Unsound Soundscapes: Shrieks, Shouts, and Songs

Pinto, Sarah Ann

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-94244-5_5

Sarah Ann Pinto⁴

Part of the book series: Mental Health in Historical Perspective ((MHHP))

277 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter researches the asylum soundscape for evidence of the failure of the asylum as a colonial medical enterprise. The chapter analyses the asylum soundscape from 1814 to 1921, using the earliest surviving case notes of Assistant Surgeon J.A. Maxwell. The poorly regulated and regimented asylum soundscape is evidence that proves the custodial rather than curative character of Bombay’s lunatic asylums. Most often, the poor regulation of sound was a result of financial constraints. While asylum agencies poorly regulated noise, they manipulated patient voices to serve the diagnostic process. Patient voices also had evidential value, as asylum staff called upon them to act as witnesses in cases of staff neglect or deaths of other patients. However, government authorities and staff considered their evidence ‘reliable’ only if it facilitated the continued agency of the superintendent. The control executed over patients’ voices within the asylum also extended beyond asylum walls.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

eBook: USD 16.99; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Softcover Book: USD 54.99; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Hardcover Book: USD 84.99; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

1.
Report on the Lunatic Asylum at Colaba for the Year Ending 1852, GoB, GD, 1853/48, MSA, Mumbai.
2.
John Murray, Handbook of the Bombay Presidency: With an Account of Bombay City, 1814–1883, Second Edition (London: J Murray, 1881), p. 131.
3.
Dolly Mackinnon, ‘Hearing Madness the Soundscape of the Asylum’, in Catharine Coleborne and Dolly Mackinnon (eds.), Madness in Australia: Histories, Heritage and the Asylum (Queensland: University of Queensland Press, 2003), p. 79.
4.
Katherine Fennelly, ‘Out of Sound, Out of Mind: Noise Control in Nineteenth-Century Lunatic Asylums in England and Ireland’, World Archaeology, Vol. 46, 2014, No. 3, p. 417.
5.
Dolly Mackinnon argued that the domination of the English language, despite the language diversity among patients, was evidence of a continuing ‘sonic imperialism’. The chapter uses the term ‘sonic hegemony’ to include both the process of hegemonizing the soundscape and the domination of the English language. The term ‘sonic imperialism’ when used here only refers to the domination of the English language. See Mackinnon, ‘Hearing Madness’, p. 78.
6.
Ibid.
7.
Richard White, The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650–1815 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991).
8.
Mackinnon, ‘Hearing Madness’, p. 75.
9.
Note by the Director General, IMS, on the Reports of Lunatic Asylums under Local Governments and Administrations for the Year 1895, Medical Proceedings, Government of India, Home Department, Simla Records, September 1896, Nos. 65–90, NAI.
10.
Susan Piddock, A Space of Their Own: The Archaeology of Nineteenth-Century Lunatic Asylums in Britain, South Australia and Tasmania (New York: Springer, 2007), p. 39.
11.
From the Superintendent, Lunatic Asylum, Colaba, to the Secretary to the Medical Board, 21 June 1851, GoB, GD, 1851/15, MSA.
12.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Napier-1st-Baron-Napier; accessed 5 October 2016.
13.
APR, 1873–1874, p. 21, NLS, Scotland.
14.
Waltraud Ernst, ‘Madness and Colonial Spaces in British India’, in L. Topp, James Moran and Jonathan Andrews (eds.), Madness, Architecture and the Built Environment: Psychiatric Spaces in Historical Context (New York, London: Routledge, 2007), p. 232.
15.
Fennelly, ‘Out of Sound, Out of Mind’, p. 424.
16.
Ibid., p. 425.
17.
Report on the Lunatic Asylum at Colaba for the Year Ending 1852, GoB, GD, 1853/48, MSA.
18.
John Murray, Handbook of the Bombay Presidency, p. 131.
19.
Fennelly, ‘Out of Sound, Out of Mind’, p. 422.
20.
