Creative Bursary Spotlight: Satnam Galsian and Maddie Morris

English Dance and Song December 2024

This news item is based on articles in English Dance and Song, the magazine of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. The world’s oldest magazine for folk music and dance, EDS was first published in 1936 and is essential reading for anyone with a passion for folk arts.

Exploring gender-based violence within traditional English and Punjabi folk songs. Edited by Sammie Squire.

The EFDSS Alan James Creative Bursary and Residency Programme supports artists in exploring new creative ideas inspired by and sourced from traditional folk music relating to England. Maddie Morris and Satnam Galsian were granted one of the five awards in 2023/24 to undertake this personal and important project.

Maddie Morris is a folk musician who, from winning the BBC2 Young Folk award in 2019 has used the tradition to shine a light on contemporary issues, and explore their experiences of gender-based violence. Satnam Galsian is a British-Asian folk singer and a feminist, whose music is explorative and blends music from both the English and Punjabi folk traditions.

Bursary proposal

The two Leeds-based artists, both survivors of gender-based violence, set out to explore the use of metaphor and stories relating to gender-based violence and cultural expectations of women within traditional English and Punjabi folk songs. The goal of the project was to research the landscape of stories within the folk tradition, and to see how they varied or overlapped between English, Scottish and Irish traditional songs, and Punjabi folk songs. Then Maddie and Satnam created new works and arrangements that shared ideas and re-workings of these traditional songs, in ways that felt more empowering to survivors and gender minoritised people.

Phase one: research

Sample choice

To start off, they chose 12 songs from the Punjabi and the English and Celtic traditions, including Chan Kitha Guzari Aayi and The Wife Wrapped in Weather Skin. For each song, they looked at key themes and the type of violence depicted within the piece. They chose songs that they felt either had undertones of gender-based violence, or, that they had seen others describe as referencing gender-based violence. In the songs from the Punjabi tradition, the types of violence depicted included: neglect; infidelity; sexual assault; rigidity of gender roles; and abuse from in-laws. From these isles, those detailed included: rape; sexual harassment; physical and psychological domestic violence; incest; murder; paedophilia; and forced impregnation.

Research limitations

Some factors that made it unclear as to whether the songs definitely contained gender-based violence: Outdated attitudes and beliefs; Elements including controlling behaviour, partners leading the other to feel sorrow and helplessness; Depictions of violence would often be embedded within humour – with female characters justifying these actions, or praising them as a symbol of love.

Interpretation

Many lyrics from both traditions were open to interpretation, so though they appeared to Maddie and Satnam to be relevant to this project, this was subjective.

Varying versions of songs

There are many different versions of songs which created another grey area. For example, in some versions of Cold Haily Rainy Night, it’s stated that sex is consensual, and there is willingness from the female character. In other versions, it is never stated whether the female consents.

Reflections

Satnam: “Doing this research has made me think about how as South Asian women brought up in a patriarchal culture, we often grow up believing that women are subservient to men. As a South Asian woman you start learning to cook and clean, so that you’ll be a good wife and daughter-in-law. You are expected to get married, and then when you’re treated badly by your partner and in-laws, it’s considered normal. The majority of Punjabi folk songs are from a woman’s perspective, but they still reflect these patriarchal views.”

Maddie: “This research has made me reflect on the way that so often, gender-based violence is embedded subtly within our tradition, and how even as someone who is outspoken on issues of gender-based violence, I have overlooked or not noticed explicit references in songs I enjoy. I have reflected on how significant so much violence is within our tradition, and I’ve thought about what the subliminal effect these songs is having on women, children and those with minoritised gender identities, who are within the folk scene. I feel as if we need to work harder to enact change.”

Phase two: writing and creating

As well as combining songs that overlapped in message or story, they also explored writing new Punjabi lyrics for English traditional songs, like Blue Bleezin’ Blind Drunk. For this, Satnam wrote new Punjabi lyrics informed by the story of Kut Kut Baajra – a story about a husband who constantly fights with his wife, who threatens to leave him. This reminded them of the warning in Blue Bleezin’ Blind Drunk, so they delved into the connection between these two pieces.

The final part of the project was the most rewarding for them as musicians and activists – examining compositions that reflected contemporary feelings and experiences of surviving gender-based violence. In their creation Something I Can’t Speak, they used an adapted tune from the Punjabi folk song Aj Di Dihari – a story about a woman who has gotten married, and as she’s leaving her father’s home, reflects that she’d rather be her father’s servant than get married. They composed a song that reflected the feelings in this song, and that showed the narrative voice empathy and understanding. They used metaphor including birds (birds are often seen in Punjabi folk song), as well as language and phrases seen in English, referencing binding, like in the song Must I be bound.

Their bursary enabled them to fund the research and creative time required for this project, including a trip to Cecil Sharp House to use the library and rehearsal space. They hope that in their continuation of this project they’re able to write more songs like this that create conversation about gender-based violence between individuals from different cultures, backgrounds and communities.