Do we know what `Ethnomusicology' really is? What is the functionally, politically and formatively correct definition of `Ethnomusicology'? Ethnomusicology has been defined in many ways; its varied interpretations arise due to the difference in opinion held by the advocates of these definitions. Although `it is a recognized discipline in the field of music, ethnomusicologists, anthropologists, musicologists and other academics within and outside the field have yet to find an undisputed and universally accepted definition and identity for the term `Ethnomusicology'. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the term `definition' is a "statement expressing the essential nature of something"; keeping this exegesis in mind I aim to find an apt interpretation for the term `Ethnomusicology'.

Let me first put forward the proposed definitions of the term as they stand today, and cite the inconsistencies that exist in them. `Ethnomusicology' has often been described as " a study of a music...