Download 1 Popular Culture in Turkic Asia and Afghanistan: Performance and

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Popular Culture in Turkic Asia and Afghanistan:
Performance and Belief
ABSTRACTS FOR THE THIRD SYMPOSIUM AND WORKSHOP OF THE ICTM
STUDY GROUP on MUSIC OF THE TURKIC SPEAKING WORLD,
I -2 DECEMBER, 2012, CAMBRIDGE, UK
ABSTRACTS
ABDURAHMAN, Gulnara (National University of Arts, Astana, Kazakhstan)
New images of Kazakh traditional songs: The contemporary state of traditional Kazakh
songs
For centuries, a performed song was the most popular and favourite genre of the Kazakh
people. It was the bearer of their spirituality and national identity, the foundation of mythopoetic and musical thinking. In the genre of historical Kazakh song - the ancient ritual, vocalpoetic forms - music performed as a specific "magic tool", an intermediary between man and
space, material and spiritual, present and past. The beginning of the process of
desanctification of poetic and musical content of the song is associated with a period of
professionalization of Kazakh musical culture in the first third of the 19th century. This
period marked a new social status for the song as an independent genre intended for aesthetic
perception, for "listening." Orally-professional song along with cult-ritual singing took its
place in everyday life and culture of the Kazakh people. Awareness of the song as a fullyfledged artistic phenomenon was accompanied by its complexity and individualization,
inclusion of compositional logic in the process of creating a literary text. The consequence
was the emergence in the 19th century of a large number of high artistic song samples.
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During the Soviet period of development of Kazakhstan's society, the traditional Kazakh song
underwent a radical transformation. The socio-cultural modernization and computerization of
society, accompanied by the persecution of religious sentiments, led to the extinction of
authentic forms of cult-ritual song-creation. However, they have not disappeared entirely, but
have rather moved to a passive, dormant state. Traditional forms of ritual singing of the
Kazakhs (funeral songs and the wedding ceremony, for example) still occasionally appear in
appropriate situations. They reflect a new cultural context and, to a large extent, adapt to it.
The process of creating new models in the traditional genres of Kazakh folk and folk-art
professional creation (lyrical lullabies, edifying lyrics, songs, dedications and eulogies, etc.)
is part of the mass of domestic song-creation. In contemporary musical practice of
Kazakhstan, it is represented by amateur copyright song-creation. However, despite a deep
genetic relationship between modern Kazakh amateurism and traditional forms of songmaking, the poetic and musical language of modern songs in most cases is significantly
different. It has changed a particular ethnic picture of the world and its perception, has
transformed the principle of musical and poetic thought, and pronounced Eurocentric
tendencies in the evolution of musical language.
AGA RAHIM OGLY SALAH, Mahmud (Baku State conservatory, Azerbaijan)
Daf-Qaval in holy books and religious ceremony
The name of Daf or Qaval is mentioned in holy books like the Torah (of Prophet Moses), the
Psalms (of Prophet David), the Gospel, the Old Testament, and in Prophet Mohammad’s
hadiths. Although Daf has a very old history, nowadays it is used quite regularly in various
Sufi brotherhoods. In Zoroastrian ceremonies, Shamanism worship, and Sufi-mystic creed,
the Qaval or Daf is mainly used to create a religious atmosphere. It also helps people to
remain quiet and appreciate the music. There is also a relationship between the changing
rhythm of Qaval or Daf and the heartbeat. As the heart changes pulse in different conditions,
the instrument changes rhythm to create different moods.
AKAT, Abdullah (Karadeniz State Conservatory, Turkey)
The Influences on the Crimean Tatars Music in the Process of Change
Crimea is now an autonomous parliamentary republic which is governed by the Constitution
of Crimea in accordance with the laws of Ukraine. Crimea, however, has been home to
different nations throughout history. Its present cultural richness, therefore, has its roots in
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history. Crimean Tatars are an important part of this wealth. The Crimean Tatars were
forcibly expelled to Central Asia by Joseph Stalin's government after the Second World War.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, some Crimean Tatars began to return to the region. Now,
Crimean Tatars comprise an ethnic minority in Crimea and make up about 13% of the
population. Therefore, Crimean Tatars’ music must be studied in two periods: before and
after the exile.
There are many networks in the music of the Crimea, and these networks can continue their
existence even in small villages. At the same time, the effect of popular culture on Crimean
Tatar music is increasing. The aim of this paper is to explain the variations in the music of
Crimean Tatars from one generation to another. Through observation and analysis of their
daily practices, it also tries to investigate such factors as people, places, and mass media that
cause these changes.
AZEMOUN, Yusuf (Girne American University, Cyprus)
Musical and Religious Aspects of Turkmen Carpets
Turkmen carpets are known to be among the oldest carpets in the world. Therefore they have
preserved religious properties from Zoroastrianism, Shamanism and Islam. The colour of the
carpet is red (earlier, it was orange). This resembles the cult of light in Zoroastrianism. The
main design of Turkmen carpet is called Göl. This initially resembled the star in the sky, or
Tengri in old Turkic, the god of Shamans. The design has developed from an eight-winged
star. Later it assumed the character of water and was called Göl, meaning a 'lake', thus
resembling the cult of water in Shamanism. The beginning and the end of the Turkmen carpet
is called "toprak" meaning 'soil'; they are respectively followed and preceded by a design
called "alem" meaning 'the world'. This represents the Islamic thought on humans being
created from soil and going into the soil at the end of their lives. Three sections of Turkmen
carpets represent "lower life", "middle life" and “upper life”. Carpet experts always talk
of the musical aspects with no concrete proof. The oldest name of carpet in Turkic is
"köwüz" or "köwür" (preserved in Russian as "kovyor") which comes from "kopuz", the
oldest Turkic musical instrument. The loom of a carpet looks like a musical instrument and is
tuned like one. Also there are many words and expressions which support the relationship
between carpets and music, thus making it possible to prove linguistically that a carpet is
related to a musical instrument.
