Editing Kirtan (section)

==Etymology and nomenclature==
[[File:Narad - Vintage Print.jpg|thumb|The Vedic sage [[Narada]] is depicted as a great kirtan singer in the Hindu [[Puranas]].<ref name=novetzke222/>]]
The term ''kirtana'' ([[Devanagari]]: कीर्तन) generally means "telling, narrating, describing, enumerating, reporting".<ref name="Lal2009p423"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Arthur Anthony Macdonell|title=A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=laIPgMQF_XsC&pg=PA69| year=1924| publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-2000-5 |page=69}}</ref> The Sanskrit root of kirtan is ''kirt'' ({{Lang|sa|कीर्त्}}).<ref name="Rigopoulos1993p275">{{cite book |author=Antonio Rigopoulos |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TNohSoS0CzUC&pg=PA275 |title=The Life And Teachings Of Sai Baba Of Shirdi |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-7914-1267-1 |page=275}}</ref> The term is found in the [[Samhita]]s, the [[Brahmanas]], and other Vedic literature, as well as the [[Vedanga]] and [[Sutra]]s literature. ''Kirt'', according to [[Monier Monier-Williams|Monier-Williams]], contextually means "to mention, make mention of, tell, name, call, recite, repeat, relate, declare, communicate, commemorate, celebrate, praise, glorify".<ref>Monier William (1899), [http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/0300/mw__0318.html kīrt], Sanskrit-English Dictionary, 2nd Ed., Oxford University Press</ref>

The term kirtan is found as ''anukirtan'' (or ''anukrti'', ''anukarana'', literally "retelling") in the context of a [[Yajna]] (Vedic ritual offering), which meant a dual recitation of Vedic hymns in a dialogue style that was part of a ritual dramatic performance.<ref name="Lal2009p423" /><ref>{{cite book |author1=Sukumar Chattopadhyay |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eRhQAQAAMAAJ |title=Kalātattvakośa: Appearance |author2=Kapila Vatsyayan |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=2008 |isbn=978-81-208-3286-2 |pages=67–69}}</ref>  

The Sanskrit verses in the ''[[Shatapatha Brahmana]]'' (chapter 13.2, c. 800–700 BCE), for example, are written in the form of a riddle play between two actors.<ref>ML Varadpande (1990), History of Indian Theatre, Volume 1, Abhinav, {{ISBN|978-8170172789}}, page 48</ref> According to Louis Renou, in this text, "the Vedic sacrifice (''[[yajna]]'') is presented as a kind of drama, with its actors, its dialogues, its portion to be set to music, its interludes, and its climaxes."<ref name="varadpande45">ML Varadpande (1990), History of Indian Theatre, Volume 1, Abhinav, {{ISBN|978-8170172789}}, pages 45–47</ref>

Generally speaking, kirtan, sometimes called ''sankirtana'' (literally, "collective performance"), is a kind of collective chanting or musical conversation. As a genre of religious performance art, it developed in the Indian [[Bhakti movement|bhakti movements]] as a devotional religious practice (i.e. [[bhakti yoga]]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Nye |first=Malory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PEtnlcck3l8C&pg=PA124 |title=A Place for Our Gods |publisher=Routledge |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-7007-0356-2 |pages=124}}</ref> But it is a heterogeneous practice that varies regionally, according to [[Christian Lee Novetzke|Christian Novetzke]], and includes varying mixtures of musical instruments, dance, oration, theatre, audience participation, and moral narration.<ref name="novetzke222">{{Cite journal |jstor = 10.1086/375037|doi = 10.1086/375037|title = Divining an Author: The Idea of Authorship in an Indian Religious Tradition|year = 2003|last1 = Novetzke|first1 = Christian Lee|journal = History of Religions|volume = 42|issue = 3|pages = 213–242|s2cid = 144687005}}</ref> 

In [[Maharashtra]] for example, Novetzke says, a kirtan is a call-and-response style performance, ranging from devotional dancing and singing by a lead singer and audience to an "intricate scholarly treatise, a social commentary or a philosophical/linguistic exposition" that includes narration, allegory, humor, erudition and entertainment—all an aesthetic part of ''ranga'' (beauty, color) of the kirtan.<ref name="novetzke222" />

Kirtan is locally known by various names, including ''Abhang'', ''Samaj Gayan'', ''Haveli Sangeet'', ''Vishnupad'', ''Harikatha''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Christian Lee Novetzke |title=Religion and Public Memory: A Cultural History of Saint Namdev in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SqUdRVOv9TUC |year=2013|publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-51256-5 |pages=275–281}}</ref> Vaishnava temples in Assam and northeastern Indian have large worship halls called ''kirtan ghar''—a name derived from their being used for congregational singing and performance arts.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ronald M. Bernier|title=Himalayan Architecture|url=https://archive.org/details/himalayanarchite00bern |url-access=registration|year=1997|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press|isbn=978-0-8386-3602-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/himalayanarchite00bern/page/28 28]}}</ref> Kirtan is also sometimes called ''harinam'' (Sanskrit: harināma) in some Vaishnava traditions, which means "[chanting] the names of God ([[Hari]])."

In regional languages, kirtan is scripted as {{langx|bn|কীর্তন}}; Nepali and {{langx|hi|कीर्तन}}; {{langx|kn|ಕೀರ್ತನೆ}}; {{langx|mr|कीर्तन}}; {{langx|pa|ਕੀਰਤਨ}} / {{lang|pnb|کیرتن}}; Sindhi: {{lang|sd|ڪِيرَتَنُ}} / {{lang|sd|कीरतनु}}; {{langx|ta|கீர்த்தனை}}; {{langx|te|కీర్తన}}.

=== Bhajan and kirtan ===
Kirtans and ''[[Bhajan|bhajans]]'' are closely related, sharing common aims (devotion, faith, spiritual uplift and liberation), subjects, and [[Subject (music)|musical themes]]. A ''bhajan'' is freer, and can be a single melody performed by a single singer with or without musical instruments. ''Kirtan'', in contrast, is generally a group performance, typically with a [[Call and response (music)|call and response]] or [[Antiphon|antiphonal]] musical structure, similar to an intimate conversation or gentle sharing of ideas. Kirtan also generally includes two or more musical instruments,<ref name="lavezzoli371" /><ref name="Brown" /> and has roots in Sanskrit [[Sanskrit prosody|prosody]] and [[Metre (poetry)|poetic meter.]]<ref>{{cite book |author=Alanna Kaivalya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PkhAwAAQBAJ |title=Sacred Sound: Discovering the Myth and Meaning of Mantra and Kirtan |publisher=New World |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-60868-244-7 |pages=117–122}}</ref>

Many ''kirtans'' are structured for more audience participation, where the singer calls a spiritual chant, a hymn or a devotional theme, the audience responds by repeating the chant or by chanting back a reply of their shared beliefs.<ref name="Alanna Kaivalya 2014 3–17, 34–35" /><ref name="Sara Brown 2012 pages 25-26" />