Nangma and Toeshey are a highly correlated pair of Tibetan music that focuses on blending vocalist performance with instrumentation in the form of a four person band formed of traditional Tibetan string instruments, most often including abamboo flute,called the lingbu, the Tibetan lute called the dranyen, a two-stringed fiddle called the piwang, and the Chinese dulcimer. The nangma has origins in the Muslim world and Muslim musicians, and was brought to Tibet through trade and travel between Tibet and regions like that of Persia.
The word nangma itself may well be a borrowing from the world of Islamic music; Thubten Samdup, secretary of the Tibetan Music, Dance and Drama Society of Dharamsala, where the music is still played, has suggested… a derivation from Persian and Urdu Naghma, “melody” or “song.”
Samuel, Songs of Lhasa
The nangma, though not necessarily of Tibetan origin, has since been thoroughly “Tibetanized”, with composition of songs based on “Tibetan texts they are now sung to or for other texts using the same standard Tibetan poetic forms” (Samuel). Below is an example of the nangma, with a female vocalists and the complete instrumental ensemble present.
According to the famous opera-lhamo singer Namgyal Lhamo, the highly related genre of Toeshey is quite similar to Nangma, but is made distinct by its differing rhythm and faster tempo when compared to Nangma performance composition.
Namgyal Lhamo, 2015
Toeshey has a different rhythm and is mostly a bit faster than Nangma. This song also has its own rythmic instrumental introduction, from which everyone can recognize…. This genre had a strong influence from the Toe area in Western Tibet. In the early twentieth century it became popular in Lhasa to mix Toepa folksongs with the Nangma genre and adapt them to the refined Lhasa dance style. Thus a new genre emerged: Toeshey. Toeshey songs often are performed as group dance song. The melodies are merry and the songs mostly end with a fast and lively tap-dance. The texts of both nangma and toeshey have many themes but often refer to religion as Buddhism is so deeply rooted in our culture. Many high lama’s – even today – write poems that then are put to music. Most famous is the Sixth Dalai Lama.
Below is an example of Toeshey dance and music, by the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) performing in Dharamsala, India in 2011.
Citations:
Samuel, Geoffrey. Songs of Lhasa. University of Illinois Press, 1976.
Tibetan Music 