BAILY, John (Goldsmiths College, London, UK)
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Return of the Nightingales, the Afghanistan National Institute of Music
In the 1960s Slobin recorded a number of examples of a tune played on the fretless longnecked lute dambura. Since this composition seemed to lack a name, he dubbed it “The
Uzbek Rag”, in part because it is associated with dance (Slobin 1969: 214–5; 2003: disc 1,
#9). Baily (1988: 92) discusses this type of piece under the name of “Naghmeh Uzbeki” and
gives an example played on the Herati dutar by Gada Mohammad, heard on the
accompanying audiocassette (Example 12). Gada Mohammad asserted that the tanbur player
Bahauddin in Mazar-e Sharif was responsible for developing Naghmeh Uzbeki. Again, the
piece was connected with dance. In the last decade or two the Naghmeh Uzbeki type of
composition has become one of the most prominent features of contemporary popular music
both in the Afghan diaspora and in Afghanistan itself, part of the broader genre of Fast Muzik
[sic] played, usually very loud, on keyboards and drumpads for dancing at wedding parties
and other celebrations. It has become differentiated into the song melody Dard-e Dandan
Daram (“I’ve got toothache”) and a series of variations known as Pardeh Awal, Pardeh
Dovum etc. (“First Fret”, “Second Fret” etc). This paper will look at examples of Naghmeh
Uzbaki recorded over the last forty years and reach some tentative conclusions about the
political significance of this music from northern Afghanistan in the current political
situation.
BAIRAMOVA, Alla (The Azerbaijani state Museum of Musical Culture, Azerbaijan)
Traditional Azerbaijani music: some peculiarities of modern interpretation
In Azerbaijan, traditional music and musical instruments are the symbols of national identity
and tools for the development of national self-consciousness. Azerbaijani musical traditions
and diverse genres developed and have become enriched over the centuries. Traditional and
modern types of music are known to be sources of pride and inspiration for the Azerbaijani
people. Nevertheless, in a globalized world, one finds two opposite ways of approaching
tradition in the music of Azerbaijan, mainly Mugham, Ashigs art, folk songs and dances, and
traditional musical instruments. On one hand, we may notice the increase in interest towards
traditional music among some experts and authorities through a number of projects and
activities. On the other, many traditions are losing their place among ordinary people as
some people are no longer concerned about authentic presentation of musical traditions of the
past. For instance, the tradition of getting a bride from her parents’ house has long been
associated with the strong sound of wind instruments such as zurna and balaban, and
percussion like nagara. In the twentieth century the clarinet was introduced to this set of the
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instruments, sometimes replacing the balaban. Also the tar, which used to be the leading
instrument at wedding parties, is nowadays almost replaced by electronic guitar.
BAIZA, Yahia (The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London)
Music, religion and culture: a study of traditional Turkic music in Afghanistan
The traditional concept of music among the Turkic people of Afghanistan is closely
connected with damburah (also pronounced as danburah), also known as dotar, a Persian
word for “two strings” (do = two and tar = string). The damburah or dotar has a long history
in Afghanistan. It has not only been the main musical instrument among the Turkic people of
Afghanistan, namely the Hazaras, the Uzbeks and the Turkmens, but also among the northern
Tajiks of Afghanistan.
Being located at the crossroads of Asia, music in Afghanistan did influence, and was
influenced by, other cultural traditions in the region, from Central to South Asia. In modern
times, music in Afghanistan has been specifically influenced by Indian and Western musical
concepts, styles and instruments. The impact of foreign influences on music in Afghanistan
has primarily been noticed in urban music, particularly in the capital city and major
provincial capitals. This influence can particularly be seen in the structure and composition of
modern music composed in these urban areas. This paper argues that, despite the fact that
Turkic music has been influenced by popular culture, the damburah or dotar has maintained
its traditional features and continues to represent the identity of Turkic music in Afghanistan.
An important aspect of this has been the reverence and the spiritual connection between
music and religion expressed through the damburah. Thus the paper also examines whether
this traditional reverence, and the spiritual connection between the damburah and religion,
has been maintained, or has been influenced by, modern music in Afghanistan.
BAYLAV, Cahit (Godlsmith College, London, UK)
Life and Works of Ottoman Turkish Composer Buhurizade Mustafa Itri Efendi (1640-1712)
This year, on the 300th anniversary of his death, the great composer of the traditional Ottoman
Turkish music Buhurizade Mustafa Itri Efendi is being commemorated with concerts and
conferences within and outside Turkey. Commonly known as Itri, he is regarded as the most
important composer of his time. He composed many religious and non-religious works of
various forms, in various makams. In this paper, after briefly summarising his life, I shall
present the extent of his compositions and give more detailed information about some of his
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works, with recorded examples. This genre of music has been suppressed - along with many
other Ottoman practices - at certain periods during the republican era in Turkey. In the
aftermath of the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in WW1, the new Turkish Republic was being
rebuilt adopting Western values and way of life, renouncing a cultural legacy going back
several centuries. Traditional Ottoman art music perfected by composers such as Itri took its
share of neglect in the process. However, this precious cultural legacy has lived on despite
the pressures of westernisation and globalisation on local cultures as well as official obstacles
and negligence lasting several decades.
CSAKI, Éva (Peter Pazmany Catholic University, Hungary)
The role of music performance of Bektashis rituals in Thrace
Bektashis are a heterodox Islam minority living mainly in the western parts of present-day
Turkey. They are mostly recognized for the mystic ways they used in order to preserve preIslamic traditions like Shamanism combined with ideas of Christianity, Buddhism, and
Judaism.
Music has a particular role in their secret gatherings where they whole-heartedly sing the
poems of such Sufi poets as Yunus Emre, Ahmed Yesevi, Pir Sultan Abdal, Shah Ismail and
others. In their gatherings, they glorify their greatest saint Ali and teach his ideas to
followers. The communities that we visited on our fieldwork lacked the active participation
of younger generations. Therefore, it seems that the tradition is dying out. However, similar
practices among Alevi people keep us expectant of continuation of such practices. Between
1999 and 2003, together with János Sipos, we carried out extended field work among them.
Our comprehensive book on their psalms and folksongs came out in Budapest in 2009.
DE ZORZI, Giovanni (University ‘Ca’ Foscari’ of Venice, Italy)
Jâhri zikr Used as Therapy for Teenagers in Nowadays Kazakhstan
The paper’s focus is on a very ancient practice, the jâhri (‘loud, vocal’) zikr, as it was adapted
in 2003 Almaty, nowadays Kazakhstan, in order to cure teenagers and youngsters from
different addictions. Zikr (Arabic dhikr), literally meaning ‘remembrance’, is a widespread
practice among Muslims all over the world. However it is more a Sufi practice always present
as the core of every Sufi Tariqa (path, way, brotherhood). In the Central Asian area, the main
methods for the Zikr are jâhri (vocal, loud, manifest) and khâfi (silent, secret, hidden). Both
of these methods have their virtues exposed in ancient treatises and both are traditionally
linked to particular linguistic groups. The first one is considered peculiar to Turkic-speaking
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and nomadic peoples, the second to Persian-speaking and urbanized, sedentary peoples.
