ABSTRACT
This entry provides an overview of the theoretical and methodological priorities of ethnomusicology as a discipline and highlights overarching themes that may be drawn out regarding music’s meanings and functions in Northeast India as a region. It emphasises two broad categories of musical inquiry in the region: documentation projects sponsored by state and central government institutions, and interpretive studies carried out by scholars affiliated with research institutions. Music researchers focused on Northeast India are increasingly taking up projects that fall under the umbrella of ethnomusicology but are not necessarily labelled as such. Therefore, the review of literature and recordings also includes examples from adjacent fields such as folklore studies, anthropology, sociology, and theatre and performance studies.
