My OperaPashtun Music & Dance
Monday, October 19, 2009 7:08:51 PM
The Pathans live in Northern Pakistan and Afghanistan. The group is made up of some 60 Pushto-speaking tribes. The Pathans, also known as Pakhtuns, Pashtuns, Pushtuns, and Pakhtoons, number some 10 million in Pakistan and some 8 million in Afghanistan. They make up the largest ethnocultural group in Afghanistan.
The Pathans comprise distinct groups. Some live as nomads in the high mountains with herds of goats and camels; others, such as those living in the Swat Valley, are farmers; and still others are traders or seasonal laborers. However, this ethnographic description defies the fact that they constitute more than 20% of Pakistan's armed forces and dominate Pakistan's transportation industry and have provided the most popular Pakistani president Ayub Khan who lead the major industrialization movement which Pakistan has seen in the last 54 years.
The British attacked the Pathans in the late 19th and early 20th century. They were finally forced to offer the Pathans a semiautonomous area between the border of British India and Afghanistan. After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the new nation annexed the Pathan border regions.
In the early 1950s, the Soviet Union through Afghanistan supported Pathan ambitions for the creation of an independent Pushtunistan (also called Pakhtunistan) in the border areas of West Pakistan. Several border clashes and ruptures of diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan ensued. The movement was never able to gain popular support considering that Pathans in Pakistan were always better off than Pathans in Afghanistan.
Pathans also helped liberate the part of Kashmir which is now under Pakistan's control. Their support and hospitality to more than four million Afghan refugees was crucial in Afghan's liberation from the Soviet Union.
The Pathans are known as people who are brave, simple, and sincere in their dealings with others. They are noted as fierce fighters, and throughout history they have offered strong resistance to invaders. They staunchly hold on to their cultural traditions and connect with one another in a visceral way.
Most are guided by a tribal code of ethics, Pakhtunwali, or "way of the Pakhtun (Pathan)." Tribal customs and traditions make up the biggest part of the Pathan society. The tenets of Pakhtunwali show the true essence of Pathan culture and these rules are followed religiously. It incorporates the following major practices: "melmastia" (hospitality and protection to every guest); "nanawati" (the right of a fugitive to seek a place of refuge, and acceptance of his bona fide offer of peace); "badal" (the right of blood feuds or revenge); "tureh" (bravery); "sabar" (steadfastness); "imandari" (righteousness); "'isteqamat" (persistence); "ghayrat" (defense of property and honor); and "mamus" (defense of one's women).
Khattak Dance is a swift martial sword-dance performed by professional dancers from the Khattak tribe of Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is not a Pashtun folk dance, as is widely believed, because Pashtun men do not enjoy dancing. The dance may also be confused with the classical Indian style of dance known as Kathak, but is quite different.
Khattak is a dance performed very quickly and is set to uptempo music featuring the piper, clarion, and drums beaten with sticks. Up to 40 men dance together wielding swords or handkerchiefs and performing acrobatic feats. The fast tempo of Khattak distinguishes it from other Atanr, which start slow and pick up speed as the dance progresses.
The Khattak dance has three forms: Shahdola, Bhangrha, and Bulbullah. These words are not found in the Pashto language, giving rise to the belief that the dance may have been "borrowed" from another culture. The dance comprises 12 steps, which require great skill on the part of the dancers. The dancer alternates between performing solo and syncronizing with the rest of the troupe.
In the Bhangrah, every member swirls while carrying swords. In the Derabi, two youths, each carrying a sword and a handkerchief, start dancing in front of a man with a surnai, while the rest of the troupe members wait for their turn. In the Laila, a group of four performers holding two swords each perform stunts while moving in a circle.
Braghoni is the fastest and the most adventurous of all steps in which a single dancer performs with three swords. He swings two swords in the air while holding the third in his mouth. Bulbullah is the last of the twelve steps and is staged without swords. The dancers sing a love song, instead of a martial song, at a high pitch, which is meant to convey to the audience that they would like to be tipped for their performance. At the end of the song, the drumbeat increases and the dance goes on.
A journalist of Pashtun origin, Amanullah Ghilzai, traced the roots of Khatak to an ancient Greek dance. According to his theory, Khatak, or Athan, is one of the earliest forms of the ancient Greek dance, "Athena". The Greeks brought this dance with them to Bactria, ancient Afghanistan. "Athan", or "Attan", has been preserved in one of its earliest forms by members of the Khatak and other Pashtun tribes, including the Ghilzais. There are many regional variations on Athan, but the name remains the same. In ancient Greece, Athena had the same definition and reverence attached to it as Pashtuns accord to Athan. Athena seems to have disappeared in Greece during the Christian era while Athan survived in Afghanistan and Pashtun parts of Pakistan.
Attan (Pashto: اتڼ) is a form of dance that originated in the Pashtun regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Attan began as a folk dance conducted by Afghans in the time of war or during wedding or other celebrations (engagement, new year and informal gatherings). Formerly a Pashtun ethnic dance, it is now considered the national dance of Afghanistan.
The performance of the attan dance in the open air has long been customary in the Afghan culture. Performed in a large circle to the accompaniment of drums and pipes, the dance begins slowly but grows in momentum for two or three hours without a break except for changes in tempo or changes in song. Its duration differs - anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes.
Modern Attan
Rubab
The rubab is a common lute-like instrument in NWFP and Afghanistan, and is the forerunner of the Indian sarod.[2] The rubab is called the "lion" of instruments in Pushtun Music. The rubab has a double-chambered body carved from mulberry wood and has three main strings and a plectrum made from ivory, bone or wood. The Rubab is still played and weddings and cultural performances in NWFP.
Chitrali Sitar
A Chatralay Sitar (Chitrali Sitar) is a very simple and old musical instrument with the most magical sound, directly influencing the solar plexus. It is not loud and can barely be heard in a mix of musical instruments, but heard being played and accompanied by Mangay, it is pure tranquility. Even though it is played over a vast region, including Afghanistan, parts of Iran and in two provinces of Pakistan, namely N.W.F.P. and Baluchistan, it carries the name "Chatralay Sitar", meaning the sitar from Chitral (a small but beautiful, and one of the north western-most areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan. Here I must say, that the most carefully manufactured and best sounding "Chatralay Sitars" do come from Chitral.
Shpelai
A Shpelai is a common bamboo flute used almost all over the world. It has a very special place in Pashto music and is loved by almost everyone, especially when faintly heard from far away in the quiet of a moon-lit summer night. It is frequently played by sheep herders, just like it has been played by sheep herders through thousands of years.
Sarinda
A Sarinda is an un-common stringed and bowed instrument. It has a very high pitched but enchanting sound and is commonly used in Pashto music. It is played while sitting on the ground just like most south Asian instruments. It is generally played joyously but can be played otherwise
Druzza
<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7ymHJB6NCQQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This instrument is without any doubt unusual, not just because the only person (Zarnosh) that plays it, has also invented it. But the whole instrument is two six inch wheat stems not even attached to one another. Both the stems are flattened on one end, (like a reed) and a constant flow of air is blown through the flattened ends. One of the stems has just three frets and the other has none. It is played by maintaining a pocket of air in the mouth which is blown into the stems and simultaneously taking in air through the nasal passage to maintain a constant sound. It sounds like an Indian snake charmer's wind instrument (Been)
Mangay
A Mangay is a receptacle used for the storage of water, and has been used as such for thousands of years. It has a wide belly with about a four inch opening at the neck. It is used as a musical instrument only when completely dry. It is played with the flat palm of one hand, trapping and releasing air in the Mangay, producing a booming sound, and with the other hand, softly striking its outside either with a finger-ring, a coin or a pebble. To produce a greater boom, a sheet of inner auto-tyre tube rubber is tightly tied onto the neck of the Mangay and is beaten with the hand like a drum. To further enhance the sound, it is accompanied by a "Chillum" (the base of a hubble-bubble or a waterpipe) into which water is poured, proportionate to sound desired, and is beaten with a soft shoe sole producing a sharper and higher pitched boom. Played together with a Chatralay Sitar is transcendental.
Dol/Dhol
A dol is a two-sided percussion instrument, which comes in many sizes. It is sometimes played by striking it with bare hands and sometimes with wooden sticks. It is widely used all over the Indian sub-continent. In Pashto-speaking areas, it is commonly used by the Khattak tribe, to a distinct beat, of which the Khattak dance is performed. It can be, and is used as a stand-alone instrument which accompanies wedding songs sung generally by women in the many thousands of villages and towns of south Asia.
Badala
Badala is a professional form of folk music and consists of an epic poem or a ballad. Instruments used include the Rabab, Harmonium, Drums and Tabla. In Badala, tribal traditions are the main theme as well as heroism, tragedies and romance. Badala consists of variations, because each couplet is varied in rhythms from other. It is sung traditionally at night.