During my field research in Central Asia, I noticed that this ritual was mostly, but not
exclusively, practised by respected members of society, middle-aged or older, called oq saqol
(white beards). Worthy of note is the musical and poetical elements of such zikr rituals: over
the ostinato of the zakîrs performing elaborate rhythmical zikr-s, experts named hâfiz sing
poems of mystical argument composed by well-known Middle Age Turkic language poets.
As stated above, in Almaty the situation was radically different and the ambience was
composed almost exclusively by teenagers. If the environment was different, one of the
ancient therapeutic, curative, functions of jâhri zikr was simply taken to new life. This
situation, and its implications, documented by personal audiovisual recordings in the field,
will be the theme of my paper.
DUPAIGNE, Bernard (SNRS, Paris, France)
Popular music and religion in Northern Afghanistan in the 1966- 1976 period
Music has been present in every occasion of life in Afghanistan, both pre-war and today. In
northern Afghanistan, one could hear the sound of drums announcing the break of fasting
during the holy month of Ramadan. Tea-houses were the place of night-long singing by
professional and amateur musicians coming from nearby villages. A significant number of
Uzbek musicians could be seen in Mazar-i Sharif, Tash-Qorghan, Aqcha, and Andkhoy.
Turkmen amateurs would play the nay near Aqcha or would sing secular or old religious
stories. Shamanist rituals were even found around old Uzbek centres, like Tash- Qorghan and
Sar-i Pol. The shaman would use a drum, mixing Islamic formulas with older utterings.
FIRKAVICIUTE, Karina (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Lithuania)
Popular Music in Lithuanian Karaim Society – A Different Case
The paper addresses the issue of popular music among Karaim minorities, a Turkic nation in
Lithuania. Karaim minorities have lived in Lithuania since the 14th century. Popular music is
not approved of by religious laws that are quite powerful as part of the nation’s identity.
Until the late 19th and early 20th century the Karaim community in Lithuania had no kind of
‘popular music’. The demands of the younger generation, however, changed musical culture
and led to the emergence of ‘popular music’. Its production was mostly based on borrowing
popular motifs and songs from the local, mainly Slavonic, environment. At the time, this
music became a very powerful tool for national self-expression and identity representation
amongst others who had also begun to perceive themselves as nations rather than just
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religions. Later, at the end of the 20th century, history was repeated. The Lithuanian state
regained its independence and all its ethnic groups and minorities actively participated in the
processes of nation building, using basically the same musical ‘tools’ as 100 years ago.
However, the beginning of the 21st century calls for totally new, more authentic musical
expressions. How and why do these relate to popular music? What solution could be the right
one for the 21st century Turkic nation in Lithuania, consisting of 250 people?
GULLYEV, Shakhym (Kysyl Orda, Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan)
Turkmen Traditional Music at Home and Abroad
The historical motherland of contemporary Turkmens is considered to be the area of
Turkmenistan where Turkmens form the majority of the population. However, the same
number of Turkmens today live in different countries abroad (in Iran, Afghanistan,
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia) for various reasons. To study questions of Turkmen national
identity, traditional culture, and music, I visited many regions of Turkmenistan and
Karakalpakistan, and Stavropol in Russia. Though I had no chance to visit Iran, Afghanistan
or Tajikistan I have made some observations through listening their radio programmes and
website links. My paper, based on audio and video material, will focus on such aspects of
Turkmen music as traditional forms of performance and its modern transformations.
HADISI, Hossein (University of Cambridge)
Ballet Zahhak, the Dragon King, Its Compositional Methods and the Art of Naqqali
Travelling musicians, known as Ashiks, tell interwoven stories of love and epic heroes such
as Kūr Oghlū as they improvise on and sing along with the Saz. This tradition of re-enacting
stories, known as the art of Naqqāli, combines elements from folk music, theatre, dance and
literature, and has roots in the local political history and the culture of the region. The
subjects of Naqqāli are epics based on actual events and the mythological desires of a nation,
embodied in an improvised theatrical performance. The Naqqāl, usually a travelling
musician, typically gathers people around by standing on a podium, in the middle of the
bazaar or a tea-house, for instance, and attracts his audience by reciting poetry from the
familiar ancient texts. He and his side act(s) re-enact stories that are well known to the
audience, but add their own twists to their rendition. The performers take many different
roles, differentiated by intonation, theatrical gestures and stage positioning as well as various
props. During each performance, usually one story is recited, which is centred around one
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character, such as a king or a hero. Just like improvisation in the music of the region, Naqqāli
is an instantaneous response in the course of performance to the space, the audience, and the
performance itself. Studying the improvisational methods used in the tradition shows the
common structures and the mindsets behind them. Unlike in music, with Naqqāli the course
of the story and the text dictate the direction of the performance.
In writing the ballet Zahhāk, I have looked at the basic modal structures and improvisational
models of Turkish, Persian and Arabic traditional music and have married them with the
traditional dances that are conventionally associated with the epics and accompany Naqqāli.
In doing so, as a composer, I place myself at a deliberate historical (and even geographical)
distance from the literature and its conventions and reconstruct a rhetoric that results from a
reading of the epic of Zahhāk, from Ferdowsi’s masterpiece the Shāhnāma, that can be
thought to be a logical contemporary continuation of the extinct tradition of Naqqāli.
There is also a strong connection between the context of this ballet and the opera Özsoy by
Ahmet Adnan Saygun, also drawn from the book of Shāhnāma. Özsoy (Fereydoon) has two
sons that are separated after birth by the devil and live in two different lands (Iran and
Turkey), until they later discover they are twins. In the story of Zahhak, Özsoy is the hero
who overthrows Zahhak and his childhood and youth is in focus. The end of the ballet
Zahhak marks the beginning of Özsoy's kingdom, whose two sons symbolise the brotherhood
between Turks and Persians.
HOWARD, Keith (London, UK) & MALTSEV, Misha (London, UK)
Siberia at the Centre of the World: Music, Dance and Ritual in Sakha-Yakutia
This film, filmed and scripted by Misha Maltsev and Keith Howard, explores the cultural
revival of music, dance and ritual in Sakha-Yakutia, the northernmost outpost of the Turkicspeaking people. It places Sakha-Yakutian voices at the centre, to uncover the respect and
pride that people have for their beliefs and culture; how they regard their land; and how the
maintenance of their traditions fits into broader themes of global ecological and
environmental degradation. Focused around the 2006 Ysyakh festival, an ancient summer
solstice and New Year festival that has undergone considerable transition since the Soviet
era, the film contrasts memories and survivals, traditions and re-enactments. It asks how a
small nation of 400,000 people has been able to preserve olonkho, one of the most significant
oral epics in the world that UNESCO in 2005 recognised as a ‘Masterpiece in the Oral and
Intangible Heritage of Mankind’; how the khomus (jew’s harp) has taken on national
iconicity; and how particular styles of singing and dancing have been maintained. It quickly
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becomes apparent that shamanism, although now practised by very few, has, unlike in Siberia
further south, resisted the influence of western New Age groups, but retains great power,
while many Sakha work as healers, still using the khomus and sung algys (blessings).
IMAMUTDINOVA, Zilya (State Arts Study Institute, Moscow, Russia)
The Transformation of Muslim Religious Musical Genres at the Beginning of the 21st
Century: Maulid in the Culture of the Ural-Volga Tatars and Bashkirs
Religious musical genres are quite important in the popular culture of Muslims. Most of the
changes in the forms and styles of religious music, however, take place outside the mosques.
Two factors have been essential in shaping this culture. Firstly, during Soviet times there
were severe prohibitions on religious musical forms, and secondly the new religious musical
forms were greatly influenced by modern European (Russian) popular culture. My research
examines the changes in the genre of Maulid, which historically developed in various Muslim
cultures to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. I shall present recordings which
illustrate various forms of the functioning of the genre in the culture of Russia’s
contemporary Muslim Turks (Tatars and Bashkirs). I shall highlight the variability of
attitudes to Maulid, which also influenced general stylistics and regional expansion of this
genre in the Islamic world.
JUNG, Angelika (Galerie Mani, Weimar, Germany)
Sufi Ideas in the Music of Bukharan Shashmaqam
Although Shashmaqam is not directly connected with Sufi Rituals, there is evidence in the
music itself. Many things could be said about Sufi influence in Shashmaqam, but I shall
concentrate on two main principles: expressing ecstasy and help for cleaning the self and
opening the heart. One is the extension of the melody to the highest point possible (awj), the
other is the acceleration of the rhythmical motion ending with the last vocal parts (ufar). But
what is the meaning of the inclusion of other melodic parts functioning as a kind of
pacification? This will be demonstrated with examples from the Shashmaqam edition of Ari
Babakhanov (Berlin 2010) and complemented by music and video demonstrations.
JUSUPJAN CHYTYRBAEVA, Janyl (Radio Ozodlik, Prague, Czech Republic)
New Religious Music in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan has experienced a religious boom in its twenty years of independence. Before
liberal religious laws were tightened in recent years, Protestant, Baha’i, Krishnaids and other
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denominations appeared, while so-called traditional religions – Orthodox Christianity and
Islam – experienced an unprecedented revival. Some of these denominations have created
songs in the Kyrgyz language to improve their appeal to potential converts.
There are also reports and specific cases of musicians giving up performing after becoming
devout Muslims. Мukhtar Atanaliev became famous in 1990s with his pop song “Daughter of
Chui Valley”. Later he apparently withdrew from the stage after reportedly becoming a
devout Muslim. This is more widespread in neighbouring Tajikistan. Malika Saidova became
the latest of a string of singers quitting music for good.
Kyrgyzstan has become a battlefield of hard-liners who demand the prohibition of music,
while traditionalists calling themselves Tengirists (worshipers of Tengir – God of Sky) are
attempting to counter what they call “alien culture”. The Tengirists are especially hardened
by the attacks on what they call sacred traditions. They say the worship of ancestor spirits,
burials traditions, even “koshok” (polyphonic mourning songs at funerals) are under threat
from Islamists. Singing especially in a community context is traditional among Kyrgyz. But
part of the younger generation more steeped in Islamic culture seem more willing to bypass
the pleasures of music and entertainment than their parents who grew up during communism.
KHALIG-ZADE, Fattakh ( National Academy of Music, Baku, Azerbaijan)
Islam and Music in Modern Azerbaijan
The main purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the religious music of the Republic
of Azerbaijan. The relationship between religion and music has a long history in Azerbaijan
and can be found in the ancient Turkic beliefs and mythology, pre-Islamic religions such as
fire worshipping, Zoroastrianism etc. Some of these customs and beliefs are present in 20th
century Azerbaijan, which gives us a good opportunity to re-evaluate the interplay between
secular and religious music and investigate new trends in the religious music in Azerbaijan.
Despite the strict ideological and atheistic propaganda of the Soviets, Azerbaijanis always
adhered to Islam (both Shia and Sunni branches), performing the rituals in secret. Mowlud
and Dhikr ceremonies, for instance, are performed mainly by Sunnis, whereas mourning
rituals and Taziye theatrical performances are exclusive to the Shia population. But the
most remarkable is the revival of the Dervish wedding ceremonies. Such ceremonies
include traditional mugam music and the Ilahi devotional songs. The genre was first
borrowed from neighbouring Turkey, mainly through TV shows. However, the performers
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usually do not know the origins and the pop music features of Ilahi. These features and
origins will be examined from different perspectives in the paper.
KLEBE, Dorit (Berlin, Germany)
The role of music among the cultures of Turkic-speaking communities (Kazakhs, Kyrgyzs,
Tatars) in the Berlin diaspora, 2006-2012
The paper begins with a short overview of the history of immigration, outlining the current
cultural life of Kazakhs, Kyrgyzs, and Tatars living in Berlin. It includes their own cultural
activities and those in relation to the guest society, especially performances of music and
dance in ritual or non-ritual contexts. For ritual performances, for instance, I shall introduce
Saban tuyı [feast of the plough], a summer festival of the Tatar communities, and the various
kinds of Nowrūz celebrations, a spring festival for the New Year. Non-ritual events can have
a political or academic context, such as music performances in seminars at universities.
The following questions arise: What is the main role that music plays in such events? What is
the nationality of the performers? Are they members of the communities living in Berlin, or
have they only come by reason of the performance? Which of the processes of change is it
more important to observe? Are the religiously-related performances still being performed in
their original context? Which genres and forms of music and dance are more prevalent? In
which sense are they representative for each of the cultures?