John Conolly, The Treatment of the Insane Without Mechanical Restraints (London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1856), p. 42.
21.
Official records use the term ‘padded room’ from the late 1860s onwards.
22.
Report on the Lunatic Asylum at Colaba for the Year Ending 1852, GoB, GD, 1853/48, MSA.
23.
Extract from the Remarks recorded by the Visitors, 12 September 1859, GoB, GD, 1859/24, MSA.
24.
Report on the Lunatic Asylum at Colaba for the Year Ending 1852, GoB, GD, 1853/48, MSA.
25.
Extract from the Proceeding of the Visitors of the Lunatic Asylum, Poona, 4 September 1871, GoB, GD, 1871/34, MSA.
26.
See Fig. 5.1.
Fig. 5.1
Padded rooms at Ratnagiri Lunatic Asylum. (Source: Plan of the Ratnagiri Lunatic Asylum, GoB, GD, 1886/58, MSA)
Full size image
27.
From A.M.T. Jackson, Acting Secretary to Government of Bombay, to the Secretary to the Government of India, 27 June 1903, Home Department, Medical Proceedings, Simla Records, GoB, GD, 1903/57, MSA.
28.
APR, 1874–1875, p. 18, NLS.
29.
APR, 1873–1874, p. 4, NLS.
30.
Extract from the Proceeding of the Visitors of the Lunatic Asylum, Poona, 4 September 1871, GoB, GD, 1871/34, MSA.
31.
From John Scott, Secretary to the Medical Board, to the Bombay Medical Board Office, 3 June 1851, GoB, GD 1852/10, MSA; APR, 1873–1874, pp. 20–21, 23, NLS.
32.
A.W. Overbeck-Wright, Mental Derangements in India: Its Symptoms and Treatment (Calcutta and Simla: Thacker, Spink and Co., 1912), p. 326.
33.
Ibid.
34.
Ibid; W.G.H. Henderson Superintendent, Poona Lunatic Asylum, to the Personal Asst. with the Surgeon General, Government of Bombay, 18 July 1904, GoB, GD, 1907/81, MSA.
35.
W.G.H. Henderson, Superintendent, Poona Lunatic Asylum to the Personal Asst. with the Surgeon General, Government of Bombay, 18 July 1904, GoB, GD, 1907/81, MSA.
36.
Report on the Lunatic Asylum at Colaba for the Year Ending 1852, GoB, GD, 1853/48, MSA.
37.
From the Executive Engineer to the Superintending Engineer, 6 June 1903, GoB, GD, 1903/57, MSA.
38.
From the Executive Engineer to the Superintending Engineer, 6 June 1903, GoB, GD, 1903/57, MSA.
39.
From the Acting Superintending Engineer to the Secretary to the Government, 10 June 1903, PWD, GoB, GD, 1903/58, MSA.
40.
From Miss Mary Shepherd to the Governor in Council, 31 May 1904, GoB, GD, 1904/57, MSA.
41.
APR, 1874–1875, p. 18, NLS.
42.
APR, 1915, p. 1, NLS.
43.
APR, 1895, p. 1, NLS.
44.
From the Surgeon General with the Government of Bombay to the Secretary to the Government, 25 June 1918, Poona, Triennial Report of the Lunatic Asylum under the Government of Bombay for the Year 1915–1917, p. 1, NLS.
45.
Ernst, ‘Madness and Colonial Spaces’, p. 55.
46.
Report on the Lunatic Asylum at Colaba for the Year Ending 1852, GoB, GD, 1853/48, MSA.
47.
From the Visitors of the Colaba Lunatic Asylum to the Secretary to the Government of Bombay, JD, 23 August 1870, GoB, GD, 1871/34, MSA
48.
From the Coroner of Bombay to the Secretary to the Government, JD, 15 March 1871, GoB, GD, 1871/34, MSA.
49.
From Sajan Curim to the Secretary to the Government of Bombay, 16 October 1893, GoB, GD, 1893/75, MSA.
50.
From the Superintendent, Dharwar Lunatic Asylum to the Secretary of Government, 2 December 1870, JD, GoB, GD, 1870/9, MSA.
51.
Mackinnon, ‘Hearing Madness’, p. 76.
52.
APR, 1873–1874, p. 4, NLS.
53.
APR, 1873–1874, p. 21, NLS.
54.
Information taken on oath from Megha Purajee, 6 March 1871, GoB, GD, 1871/34, MSA.
55.
See Fig. 5.2.
Fig. 5.2
The bell at the Ratnagiri Asylum (Ratnagiri Mental Hospital). The bell is attached to a small intermediary room where staff bring food to the patients. Patients then carry the food over to the dining area. (Source: Author’s Photograph, November 2014)
Full size image
56.
Dolly Mackinnon, ‘“Jolly and Fond of Singing”: The Gendered Nature of Musical Entertainment in Queensland Mental Institutions, c1870-1937’, in Coleborne and Mackinnon, Madness in Australia: Histories, Heritage and the Asylum, p. 160.
57.
APR, 1898, p. 9, NLS.
58.
APR, 1898, p. 9, NLS.
59.
APR, 1877, p. 23, NLS.
60.
APR, 1882, p. 6, NLS.
