Shehnai - Origin of The Shehnai

Origin of The Shehnai

The ancestor of North Indian shehnai is believed to be from Persian Surna (Sur = feast, Nai=Ney= flute). The shehnai is thought to have been developed by improving upon the pungi (a woodwind folk instrument used primarily for snake charming).

There are varying legends of the shehnai's origin. In one of these, a shah initially banned the playing of the pungi in his court due to its shrill sound. A barber, belonging to a family of musicians, improved on it and created the shehnai. As it was played in the Shah's court and giving due reference to the nai or barber, the new instrument was called shehnai.

In other variants of the legend, the shehnai was

• named after a shehnai player called shehinaia,
• derived from sheh (breath) and nai (flute), or
• derived from the combination of the Persian words shah (king), and nai (reed, flute) to give the meaning "the king's flute".

Another theory of the origin of the shehnai is that the name is a modification of the word "sur-nal". The word nal/nali/nad is used in many Indian languages to mean pipe or reed. The word "sur" means tone or tune—musical note or simply music—and is used as a prefix to the names of many Indian instruments. The "sur-nal" is said to have given its name to the "surna/zurna" which is the name by which the reed-pipe is known throughout the Middle East and eastern Europe. Shehnai is usually played at traditional North Indian weddings and is associated with the bride leaving her parental house for her husband's house. Sometimes, two shehnais can be tied together, making it a double shawm similar to the ancient Greek aulos.

Whereas the counterparts played in West Indian and Coastal Karnatka are indigenous to the territory. Shenai players were/are an integral part of Goan/Konkani and temples along the western coast and the players are called as Vajantri and they were alloted lands for services rendered for the temples.