KLENKE, Kerstin (Stiftung Universität Hildesheim, Germany)
The Hajj Does Not Go Pop: Uzbek Estrada and Islam
Promoting Islam and promoting popular music are both staple items on the agenda of Uzbek
state rhetoric. And indeed, these spheres of spiritual and cultural life seem to have flourished
since independence. Initiatives like the restoration of mosques and the founding of the
Islamic University are a visible testimony to the end of officially-prescribed atheism under
Socialism. Similarly, the establishment of a state agency for estrada and the inauguration of a
special faculty for estrada at the conservatory speak clearly of the government’s attention to
Uzbekistan’s most prolific – and most audible – genre of popular music. Often policies
towards Islam and estrada even follow similar patterns and are framed by an identical
terminology of development, support and advice. Knowing this – and knowing popular music
from other countries influenced by Islam – one might expect estrada to be infused by
religious content. There is, however, a conspicuous absence of Islamic references in this
genre, and despite the official advocacy for Islam, estrada musicians face harsh consequences
when trying to incorporate religious content into their lyrics or video clips.
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Drawing on field and archival research in Tashkent, in my paper I shall address the reasons
for this apparent contradiction and its consequences. This will lead me from the current
legislation on estrada and its underlying regime of values via Soviet approaches to the
institutionalization and canonization of music to Uzbekistan’s role in the so-called ‘war on
terror’ and the Tashkent wedding circuit. By taking on diverse perspectives on the presumed
– and officially promoted – incompatibility between estrada and Islam I aim to explore the
complexity of factors shaping this relation, which seem to range from geopolitical strategies
to teenagers’ pleasure in dancing.
KUZBAKOVA, Gulya (Kazakh National university of Arts, Astana)
Kazakh Popular Music in 1990-2010: Metamorphosis of Development
The birth of jazz-influenced music around the world was important for its development. The
face of music changed. The concept and the phenomenon of mass culture and popular music
came into the space of sounds. The interaction of Kazakh traditional music in all its variety
and popular American and British music led to a variety of synthetic conditions. There was a
creative laboratory in popular music of Kazakhstan in 1990-2010 which experimented with
instrumental compositions, the search for the ideal ethnic sound, the introduction of various
methods of sound production. This was etnorok, (the group - "Roksonaki", leader Ruslan
Kara "Urker", leader and frontman Aydos Sagatov, the group "Ulytau" with its crossing of
cultures between East and West.) New forms of ensemble appeared. There are "Saz otau",
dombra and kobyz; Quartet of four kobyz "Art-dala" and other works of numerous solo artists
with ethnic vocals. This was dictated by the reflexive tendency of musicians to feel the heirs
of Turkic culture. One project is of interest, “The Magic of Nomads”, (leader Renat Gaissin).
This is a
jazz-fusion band performing the national Kazakh music in modern jazz
arrangements. The band is comprised of professional musicians, each of whom is a bright
individual, which makes their music an outstanding cultural experience. This is fine Kazakh
jazz of our days, melding traditions with the freedom of improvisation. The band's style is
determined by the synthesis of folk and jazz, quite unique. Burning a CD of the recording
took place at the famous British Abbey Road studios, London. The studio has a worldwide
reputation that is here recorded their legendary song "The Beatles".
Well-known Kazakh folk songs and kui are written to the disk of “Magic of Nomads”
band. Samples of folklore and traditional music get into the audience, of course, in modified
form in the works of popular bands and pop singers. Kazakh songs and kui inevitably lose
their authentic character, but the traditional genres become prevalent in the listening
14
environment through a new reading, a new interpretation of folklore. Band members include
Gaziza Gabdrahimova, a professional performer on the ancient Kazakh instrument the kobyz,
which is one of the brightest instruments in Kazakh culture. Her style is a synthesis of
traditional and modern music. Yedil Khussainov is a composer and folk-music researcher
who plays the ancient Kazakh musical instruments the zhetygen, sybyzgy, sazsyrnay, kamys
syrnay and shankobyz. Yedil has a unique type of vocals – throat-singing, where you can
hear two sounds. There two types of throat singing: kargyr (low), and sagyt (high). Shamans
used throat signing in ritual dancing in the past. His music combines the ancient and the
modern, connecting the ancestors of the Kazakhs, the Saki, the Huns and the Turks, in music.
Viktor Khomenkov is a composer, arranger, teacher and leading jazz pianist of Kazakhstan.
His talent and virtuoso technique, playing different instruments and understanding the music
materials, is a great benefit to the project. Viktor has participated in many jazz festivals and
conferences as a member of various jazz groups. Salimgerey Sadykov is a performer on the
traditional Kazakh instrument, the dombra and a gifted musician who combines a unique
technique with traditional singing. He is active on the concert platform and has presented the
culture of Kazakhstan in Russia, Switzerland, Germany and elsewhere. Salimgerey is the
Dean of the dombra department at the Kurmangazy National Conservatory.
MANYAKIN, Vladimir (Kazakh National University of Arts, Astana)
Kazakh Folk Songs: from Preservation to Readjustment and Development
Ethnomusicologists consider that traditional folk music has sacral features. Taking into
account this fact as original point of our research, we examine the appeal of the revised
versions of folk songs, namely the revised versions of Abai’s songs, in the musical culture of
Kazakhstan in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The revised versions are a new
musical-original kind (MOK) which combines national and European elements tied with the
specificity of Kazakh monody on the one hand, with harmony, polyphony and texture of the
homophonic-harmonic range on the other. These revised versions of Kazakh folk songs have
become popular and have had a persistent and wide audience from the time of their
appearance (approximately at the beginning of the 1920s).
We want to retrace the occurrence of the semantics of the revised songs, to see whether the
substantial plan of the primary pattern and sacral features is preserved. The issue of the
semantics of the intermediate, transitional musical forms appearing during the interaction of
the cultures is open and complicated. One cannot always speak about full or partial
15
preservation of the substantial plan of each of the interacting traditions. Part of the content,
the semantics of these compositions are better preserved, namely in the revised versions, in
contradistinction from the other patterns of the interplay. The typological resemblance of the
Kazakh folk songs with instrumental accompaniment to arranged songs with piano
accompaniment promotes this process.
Abai Qunanbaev (1845-1904) is a great poet, philosopher, and author of the songs, which are
loved by the people. Having been the grandiose person, in his works Abai suggests new
substance, new sacral features for Kazakh culture. First of all is a feeling of the art person’s
solitude, which is characteristic of the philosophy of Sufism, a passionate impulse for unity
with the divine origin. Abai is a significant part of Kazakh culture, Kazakh spirituality. He
became a recognized mouthpiece of that spirituality in music due to his genial musical gift.
Despite the fact that he acts as a reformer (A. Baygaskina) of the Kazakh musical language in
his song art, his songs have emerged deeply folk and close to the people’s spirit. Abai’s songs
in the revised versions have become the expressive sign of the new Kazakh musical culture.