61.
APR, 1874–1875, p. 29, NLS.
62.
Report on the Lunatic Asylum at Colaba for the Year Ending 1852, GoB, GD, 1853/48, MSA; APR, 1877, p. 23, NLS.
63.
Mackinnon, ‘Hearing Madness’, p. 80.
64.
Fennelly, ‘Out of Sound, Out of Mind’, p. 427.
65.
From the Superintendent, Lunatic Asylum, Larkhana, to Captain J. Leith, 15 July 1862, GoB, GD, 1862–1864/15, MSA.
66.
Letter from Lt. Col. J.W.T Anderson, Superintendent, Lunatic Asylum, Ahmedabad, to the Personal Asst. to the Surgeon General with the Government of Bombay, 10 July 1904, GoB, GD 1907/81, MSA.
67.
Letter from B.B. Grayfoot, Superintendent, Lunatic Asylum, Dharwar, to the Personal Asst. to the Asst. to the Surgeon General with the Government of Bombay, 10 August 1904, GoB, GD, 1907/81, MSA.
68.
Letter from Surgeon General G. Bainbridge, Surgeon General with the Government of Bombay, 10 July 1899, GoB, GD, 1900/62, MSA.
69.
From Miss Mary Shepherd, W.C.C. Fort, 21 May 1904, GoB, GD, 1904/57, MSA.
70.
Fennelly, ‘Out of Sound, Out of Mind’, p. 426.
71.
Medical Department Circular, GD Vol.15, No. 555, 1862–1864, MSA, in Shruti Kapila, ‘The Making of Colonial Psychiatry, Bombay Presidency, 1849–1940’, PhD Thesis, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2002, p. 61.
72.
Marathi was the local language of the area that comprises modern-day Maharashtra State in India.
73.
From the Superintendent, Colaba Lunatic Asylum, to the Deputy Surgeon General of Bombay, 29 December 1874, GoB, GD, 1875/38, MSA.
74.
Gujarati was the local language of the area that comprises modern-day Gujarat state in India.
75.
From the Surgeon General, IMD, to the Secretary to the Government, 30 April 1875, GoB, GD, 1875/38, MSA.
76.
Government Resolution, 17 September 1875, Bombay Castle, GoB, GD, 1875/38, MSA.
77.
White, The Middle Ground, p. 51.
78.
Fennelly, ‘Out of Sound, Out of Mind’, p. 417.
79.
Report on the Lunatic Asylum at Colaba for the Year Ending 1852, GoB, GD, 1853/48, MSA.
80.
From John Scott, Secretary to the Medical Board, to the Bombay Medical Board Office, 3 June 1851, GoB, GD 1852/10, MSA.
81.
APR, 1899, p. 14, NLS.
82.
APR, 1899, p. 1, NLS.
83.
APR, 1874–1875, p. 18, NLS.
84.
APR, 1876, p. 18, NLS.
85.
APR, 1899, p. 14, NLS.
86.
Mackinnon, ‘Hearing Madness’, p. 75.
87.
W.G.H. Henderson, Superintendent, Poona Lunatic Asylum, to the Personal Asst. with the Surgeon General, Government of Bombay, 18 July 1904, GoB, GD, 1907/81, MSA.
88.
From Superintendent J.P Barry to the Personal Asst. to the Surgeon General with the Government of Bombay, 25 June 1904, GoB, GD, 1907/81, MSA.
89.
Overbeck-Wright, Mental Derangements in India, p. 326.
90.
APR, 1874–1875, p. 26, NLS.
91.
APR, 1873–1874, p. 4, NLS.
92.
APR, 1873–1874, p. 46, NLS.
93.
APR, 1873–1874, p. 4; APR, 1873–1874, p. 46, NLS.
94.
APR, 1873–1874, p. 30, NLS.
95.
Report of the Committee Assembled under the Government Resolution, General Department, No. 951, ‘To Select a Suitable Site for the New Lunatic Asylum at Poona’, 17 April 1869, GoB, GD, 1870/9, MSA.
96.
Letter from Lt. Col. Barry, Superintendent Colaba Lunatic Asylum to the Personal Asst. to the Surgeon General with the Government of Bombay, 25 June 1904, GoB, GD, 1907/81, MSA.
97.
Petteri Pietikainen, Madness: A History (London and New York: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, 2015), p. 145.
98.
Mackinnon, ‘Hearing Madness’, p. 76.
99.
Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1894–1895, Vol. 2, p. 232, NLS.
100.
Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1894–1895, Vol. 2, p. 232, NLS.
101.
A.W. Overbeck-Wright, Lunacy in India (London: Bailliere, Tindall and Cox, 1921), p. 53.
102.
Ibid., p. 188.
103.
Report on the Lunatic Asylum at Colaba for the Year Ending 1852, GoB, GD, 1853/48, MSA.
104.
Report on the Lunatic Asylum at Colaba for the Year Ending 1852, GoB, GD, 1853/48, MSA.
105.
Overbeck-Wright, Lunacy in India, p. 188.
106.
From Asst. Surgeon J.A. Maxwell to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay, 4 June 1814, GoB, PDD, 1814/368, MSA. Text highlighted for emphasis.
107.
