Music of Nagaland

Music of India
A Lady Playing the Tanpura, ca. 1735 (Rajasthan)
Genres
Traditional Classical Carnatic Hindustani Folk Baul Bhajan Odissi Rabindra Sangeet Thumri Dadra Ghazal Qawwali Chaiti Kajari Sufi Modern Bhangra Filmi Pop Rock Bengali Raga Blues Jazz Trance
Media and performance
Music awards	Filmfare Awards Punjabi Music Awards Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Music festivals	Saptak Festival of Music Chennai Music Season Dover Lane music festival Tyagaraja Aradhana
Music media	Sruti The Record Music Magazine
Nationalistic and patriotic songs
National anthem	Jana Gana Mana
Regional music
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Ancient Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal

Nagaland is a vibrant hill state located in the extreme North Eastern End of India, bound by Myanmar in the East; Assam in the West; Arunachal Pradesh and a part of Assam in the North with Manipur in the south. It is renowned for its rich cultural heritage. The State is inhabited by 16 major tribes along with other sub-tribes. Each tribe is distinct in character in terms of customs, language and dress. It is a land of folklore passed down the generations through word of mouth. Here, music is an integral part of life.

The oral tradition is kept alive through the media of folk tales and songs. Naga folk songs are both romantic and historical, with songs narrating entire stories of famous ancestors and incidents. There are also seasonal songs which describe various activities done in a particular agricultural season. The themes of the folk music and songs are many; songs eulogizing ancestors, the brave deeds of warriors and traditional heroes; and poetic love songs immortalizing ancient tragic love stories. The tribes living in the remote corners of Nagaland have their inherent tradition of music. Since there are various tribal communities in Nagaland, the music of the state also expresses the melodious diversity.

Nagaland music in itself is an awe-inspiring cultural heritage of the state. Some popular Zeliang folk songs are: Heliamleu , Hereileu , Neuleu and Hekialeu.

There are several rhythmic instruments that aptly accompany the Nagaland music. The area's folk music is dominated by string instruments like the Tati (single string fiddle) and Theku among the Chakhesangs and Angami Nagas, Asem (drum with animal skin masked upon carved wood) and Jemji (Horn made using mithun horn). Indigenous musical instruments extensively used by the people are bamboo mouth organs, cup violins, bamboo flutes, trumpets, drums made of cattle skin, and log drums. Each tribe has unique traditional instruments influenced by their customs and materials available.