MAKAROV, Gennadiy (Kazan state Conservatory, Russia)
Muslim Spiritual Poems as a Cultural Phenomenon of the Volga Tatars
Tatars from the Volga river have inherited a strong tradition of reciting Muslim spiritual
poems which was still popular in the mid 20th century. The style of performance is based on a
classical metro-rhythmical system from late medieval times of Tatar history. During religious
holidays such as Ramazan or Mavlyud, the poems of Ahmad Yassavi, Suleman Bykyrgani,
Muhammed Chelebi and other Sufi poets were performed. They were named according to the
genre of gathering, Ilyahi Bayit, Robagyi, Munojat, Kasyda, Gazel and Sikr. Preservation of
this tradition was based on the knowledge and experience of people of the older generation
who graduated from religious institutions before the Soviets came to those lands. That
situation changed when the old tradition faded away and newcomers, having no religious
education, started to perform it using tunes and rhythms from local ethnic pop songs. After
the collapse of the USSR, however, no significant changes have been made in transmission of
this rare tradition, though a few attempts have been made.
These days the few remaining recordings of that traditional religious genre give us an
opportunity to find out how strong the influence of various Aruz classical metres on
recitations of Tatar spiritual poems was.
Here are the most obvious examples:
1) eight syllables Aruz Metre Hazadj (hazadj-i mussamani-i- salim): ᴗ – – – / ᴗ – – – / ᴗ – – –
16
/ ᴗ – – – //. reflected in Munojat “I moemin, sahar torgyl” (see example n1 in bibliography)
2) eight syllables Aruz Metre Ramal (ramal-i-murabba-i-mahzuf) : – ᴗ – – / – ᴗ – – / – ᴗ – – /
– ᴗ – //. reflected in Munojat “Eia Rabbym, dide Musa” (see example n2) .
3) six syllables Aruz Metre Ramal (ramal –i-mussadas –i mahzuf): – ᴗ – – / – ᴗ – – / – ᴗ – //.
It is used in popular songs and also in the famous Kasyda «Emine hanym Mehemmet anasy”
(see example n 3 below) which is included in the repertoire of Tatar ethnographic groups.
4) six syllables transformed Aruz Metre Ramal (ramal-i-mussadas-i-mahbun-i mahzuf) ᴗ ᴗ –
– /ᴗ ᴗ – – / ᴗ ᴗ – //. This Aruz metre influenced the rhythmical structure of many Bayits
becoming very popular with the local Tatar audience. The best example is the famous song
«Туган тел», set to lyrics by Tatar poet Gabdulla Tukai (1886-1913). Its rhythmic structure is
characterised by similarity to the classical Aruz rhythm Ramal. Sometimes a performer could
sing it in an even more complicated 7/8 rhythm (see ex. № 4), with eight syllables metre
Basyt (basyt –i- mussaman-i calim): – ᴗ – / – – ᴗ – / – – ᴗ – / – – ᴗ – //. This metre is
famous in Tatar Bayit recitations in two rhythmical versions (see examples n 5 and n 6
below).
In the memory of the old generation living in the rural area of Tatarstan and in Tatar villages
outside Tatarstan in Russia there are examples of traditional religious recitations. No doubt
these
have
a
close
relationship
with
Central
Asian
Muslim
recitations.
Our
ethnomusicological task is to concentrate on audio recordings and documentation of such
recitations. Reconstruction of such genres as Bayit, Zikr, Kasyd is the most important
contribution to the cultural preservation of Volga Tatars.
MOZAFARI, Parmis (University of Cambridge)
The ritual music of Turkmens of Iran
The paper introduces the music of Turkmens of Iran who reside in the North-East of the
country. It investigates the issue of continuity and change in the current musical culture of
Turkmens, focusing on the following subjects: major instrumental and non-instrumental
musical genres and their functions; singing techniques like jogh jogh; musical instruments of
Dotar, Zanburak, Nei, Kamancheh and their function; Turkmen Maqams and non-Maqami
pieces; major musical figures like Bakhsi(s) and Porkhan(s); women’s musical genres like
La’leh Khani; and the changing scope of female involvement with music.
NEDLINA, Valeriya (Kazakh State Conservatory, Kazakhstan)
Folklorismus in Popular Music of Kazakhstan: Returning to Spiritual Roots
17
In all times Kazakh people have had access to popular culture. Songs of such composers of
the 19th century as Birjan-sal, Akan-sere, Muhit, Sara, Mayra, Jayau Musa, Madi, Uskembai,
Medet kuys (instrumental pieces) of Kurmangazy, Dauletkerey, Dina, Tattimbet etc. are still
very popular among Kazakhs. The Soviet period was equivocal. On one hand, thanks to the
national policy of the Soviets, Kazakh music was situated in the attention of
ethnomusicology. There are many large collections of folk and oral-professional music of the
19th and 20th centuries. On the other hand, hunger and the collectivization of the 1930s,
World War II, and the urbanization of the 1950s-1990s changed the cultural environment.
Traditional popular music could not develop. Pop music was usually written in the same
European way without any national references.
The beginning of independence years has raised a question on updating of musical massculture. Many musicians had intentions to make pop-culture more national. We can find
different understandings and ways to realize the national character of music. Ulytau ensemble
started from transcriptions of popular dombra kuys for violin, electro-guitar and dombra with
percussion rhythm; now they also compose their own kuys. Many singers and instrumentalists
(such as singer B. Shukeev, A. Sagatov and his Urker and violinist J. Serkebayeva) are using
folk motifs and principles in pop and rock compositions on new themes. One of the
contemporary trends is to show Kazakh auyl (village) and its life or some legends of ancient
times in video-clips. There is also a trend to create folk instrument ensembles (such as Turan
or Babalar sazy) to perform contemporary compositions using traditional musical means. All
the trends are coming to life against a background of searching for a new national identity
based on ancient Tengry beliefs and the outlook of previous generations.
NYSSEN, Liesbet (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Khuday, Khay, and Khuray: Connections to Religion in Khakas Popular Music
The focus of this paper is on Khakas music performed on stage and aimed at a broad
audience. It not only includes the genres of estrada, rap, rock, ethno-rock, and other ethnic
fusion, but also less obvious musics, like some traditional songs, a considerable part of
professional traditional music and ‘composers’ music, and the relatively new genre which I
call ‘shamanic music’. Part of it is being widely distributed by various media. Since 1991 in
most of these genres songs popped up that connect to spiritual notions and practices in
various ways. Most widespread are the expression and transmission of shamanist and
tengrianist notions in lyrics, attributes, gestures, and sound. Many songs also incorporate
(part of) former ritual performances, like the shaman’s kamlanie and community and personal
18
prayers. Conversely, some old secular sounds took on a ritual-like function in popular music.
