Anga

Anga (अंग aṅga) was a kingdom that flourished on the eastern Indian subcontinent from c. 12th to 6th century BCE until it was annexed by the kingdom of Magadha in the same century. Counted among the "sixteen great nations" (solas Mahajanapadas) in Buddhist texts like the Anguttara Nikaya, Anga also finds mention in the Jain Vyakhyaprajnapti’s list of ancient janapadas. According to Mahabharata, Karna ruled the Kingdom during the period.

Some refer that the Angas were grouped with people of ‘mixed origin’, generally in the later ages.

Etymology

Mahabharata (I.104.53-54) and Puranic literature attest that the name Anga had originated eponymously from the name of Prince Anga, the founder of the kingdom. According to some scriptures (Mahabharata and some Puranas), a king Bali, the Vairocana and the son of Sutapa, had no sons. So, he requested the sage, Dirghatamas, to bless him with sons. The sage is said to have begotten five sons through his wife, the queen Sudesna. The princes were named Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, Sumha and Pundra. The princes later founded kingdoms named after themselves. The prince Vanga founded Vanga kingdom, in the current day region of Bangladesh and part of West Bengal. The prince Kalinga founded the kingdom of Kalinga, in the current day region of coastal Orissa, including the North Sircars.

Miguel "Angá" Díaz

Miguel "Angá" Díaz (June 15, 1961 - August 9, 2006) was a Cuban percussionist of Yoruba descent. He was a well-known conguero who also played the cajón, güiro and timbales.

Life and career

Miguel Aurelio Díaz Zayas was born in San Juan y Martínez in the Pinar del Río Province in Cuba. Angá is a nickname he shared with his father. He began playing early, performing and recording professionally whilst still at college. In 1987 he made his name as a member of the pioneering Latin jazz Grammy award winning group Irakere and it was with them he perfected his five drum technique.

He played with various Cuban artists including Afro-Cuban All Stars, Buena Vista Social Club, Omar Sosa, Omara Portuondo and Orisha. He recorded and toured with international musicians such as Steve Coleman, Baba Sissoko, Ry Cooder, Pascal Coulon, Malik Mezzadri, Buddy Montgomery and John Patitucci.

In 1994 he recorded Pasaporte with Tata Güines, winning in 1995 the EGREM Album of the Year award. Two years later Angá joined the American trumpeter Roy Hargrove with whom he released the Grammy-winning Cristol Habana. In 2000 he recorded with Rubén González the Grammy-nominated Chanchullo and in that same year he collaborated with Pascal Coulon on the CD Arpa Fusion.