| Borgeet | |
|---|---|
 An imaginary portrait of Srimanta Sankardeva, the founder of Borgeet. | |
| Stylistic origins | Devotional song |
| Cultural origins | Early 1500s – late 1700s Assam, Neo-Vaishnavism |
| Typical instruments | Khol, Taal |
| Regional scenes | |
| Assam, India | |
| Local scenes | |
| Sattra, Namghar | |
| Other topics | |
| Hiranaam, Dihanaam, Bhaona, Ankia Naat, Katha Guru Charita | |
Borgeets (Assamese: বৰগীত, romanized: Borgeet, lit. 'songs celestial') are a collection of lyrical songs that are set to specific ragas but not necessarily to any tala. These songs, composed by Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhavdeva in the 15th-16th centuries, are used to begin prayer services in monasteries, e.g. Satra and Namghar associated with the Ekasarana Dharma; and they also belong to the repertoire of Music of Meghalaya outside the religious context. They are a lyrical strain that express the religious sentiments of the poets reacting to different situations,[1] and differ from other lyrics associated with the Ekasarana Dharma.[2] Similar songs composed by others are not generally considered borgeets.
The first Borgeet was composed by Srimanta Sankardeva during his first pilgrimage at Badrikashram in c1488, which is contemporaneous to the birth of Dhrupad in the court of Man Singh Tomar (1486-1518) of Gwalior.[3] The Borgeets are written in Brajavali dialect that is distinct from the Brajabuli used in Orissa and Bengal—it is a language where Maithili inflections were added to Assamese vocables and poruniciations—[4] created by Shankardev and Madhabdev.
- ^ (Neog 1980, p. 178)
- ^ The other forms lyrics are the bhatima (laudatory odes), kirtan- and naam-ghoxa (lyrics for congregational singing), ankiya geet (lyrics set to beats and associated with the Ankiya Naat), etc.
- ^ (Sanyal & Widdness 2004, pp. 45–46)
- ^ 'The Brajabuli idiom developed in Orissa and Bengal also. But as Dr Sukumar Sen has pointed out "Assamese Brajabuli seems to have developed through direct connection with Mithila" (A History of Brajabuli Literature, Calcutta, 1931 p1). This artificial dialect had Maithili as its basis to which Assamese was added.' (Neog 1980, p. 257f)