Finally, an exceptional and invisible/inaudible connection to religion in popular music is the
re-emerging notion of the spiritual origin of talent and creativity, which occurs across all art
forms and may well appear to pop singers.
While some religious connections in music transmit or reinstate culturally relevant values and
consciously aim at community building, other references seem to heighten the musician’s
status within the community, facilitate a position in the world music market, or serve the
local tourist industry. In my presentation I shall explore how musicians of various popular
music genres incorporate spiritual notions and practices, which audiences they target, and
who benefits from this.
RANCIER, Megan (Bowling Green State University, USA)
“The Sound of Modern Kazakh Nomads”: Discourses of Ancientness and Nationhood in the
Music of Contemporary Kazakh Qyl-qobyz Performers
The Kazakh two-stringed horsehair fiddle qyl-qobyz contains a veritable archive of cultural
information, encompassing Kazakh legends, traditions, and history, as well as the twin
legacies of Russian Imperial and Soviet cultural influences. In many ways, the biography of
the qyl-qobyz echoes the experiences of the Kazakh nation itself, through periods of
persecution and adaptation to new political systems and cultural institutions. This close
identification between the qyl-qobyz and Kazakh ethnic identity appears in statements by
individual musicians, government-sponsored cultural heritage propaganda, and commercial
venues such as advertising and tourism expositions. In light of these facts, the contemporary
qyl-qobyz and the musicians who perform it carry with them a substantial weight of historical
baggage in terms of the instrument’s shifting uses and significance. Although it is still
considered one of the most “ancient” Kazakh musical instruments, the acceptability,
associations, and meanings of the qyl-qobyz have changed dramatically over the past century.
Therefore, any discussion of a qyl-qobyz “tradition” – and an individual musician’s approach
to understanding and playing the instrument – must confront this complex history and decide
how to negotiate “ancientness” with history, legend with historical fact.
This paper will highlight the approaches the qyl-qobyz performer and instructor Raushan
Orazbaeva, the Conservatory-trained folk ensemble “Turan,” and the “pop-folk” performer
Akyerke Tajibaeva. These individual artists represent, respectively, the traditionalist, “neotraditionalist,” and innovationist perspectives. In this diversity of musical approaches to the
19
qyl-qobyz, we can observe an implied diversity of perspectives on how Kazakhs perceive
their own national identity in terms of their culture, history, and musical traditions.
SIPOS, János (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary)
From the Spiritual to the Profane and Back: the Relationship between Folk Religion and Folk
Songs of Some Turkic People
In our media-saturated world, the winds of change easily blow away old cultural values,
including some ancient layers of folk music. Culture of course has always been characterized
by continuous change, but these newer layers replacing older ones are not given enough time
to be burnished and become more complete. However, older musical layers do not surrender
easily. Tunes believed to have disappeared find new life as a hidden stream, jumping a
generation, or with the help of a revival. And sometimes they change genre, and religious
music "saves" their life. There are several connections between the religious and secular
repertoires of the Turkic peoples. Relying on my Asian researches I introduce some of them
in my paper, illustrated by my audio and video recordings. In the repertoire of some Turkish
groups, for example that of the Tahtajis in Turkey, religious tunes dominate the melody
treasury and folk music is represented by a single melody form. Also, an instructive example
is the Turkmen zikr which, having been persecuted in Soviet times, lost its religious content
and became profane. A third example, some melodies thought by the Caucasian Karachays to
be “ancient” songs, are demonstrably takeovers, while some of their old folk melodies crept
into the religious melody stock.
We introduce more thoroughly our research among Bektashis living in the European part of
Turkey. Their religious music is closely related to their folk music, and besides extinct folk
melodies it incorporates several layers of Turkish art music (Türk Sanat Müziği). Using our
examples, we also research the connections between spiritual and profane forms.
SADIKOVA, Aziza (Berlin, Germany)
New Music Technique and Koran Recitation: “Untitled”, the piece for amplified violoncello and
tape
20
In new music today the influence of religious music and specific sound systems of other
cultures is very prominent. In my works, I have been trying to find the connection between
new music techniques (especially in instruments such as cello, double bass or flute) and the
ancient tones of Koran reading with their elegant nuances of Arab language recitation. One of
the first examples in my music was the theatre play Black White Stork (A. Kadiry), where
Azan (the morning prayer) was used to depict the scene. However, later in my instrumental
works, this experiment took on another level, and I introduced Azan in combination with
other Western and Uzbek instruments.
Untitled, the piece for amplified violoncello and tape, composed in 2010, uses recordings of
the Koran as a climax in the piece, where those mysterious sounds dramatically and
dynamically (fff) appear on the cellist’s highest note of the piece. At this point, the effect is
that the music of another level and space is interacting with the earthly sounds of human
emotions (cellist), and then slowly disappears back into darkness. Those various mystical,
philosophical, linguistic and theological currents of the Koran recitation are predominant in
the latest phase of the whole twelve-minute work. On the tape, the quarter-tones and
ornamentation of the recitation are placed together on multiple levels, repeating each other,
therefore creating an effect of surprising complex harmonies of such ‘choral’ singing. In this
case, each sound starts to have a distinctive rhythm and mystical makeup by which it differs
from other interwoven traditional sounds (sato - uzbek stringed instrument, tanbur - longnecked plucked lute, and violoncello).
SOLOMON, Tom (University of Bergen, Norway) & NARODITSKYAYA, Inna
(Northwestern University, USA)
Azeri rap music and oral poetry: between tradition and modernity
The Azeri hip-hop group Dəyirman (usually anglicized as Dayirman), founded in the mid1990s, is generally acknowledged as being the first group to make rap music at a professional
level in the Azeri language. Much writing about the group and their music, especially popular
journalistic coverage, evokes connections between the group’s use of the idiom of rap and the
longstanding Azeri folk and literary tradition of meyxana (anglicized as meykhana), the
unaccompanied rhythmic recitation of oral poetry. While the discursive connection between
meyxana and rapping has become commonplace, there has not been a careful examination of
the extent to which there are actual specific stylistic continuities between the two genres in
terms of poetics and performance style.
