Dance and music in Ancient India: a decolonial approach to materiality through the Nāṭyaśāstra

Abstract

In this article we investigate music and dance in ancient India based on the materiality and knowledge provided by Nāṭyaśāstra. We aim to develop an approach that reflects on the performative aspects of materiality, using concepts from classical Indian performing arts for its interpretation. We engage with decolonial criticism to construct a method that causes an epistemological and referential shift in the production of knowledge in archaeology in the Indian context. In this sense, we have Mignolo (2008), Chen (2010) and de Freitas (2016) as theoretical references. The method developed is structured in three stages, namely: analysis of the body structures of the representation, referential analysis of the Nāṭyaśāstra and Interpretation. We use three case studies with scenarios where dance and music are the subject of materiality, dance and music are the context of material production and where there is no direct connection between dance and music and materiality. Thus, as a result, we highlight the effectiveness of the proposed method, exposing how the use of Nāṭyaśāstra for archaeological and archaeomusicological analysis and interpretation opens us to interpretations anchored in an imaginary specific to Indian culture.