NITOM
Mising Courtship & Social Song
One of the most widely recognized song traditions of the Mising community, Oi Nitom is traditionally sung during agricultural labor, youth gatherings, and moments of social interaction. Often centered around themes of love, teasing, longing, and everyday life, the genre continues to evolve through staged performances and contemporary adaptations.
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SATHAR GEET
Rabha Courtship Song
A traditional Rabha social and courtship song commonly performed after Baikho festivities and communal gatherings. Sathar Geet often features playful lyrical exchanges, group participation, and rhythmic accompaniment that reflect themes of celebration, youth, and social connection.
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Tragedy/Lament
FARKANTI
Rabha Funeral Mourning Song
Funeral mourning song traditionally performed by women during periods of grief and remembrance. Associated with oral narratives surrounding the Manchalengka birds and the search for husbands lost in war.
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TUMBO KABAAN
Mising Grief Song
The Mising community maintains several forms of Kabaan songs associated with different types of sorrow, longing, and emotional hardship. This particular Tumbo Kabaan is performed in grief and mourning, expressing remembrance for lost loved ones through slow melodic phrasing and emotionally weighted vocal delivery.
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ASSAM ARCHIVES 