Dohori (Nepali: दोहोरी, romanized: dohorī pronounced [doɦoɾi] or [doːɾi]), is a Nepali type of music usually sung by two teams, one of the men and another of women.[1] It is in the form of question and answer where a team sings a question and the opponent replies through an equally lyrical impromptu couplet and vice versa. The term dohori, means 'back and forth' and refers to the exchange of lyrical phrases between the contesting singers.[2] The song production is collaborative and involves many individuals.[3][4]
Like all Nepali folk songs, dohori originated in the rural areas of Nepal and now is sung in both rural and urban settlements and is popular amongst the Nepali speaking diaspora in the UK, US, and Bahrain.[5] The men and women sit on opposite sides and the goal is to keep improvising until one team runs out of witty answers. The dohori is said to have stretched to seven days and nights during the past.[3]
Dohori is sung on a repeating main phrase of a well-known folk song but the song is adapted as the questions are posed and answered. Teams may also be male vs. male (bhale dohori), female vs. female (pothi dohori) or in mixed genders (rally dohori). Subjects range among love, tragedy, society, politics and development.
- ^ K.C, Reeti. "Nepali folk songs move beyond love and loss". Retrieved November 1, 2022.
- ^ "Nepal Home Page » American Student – Anna Stirr Sings Nepali Dohori songs". Nepal Home Page. August 19, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
- ^ a b "Dohori song in the 'New Nepal': the Nepali dohori song embodies the political and social changes of 'New Nepal' as the genre struggles in a shift from a traditional love song to commercialized music. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ^ "Jugalbandi: Between town and country". Himal Southasian. January 25, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
- ^ "Mediating the migrant experience: dukha, viraha, and nostalgia in Nepali Lok Dohori songs – Annual Conference". annualconference.soscbaha.org. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.