Rubayi
Rubayi is a Pashto form of a Ghazal. The Rubayis of Rehman Baba are popular among the masses and is sung before the starting of Badala. As with the Ghazals, the Rubayi have been heavily influenced by Arabic, Persian and Turkish poetry.
Shaan
Shaan is sung during happiness such as marriages and or the birth of a child, and are sung in private congregations and social gatherings.
Loba
Loba is very popular among the masses and are added within Tappas occasionally. This is a form of folk music in which a story is told. It requires 2 or more persons who reply to each other in a poetic form. The two sides are usually the lover and the beloved (the man and woman).
Neemakai
Neemakai has many different forms and normally women compose it. It is usually very short (1 to 3 lines). The first lines are repeated in the middle of the song and Tappa is usually added according to the subject and circumstances. Most of these songs in Pashtoon culture have been expressed in different areas about daily life and love.
Charbeta
Charbetta is another popular genre, which consists of an epic poem with special rhythms. There are four kinds of Charbetta's. Normally, it's a poem of four lines but might also have six or eight lines. All aspects of life are discussed in it. That includes the heroic deeds and heroism by legendary figures and sometime expresses the romantic feelings. The tempo is usually very fast and is sung by two or more singers as part of a chorus in which ones singer reads the first line while the others follow the remaining. The singing or recitation of a Charbetta is called Tang Takore. Traditionally Charbetta is started just after the finishing of a Tappa.
Tappa
Tappa is the oldest and most popular genre of the Pashto poetry. The Tappa is a composition of two unequal meters, in which the first line is shorter than the succeeding one, yet it reflects all human feelings and aspirations elegantly. Be it laborers, peasants, or women all sentiments find expression in the Tappa. It is also common among the Pashtoons that a boy of school would sing it, the elders in their hujrahs, the women in their home and Godar alike. It is the only song sung in the time of grief and on the occasion of marriage. In music it is sung with the traditional Pashto musical instruments Rabab and Mangay. Tappa has up to 16 different models of harmony and is being sung with full orchestra. In hujrah it's sung with Rabab and Sitar.
Besides the Musical instruments mentioned above, there are many others, like Cheng, Dutara, Gungru, Naghara, Santoor, Surna, Tambal, etc. that are used in Pashto Music, including most European and eastern ones.
The Pathans comprise distinct groups. Some live as nomads in the high mountains with herds of goats and camels; others, such as those living in the Swat Valley, are farmers; and still others are traders or seasonal laborers. However, this ethnographic description defies the fact that they constitute more than 20% of Pakistan's armed forces and dominate Pakistan's transportation industry and have provided the most popular Pakistani president Ayub Khan who lead the major industrialization movement which Pakistan has seen in the last 54 years.
The British attacked the Pathans in the late 19th and early 20th century. They were finally forced to offer the Pathans a semiautonomous area between the border of British India and Afghanistan. After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the new nation annexed the Pathan border regions.
In the early 1950s, the Soviet Union through Afghanistan supported Pathan ambitions for the creation of an independent Pushtunistan (also called Pakhtunistan) in the border areas of West Pakistan. Several border clashes and ruptures of diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan ensued. The movement was never able to gain popular support considering that Pathans in Pakistan were always better off than Pathans in Afghanistan.
Pathans also helped liberate the part of Kashmir which is now under Pakistan's control. Their support and hospitality to more than four million Afghan refugees was crucial in Afghan's liberation from the Soviet Union.
The Pathans are known as people who are brave, simple, and sincere in their dealings with others. They are noted as fierce fighters, and throughout history they have offered strong resistance to invaders. They staunchly hold on to their cultural traditions and connect with one another in a visceral way.
Most are guided by a tribal code of ethics, Pakhtunwali, or "way of the Pakhtun (Pathan)." Tribal customs and traditions make up the biggest part of the Pathan society. The tenets of Pakhtunwali show the true essence of Pathan culture and these rules are followed religiously. It incorporates the following major practices: "melmastia" (hospitality and protection to every guest); "nanawati" (the right of a fugitive to seek a place of refuge, and acceptance of his bona fide offer of peace); "badal" (the right of blood feuds or revenge); "tureh" (bravery); "sabar" (steadfastness); "imandari" (righteousness); "'isteqamat" (persistence); "ghayrat" (defense of property and honor); and "mamus" (defense of one's women).
