Music of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are part of India. Folk traditions of the area include that of the Moken sea-farers and various kinds of ritual tribal dance.

Music of India
A lady playing the Tanpura, c. 1735 (Rajasthan)
Genres
Traditional Classical Carnatic Odissi Hindustani Folk Borgeet Baul Bhajan Shyama Sangeet Ramprasadi Rabindra Sangeet Nazrul Geeti Dwijendrageeti Atulprasadi Prabhat Samgiita Thumri Dadra Chaiti Kajari Sufi Ghazal Qawwali Modern Bhangra Bhangragga Blues Filmi Bollywood Ghazal Qawwali Chakwood Goa trance Dance Indi-pop Asian Underground Jazz Rock Bengali Raga
Media and performance
Music awards	Filmfare Awards Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Music festivals	Saptak Festival of Music Chennai Music Season Dover Lane music festival Purandaradasa Aradhana Tyagaraja Aradhana Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan
Music media	Sruti The Record
Nationalistic and patriotic songs
National anthem	Jana Gana Mana
Regional music
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Ancient Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal

Andaman and Nicobar culture show a mix of the indigenous cultures of the settlers of the island, as well as a more mainstream culture brought down by the descendants of the early settlers in the island from the Indian mainland. The migrants also contributed to the culture of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The greatest feature of Andaman and Nicobar culture is the peaceful coexistence of these two strains of cultural lives.

Cultural Patterns of the Indigenous Tribes of Andaman and Nicobar

The most distinguishing aspect of Andaman and Nicobar culture is the culture of the indigenous people of the islands. Andaman and Nicobar islanders can be divided into two major groups. The main ethnic groups of the Andamans are the Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa, and Sentinelese. The main groups of Nicobar tribes are the Nicobari (Nicobarese) and Shompen. The islanders celebrate most Indian festivals like Durga Puja, Pongal, Panguni Uthiram, Onam, Mahashivratri, Janamashtmi, Holi, Diwali, Christmas and Good Friday with dance and music. Nicobari dance is the traditional dance of Andaman and Nicobar. It can be seen during the Ossuary Feast, commonly known as the Pig Festival. The Andamanese are fond of their traditional music. The dancers move gracefully to the music and song of the onge tribe.

All these tribes have continued with their indigenous culture at Andaman and Nicobar islands, and still, continue to do so. The relative isolation of these tribes has helped to preserve these streams of Andaman and Nicobar culture.