Horn instruments used in Kerala today similar to those in Ireland: Researcher.
By Sreekanth A. Nair
An Irish researcher studying musical horns from Ireland has found surprising similarities between the musical instruments used in iron-age Ireland and present day Kerala.
According to the archaeologist, Billy Ó Foghlú from ANU College of Asia-Pacific, Australia, the horn instruments used in Kerala today have similarities with similar instruments that were used in Ireland almost 2000 years back.
“The musical traditions of south India, with horns such as the kompu, are a great insight into musical cultures in Europe’s prehistory. And, because Indian instruments are usually recycled and not laid down as offerings, the artifacts in Europe are also an important insight into the soundscapes of India’s past,” Billy Ó Foghlú sadi.
“Archaeology is usually silent. I was astonished to find what I thought to be dead soundscapes alive and living in Kerala today,” Ó Foghlú added.
Ó Foghlú findings indicate that there was a rich cultural link between the two regions 2000 years back.
“There are horn instruments being used in a completely different way to Western melodic horn instruments. And that’s the exact same way they were used in parts of Ireland, Gaul, British Isles ad all of the Northern Scandinavian regions as well,” Billy Ó Foghlú said.
Some horns unearthed in European iron-age excavations have different musical soundscape to current western music but have startling similarities with traditional Kerala instruments.
One example of this cultural exchange can be seen in a carving of a celebration in Sanchi dating from 300 BC that shows a group of musicians taking part, playing two European carnyces, a horn with an animal’s head.
The research was published in the Journal of Indian Ocean Archaeology.