Khattak Dance is a swift martial sword-dance performed by professional dancers from the Khattak tribe of Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is not a Pashtun folk dance, as is widely believed, because Pashtun men do not enjoy dancing. The dance may also be confused with the classical Indian style of dance known as Kathak, but is quite different.
Khattak is a dance performed very quickly and is set to uptempo music featuring the piper, clarion, and drums beaten with sticks. Up to 40 men dance together wielding swords or handkerchiefs and performing acrobatic feats. The fast tempo of Khattak distinguishes it from other Atanr, which start slow and pick up speed as the dance progresses.
The Khattak dance has three forms: Shahdola, Bhangrha, and Bulbullah. These words are not found in the Pashto language, giving rise to the belief that the dance may have been "borrowed" from another culture. The dance comprises 12 steps, which require great skill on the part of the dancers. The dancer alternates between performing solo and syncronizing with the rest of the troupe.
In the Bhangrah, every member swirls while carrying swords. In the Derabi, two youths, each carrying a sword and a handkerchief, start dancing in front of a man with a surnai, while the rest of the troupe members wait for their turn. In the Laila, a group of four performers holding two swords each perform stunts while moving in a circle.
Braghoni is the fastest and the most adventurous of all steps in which a single dancer performs with three swords. He swings two swords in the air while holding the third in his mouth. Bulbullah is the last of the twelve steps and is staged without swords. The dancers sing a love song, instead of a martial song, at a high pitch, which is meant to convey to the audience that they would like to be tipped for their performance. At the end of the song, the drumbeat increases and the dance goes on.
A journalist of Pashtun origin, Amanullah Ghilzai, traced the roots of Khatak to an ancient Greek dance. According to his theory, Khatak, or Athan, is one of the earliest forms of the ancient Greek dance, "Athena". The Greeks brought this dance with them to Bactria, ancient Afghanistan. "Athan", or "Attan", has been preserved in one of its earliest forms by members of the Khatak and other Pashtun tribes, including the Ghilzais. There are many regional variations on Athan, but the name remains the same. In ancient Greece, Athena had the same definition and reverence attached to it as Pashtuns accord to Athan. Athena seems to have disappeared in Greece during the Christian era while Athan survived in Afghanistan and Pashtun parts of Pakistan.
Attan (Pashto: اتڼ) is a form of dance that originated in the Pashtun regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Attan began as a folk dance conducted by Afghans in the time of war or during wedding or other celebrations (engagement, new year and informal gatherings). Formerly a Pashtun ethnic dance, it is now considered the national dance of Afghanistan.
The performance of the attan dance in the open air has long been customary in the Afghan culture. Performed in a large circle to the accompaniment of drums and pipes, the dance begins slowly but grows in momentum for two or three hours without a break except for changes in tempo or changes in song. Its duration differs - anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes.
Modern Attan
Rubab
The rubab is a common lute-like instrument in NWFP and Afghanistan, and is the forerunner of the Indian sarod.[2] The rubab is called the "lion" of instruments in Pushtun Music. The rubab has a double-chambered body carved from mulberry wood and has three main strings and a plectrum made from ivory, bone or wood. The Rubab is still played and weddings and cultural performances in NWFP.
Chitrali Sitar
A Chatralay Sitar (Chitrali Sitar) is a very simple and old musical instrument with the most magical sound, directly influencing the solar plexus. It is not loud and can barely be heard in a mix of musical instruments, but heard being played and accompanied by Mangay, it is pure tranquility. Even though it is played over a vast region, including Afghanistan, parts of Iran and in two provinces of Pakistan, namely N.W.F.P. and Baluchistan, it carries the name "Chatralay Sitar", meaning the sitar from Chitral (a small but beautiful, and one of the north western-most areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan. Here I must say, that the most carefully manufactured and best sounding "Chatralay Sitars" do come from Chitral.
Shpelai
A Shpelai is a common bamboo flute used almost all over the world. It has a very special place in Pashto music and is loved by almost everyone, especially when faintly heard from far away in the quiet of a moon-lit summer night. It is frequently played by sheep herders, just like it has been played by sheep herders through thousands of years.
Sarinda
A Sarinda is an un-common stringed and bowed instrument. It has a very high pitched but enchanting sound and is commonly used in Pashto music. It is played while sitting on the ground just like most south Asian instruments. It is generally played joyously but can be played otherwise
Druzza
<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7ymHJB6NCQQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This instrument is without any doubt unusual, not just because the only person (Zarnosh) that plays it, has also invented it. But the whole instrument is two six inch wheat stems not even attached to one another. Both the stems are flattened on one end, (like a reed) and a constant flow of air is blown through the flattened ends. One of the stems has just three frets and the other has none. It is played by maintaining a pocket of air in the mouth which is blown into the stems and simultaneously taking in air through the nasal passage to maintain a constant sound. It sounds like an Indian snake charmer's wind instrument (Been)
Mangay
A Mangay is a receptacle used for the storage of water, and has been used as such for thousands of years. It has a wide belly with about a four inch opening at the neck. It is used as a musical instrument only when completely dry. It is played with the flat palm of one hand, trapping and releasing air in the Mangay, producing a booming sound, and with the other hand, softly striking its outside either with a finger-ring, a coin or a pebble. To produce a greater boom, a sheet of inner auto-tyre tube rubber is tightly tied onto the neck of the Mangay and is beaten with the hand like a drum. To further enhance the sound, it is accompanied by a "Chillum" (the base of a hubble-bubble or a waterpipe) into which water is poured, proportionate to sound desired, and is beaten with a soft shoe sole producing a sharper and higher pitched boom. Played together with a Chatralay Sitar is transcendental.
Dol/Dhol
A dol is a two-sided percussion instrument, which comes in many sizes. It is sometimes played by striking it with bare hands and sometimes with wooden sticks. It is widely used all over the Indian sub-continent. In Pashto-speaking areas, it is commonly used by the Khattak tribe, to a distinct beat, of which the Khattak dance is performed. It can be, and is used as a stand-alone instrument which accompanies wedding songs sung generally by women in the many thousands of villages and towns of south Asia.
Badala
Badala is a professional form of folk music and consists of an epic poem or a ballad. Instruments used include the Rabab, Harmonium, Drums and Tabla. In Badala, tribal traditions are the main theme as well as heroism, tragedies and romance. Badala consists of variations, because each couplet is varied in rhythms from other. It is sung traditionally at night.
Rubayi
Rubayi is a Pashto form of a Ghazal. The Rubayis of Rehman Baba are popular among the masses and is sung before the starting of Badala. As with the Ghazals, the Rubayi have been heavily influenced by Arabic, Persian and Turkish poetry.
Shaan
Shaan is sung during happiness such as marriages and or the birth of a child, and are sung in private congregations and social gatherings.
Loba
Loba is very popular among the masses and are added within Tappas occasionally. This is a form of folk music in which a story is told. It requires 2 or more persons who reply to each other in a poetic form. The two sides are usually the lover and the beloved (the man and woman).
Neemakai
Neemakai has many different forms and normally women compose it. It is usually very short (1 to 3 lines). The first lines are repeated in the middle of the song and Tappa is usually added according to the subject and circumstances. Most of these songs in Pashtoon culture have been expressed in different areas about daily life and love.
Charbeta
Charbetta is another popular genre, which consists of an epic poem with special rhythms. There are four kinds of Charbetta's. Normally, it's a poem of four lines but might also have six or eight lines. All aspects of life are discussed in it. That includes the heroic deeds and heroism by legendary figures and sometime expresses the romantic feelings. The tempo is usually very fast and is sung by two or more singers as part of a chorus in which ones singer reads the first line while the others follow the remaining. The singing or recitation of a Charbetta is called Tang Takore. Traditionally Charbetta is started just after the finishing of a Tappa.
Tappa
Tappa is the oldest and most popular genre of the Pashto poetry. The Tappa is a composition of two unequal meters, in which the first line is shorter than the succeeding one, yet it reflects all human feelings and aspirations elegantly. Be it laborers, peasants, or women all sentiments find expression in the Tappa. It is also common among the Pashtoons that a boy of school would sing it, the elders in their hujrahs, the women in their home and Godar alike. It is the only song sung in the time of grief and on the occasion of marriage. In music it is sung with the traditional Pashto musical instruments Rabab and Mangay. Tappa has up to 16 different models of harmony and is being sung with full orchestra. In hujrah it's sung with Rabab and Sitar.
Besides the Musical instruments mentioned above, there are many others, like Cheng, Dutara, Gungru, Naghara, Santoor, Surna, Tambal, etc. that are used in Pashto Music, including most European and eastern ones.
