Afroasian Musical Imaginaries – Precolonial Imprints in Contemporary Musics

There is now a large and burgeoning scholarship around precolonial AfroAsian connections and how such long term links have impacted how societies have emerged and the resultant cultural formations within them. If we turn to music and associated performance forms, similarities and various traces of such longue duree interactions can be observed that allow us to uncover historical connections between parts of the two continents in ways that have not been pointed out before. The talk will present examples of such musical forms and traditions along long-term migratory routes and also point out the role of historical memory and emotional registers in the performance of such musics on the two continents. I will also discuss methodological issues that arise and need to be pushed in undertaking such an exercise.