From Asst. Surgeon J.A. Maxwell to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay, 4 June 1814, GoB, PDD, 1814/368, MSA. Text highlighted for emphasis.
108.
Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1894–1895, Vol. 2, p. 193, NLS.
109.
From Asst. Surgeon J.A. Maxwell to the Chief Secretary to the Government, 4 June 1814, GoB, PDD, 1814/368, MSA.
110.
From Asst. Surgeon J.A. Maxwell to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay, 4 June 1814, GoB, PDD, 1814/368, MSA.
111.
Mackinnon, ‘Hearing Madness’, p. 77.
112.
Overbeck -Wright, Lunacy in India, p. 12.
113.
Ibid., p. 112.
114.
From Asst. Surgeon J.A. Maxwell to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay, 4 June 1814, GoB, PDD, 1814/368, MSA.
115.
The same as ‘Siddi’, an ethnic group in India. ‘In Pakistan, locals of black African descent are called “Makrani”, “Sheedi” or “Habshi”. They live primarily along the Makran Coast in Baluchistan, and lower Sindh.’ See R. Shekhawat, ‘Black Sufis: Preserving the Siddi’s and its Age-Old Culture in India’, 4th Indian Hospitality Congress, India, Paper Presentation, 2012.
116.
APR, 1873–1874, p. 44, NLS.
117.
APR, 1873–1874, p. 13, NLS.
118.
From the Senior Magistrate of Police to the Secretary to the Government of Bombay, 7 February 1853, GoB, GD, 1853/48, MSA.
119.
From the Visitors, Lunatic Asylum, Colaba, to the Secretary to the Government of Bombay, 23 August 1870, JD, GoB, GD, 1870/9, MSA.
120.
From the Coroner of Bombay to the Secretary to the Government, JD, 15 March 1871, GoB, GD, 1871/34, MSA.
121.
Statement of Ganapaya Shankar, Patient in the Lunatic Asylum [Ratnagiri], 14 January 1912, Government of Bombay, General Department, 1912/95, MSA, Mumbai; Statement of Shabas Shiwa Bhajwe, Patient in the Lunatic Asylum [Ratnagiri], 14 January 1912, GoB, GD, 1912/95, MSA.
122.
From Miss Mary Shepherd, W.C.C. Fort, 21 May 1904, GoB, GD, 1904/57, MSA.
123.
From Miss Mary Shepherd, W.C.C. Fort, 21 May 1904, GoB, GD, 1904/57, MSA.
124.
From Sajan Curim to the Superintendent, Lunatic Asylum, Colaba, 17 October 1891, GoB, GD, 1893/75, MSA; From Sajan Curim to the Secretary to the Government of Bombay, 16 October 1893, GoB, GD, 1893/75, MSA.
125.
Curim’s letters are the only written sources by an Indian patient for the period of the study (1793–1921). See Appendix 2 for Curim’s letters.
126.
From Sajan Curim to the Secretary to the Government of Bombay, 16 October 1893, GoB, GD, 1893/75, MSA.
127.
From Sajan Curim to the Secretary to the Government of Bombay, 16 October 1893, GoB, GD, 1893/75, MSA.
128.
Ibid.
129.
From the Superintendent, Colaba Lunatic Asylum, to the Secretary to the Surgeon General with the Government of Bombay, 5 November 1893, GoB, GD, 1893/75, MSA.
130.
Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1894–1895, Vol. 2, pp. 182–195, NLS.
131.
Sepahees or Sipahis were a local Muslim community who were originally from Kathiawar. The Gazetteer of Thana describes them as a poorer class who indulged in ‘opium eating, hemp smoking and palm juice drinking’. See James Campbell (ed.), Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Thana, Vol. XIII (Bombay: Government Central Press, 1882), p. 244.
132.
From the Asst. Surgeon, Colaba Lunatic Asylum, to the Secretary of the Medical Board, 21 February 1847, GoB, GD, 1847/41, MSA.
133.
Mackinnon, ‘Hearing Madness’, p. 75.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Independent Scholar, Wellington, New Zealand
Sarah Ann Pinto

Authors

Sarah Ann Pinto
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Pinto, S.A. (2018). Unsound Soundscapes: Shrieks, Shouts, and Songs. In: Lunatic Asylums in Colonial Bombay. Mental Health in Historical Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94244-5_5

Download citation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94244-5_5
Published: 29 August 2018
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-94243-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-94244-5
eBook Packages: HistoryHistory (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics