War, Exile and the Music of Afghanistan : The Ethnographer’s Tale

246 Pages·2015·11.226 MB·English

by  John Baily

WAR, EXILE AND THE MUSIC OF AFGHANISTAN
SOAS Musicology Series
Series Editor:
Keith Howard, SOAS, University of London, UK
The study of the world’s many and diverse music cultures has become an impor-
tant part of the discipline of musicology. Often termed ‘ethnomusicology’, the
resulting studies share the fundamental recognition that music is cherished by
every society in the world. Like language, music is a universal means of indi-
vidual and cultural expression. It is also infinitely varied. Music in any society has
intrinsic value in its own right, and can tell us much about the culture in which it
developed. The core of the SOAS Musicology Series comprises studies of differ-
ent musics, analysed in the contexts of the societies of which they are part, and
exploring repertories, performance practice, musical instruments, and the roles
and impacts of individual composers and performers. Studies which integrate
music with dance, theatre or the visual arts are encouraged, and contextualised
studies of music within the Western art canon are not excluded.
Reflecting current ethnomusicological theory and practice, the editors recog-
nize the value of interdisciplinary and collaborative research. Volumes may utilize
methodologies developed in anthropology, sociology, linguistics and psychology
to explore music; they may seek to create a dialogue between scholars and musi-
cians; or they may primarily be concerned with the evaluation of historical docu-
mentation. Monographs that explore contemporary and popular musics, the effect
of globalization on musical production, or the comparison of different music cul-
tures are also welcomed.
Recent titles in the series:
Flamenco, Regionalism and Musical Heritage in Southern Spain
Matthew Machin-Autenrieth
Sounding the Dance, Moving the Music: Choreomusicological Perspectives on
Maritime Southeast Asian Performing Arts
Mohd Anis Md Nor and Kendra Stepputat
Greek Rebetiko from a Psychocultural Perspective: Same Songs Changing Minds
Daniel Koglin
The Jews-Harp in Britain and Ireland
Michael Wright
Bulgarian Harmony: In Village, Wedding, and Choral Music of the Last Century
Kalin S. Kirilov
SamulNori: Korean Percussion for a Contemporary World
Keith Howard
War, Exile and the
Music of Afghanistan
The Ethnographer’s Tale
JOHN BAILY
Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
First published 2015 by Ashgate Publishing
Published 2016 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© John Baily 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are
used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
John Baily has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be
identified as the author of this work.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Baily, John, 1943–
War, exile and the music of Afghanistan : the ethnographer’s tale / by John Baily.
pages cm. – (SOAS musicology series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4724-1582-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Music—Political aspects—
Afghanistan. I. Title.
ML3917.A34B35 2015
780.9581–dc23
2015000814
ISBN: 9781472415820 (hbk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781315466934
Contents
List of Figures vii
Films on the Accompanying DVD ix
Acknowledgements xi
Some Notes on Terminology and Transliteration xiii
Introduction 1
1 Before the Communist Coup of 1978 7
2 The Jihâd (Holy War) Era 41
3 The Mujahideen Parties Come to Power 71
4 Taliban Times 103
5 Kabul after the Taliban 143
6 The Global Circulation of Afghanistan’s Music 167
7 The Summing Up 195
Glossary of Musical Instruments 211
Bibliography 215
Index 223
Dedicated to the memory of John Anthony Randoll Blacking, social
anthropologist and ethnomusicologist extraordinaire, who encouraged
and guided me from the start.
List of Figures
John Baily claims copyright of all photographs and illustrations unless otherwise
indicated.
1.1 Map of Afghanistan, showing the extent of historic Khorasan 8
1.2 The Afghan rubâb 19
1.3 The circulation of popular music in the 1970s between Radio
Afghanistan and the periphery 31
2.1 Amir Jan Herati, Peshawar 1985. © The RAI 58
2.2 Amir Jan, John Baily and Wali Jan in Shah Wali Khan’s deyra,
Peshawar 1985. © Wayne Derrick 68
3.1 Nashenas in the Lok Virsa studio with his songbooks,
Islamabad 1991 79
3.2 Sattar Khan, Peshawar 2000 84
3.3 Ustad Rahim Khushnawaz, Herat 1994. © Veronica Doubleday 92
3.4 Rahim with broken rubâb, Herat 1994 97
4.1 Abdul Wahab Madadi with 2-stringed dutâr, Tehran 1998 111
4.2 Rahim Khushnawaz and his brother Mahmud, Mashhad 1998 115
4.3 Khalil House, Peshawar 2000 123
4.4 Homayun Sakhi, Peshawar 2000 125
4.5 Ustad Asif Mahmoud Chishti, San Diego 2000 134
5.1 Ustad Ghulam Hussain, Kabul 2004 151
6.1 Haroon Yousofi in the BBC studio, London 2006 169
6.2 Zahir Yusuf, the cover of his Sash Music Studio CD Sahil.
© Sash Music Studio 183
6.3 The global circulation of Afghan music around 2009 194
7.1 Ahmad Samin Zefar (rubâb) and Nadim Nabizada (cello) at
ANIM, 2011 209
Supplementary Resources Disclaimer
Additional resources were previously made available for this title on DVD. However,
as DVD has become a less accessible format, all resources have been moved to a more
convenient online download option.
You can find these resources available here: https://
www.routledge.com/9781472415820
Please note: Where this title mentions the associated disc, please use the
downloadable resources instead.
Films on the Accompanying DVD
DVD materials can be found at https://www.routledge.com/9781472415820
The four films on the DVD that accompanies this book can be obtained
individually in DVD format from The Royal Anthropological Institute,
50 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 5BT, UK. The RAI Film Officer can be contacted
at: [email protected]. Copyright of the films is owned by John Baily, with the
exception of Amir, where copyright is owned by the Royal Anthropological
Institute. I am very grateful to the RAI for permission to include Amir in
conjunction with the hard- and paperback versions of this book. Any unauthorized
copying, hiring, public performance, radio or TV broadcast, streaming and online
publication of Amir is prohibited. Applications for an educational licence or public
performance use should be referred to the RAI Film Officer.
The sequence of scenes in each film is listed below, but these are not digitally
accessible chapters. Where particular scenes are referred to in the text they are
identified in terms of minutes and seconds from the start of each film.
Amir: An Afghan refugee musician’s life in Peshawar, Pakistan (Baily 1985a).
Directed by John Baily. Camera Wayne Derrick. Beaconsfield, UK: National Film
and Television School. Shot in 1985, released in 1986.
1. Introduction to Amir
2. Amir at home
3. The musicians’ workplace
4. The wedding party
5. Ezat Jan’s visit
6. At the shrine of Rahman Baba
7. Ramadân (Ramazân) in Swat
8. Amir plays the rubâb
Across the Border: Afghan musicians exiled in Peshawar (Baily 2007c) Directed
by John Baily. London, Goldsmiths. Shot in 2000, released in 2008.
1. John Baily introduces Ustad Asif
2. The road to Peshawar
3. Amir Jan plays rubâb
4. Hayatabad Friday market
5. Khalil House
6. Homayun Sakhi plays rubâb
7. Mohammad Sadiq sings ghazal
8. Masjedi plays dohol
9. Ghulam Hussain plays rubâb