21
This paper first presents a brief general overview of the meyxana oral poetry tradition. It then
turns to some examples of Azeri rap, concentrating in particular on songs by Dəyirman and
focusing on the poetic organization of the texts. Finally, the paper addresses the question of
whether there is a direct link between traditional meyxana recitation and contemporary
rapping in terms of specific aspects of poetic form and style in performance. The paper
argues that whether or not such specific and direct continuities can be empirically
demonstrated, the discursive connection between what are represented as respectively
traditional and modern genres serves powerfully to anchor the contemporary popular music
expression of rap in Azeri history and culture. Representing rapping as an organic outgrowth
from meyxana works to construct an authenticity for rapping as an appropriate vehicle for
performing contemporary Azeri identity.
SOYSAL, Fikri (Dicle University State Conservatory Diyarbakır, Turkey)
Music Culture of Islam Civilization and Popular Culture in the 21st Century in Turkey
Popular culture is a mass culture which develops with the culture industry (Adorno, 1975, s.
12-19). It is more interesting to explore the benefits to a community rather than considering it
as an art form. Cultural erosion in which strong structures are suppressed and weak structures
disappear is not significant. Popular culture is directed by the directors who were educated
with advanced and intensified techniques, and who do not have economic concerns. Popular
culture appeared in Turkey and began to show its impact with the westernization movements
in music. The closure of places of worship, the tekke and zaviye, where religious music was
played, the repressive (Yarman, 2010, s. 1-37) and insulting attitudes towards public and
Ottoman classical (art) music, and westernization policies, created an emptiness and
obscurity in the musical background of the Turkish people. As a result, the work of the
culture industry, which was equipped with advanced administration and marketing
techniques, became easier. This period should be called the era of the culture industry. It can
be said that this era is highly influenced by the spread of internet connection to every house.
From the sale of millions of popular music albums in the past, today sales do not reach even
half a million. The culture industry now has control over radio and TV broadcasts which were
common communication tools in the old culture industry periods, so it can be said that
audiences are manipulated via these communication tools. However, the expansion of the
internet has created an environment where audiences have a choice. Although popular culture
provided certain technical advancements, it also caused corruption in music. In this paper, we
22
shall examine the factors that have affected the development of oriental music in relation to
religious music; we shall discuss today’s popular culture elements and the definition of
popular culture in the 21st century.
SUMMITS, Will (University of Central Asia)
The Tawārīkh-i Mūsīqīyūn: the Posthumous Popularization of Musicians from Afghanistan in
a 19th century Chaghatai treatise
While ‘pop’ culture is usually associated with phenomena born out of the advent of the sound
recording industry and the distribution of mass media in the 21st century, it also has
precedents and analogues in earlier times. This paper will look at musicians who gained starlike status in earlier centuries and will examine what factors played a role in their
popularization and glorification. The Tawārīkh-i Mūsīqīyūn, written in Khotan in 1854, will
be examined in order to show how legend and fact can become indistinguishable in the
popular imagination, and how the historical dissemination of literature and oral traditions
often joins together biographies and hagiographies to produce ‘stars’ whose status continues
to be increasingly glorified long after their death. In considering some of the great musicians
of Afghanistan and Xinjiang found in the Tawārīkh-i Mūsīqīyūn, I shall compare some of the
earlier sources used by its author, as well as later sources, in order to explore manifestations
of ‘pop’ culture in earlier centuries.
SUZUKI, Valentina (Tuva Academy of Science)
Traditional and Popular Music in Tuva
The formation of the Tuvans' traditional complex of sound perception and origin of their
music was influenced by early forms of pre-shamanic beliefs (totemism, animism),
shamanism, and somewhat later syncretized with the philosophical-religious worldview of
Buddhism. It must be emphasized that the propagation of Buddhism in Tuva was
characterized by its interweaving with local shamanic cults. The shamanists' mythological
complex of cosmogenic perceptions reflects the nomadic sense of sacred space and nourishes
the feeling of an indissoluble connection with nature. For Tuvans, nature is populated with
spirit-lords, evil spirits and supernatural forces.
Under these conditions, it becomes clear why images of nature occupy a central place in the
music art of the Tuvans. Singing a materially perceptible picture of the natural environment is
not ideal contemplation, but a social manifestation of shamanic ideology rooted in an
animistic perception of deified nature. Essentially all traditional music, especially
23
instrumental music and throat singing, was sacred music which appealed to the spirits of
nature. “Throat-singing, for example, was part of a highly personal dialogue between humans
and the natural world. Putting throat-singing on a stage, where it was subjected to the demands of
showmanship, represented a perversion of its original intent” (T. Levin & V. Suzukei, Where
Rivers and Mountains Sing: sound, music and nomadism in Tuva and beyond. Indiana
University Press, 2006, р.24.). The context of the contemporary functioning of Tuvan music
is changing and it has become more popular art. Spatial spreading, temporary evolution and
modern modification of the musical culture of Tuvans at present are amongst the interesting
objects of scientific studies.
TANSUĞ, Feza (Yeditepe University, Turkey)
American Popular Music in Central Asia
Aiming at integration with the world economy compels developing Central Asian Turkic
Republics to rely on reinterpreting and reconstructing meanings of ‘imported’ cultural
artefacts, traditions and symbols to cultivate national identity and redefine cultural
boundaries. One example of this is the diffusion of American-, British- and Russianinfluenced popular music into Central Asian countries. Modernized international traditions
incorporate а wide variety of electronically-produced styles and genres produced and
distributed by the American, British, and Russian recording industry, including blues, folk,
country, disco, slow ballad, rock and roll, punk and new wave, which have become
transplanted into Central Asia.
The globalization of world culture, with its social, political, economic and cultural
ramifications, has necessitated the formulation of new analytical approaches to understand
cultural interactions and global cultural flows. During my field research in Central Asia, I
traced the development of Estrada by collecting historical, sociological and ethnographic
data. The data was compiled in order to analyse the impact of the dissemination of popular
music transmitted into Central Asia by the international media and recording industry. This
diffusion has resulted in 1. the transplantation of ‘foreign’ music into Central Asian popular
culture, and 2. the incorporation of this music into Central Asian music traditions, manifested
in what is termed Estrada. Central Asian Estrada has evolved throughout successive waves
of international innovations and currently encompasses а range of musical styles and genres.
My project helped me arrive at a hypothesis on how Estrada, which represents а symbolic
form, behaviour, and value in Central Asian societies, promulgates national cultural identities
and awareness on the basis of the ‘globally shared system of political economy’ and the de-
24
territorialization of culture. Results also tested the hypothesis that economically-motivated
cross-border flow of popular culture through the mass media from the industries of the major
Western countries impels the recipient developing countries to redefine their cultural
boundaries and traditions.
Based upon my field research both in Central Asia and in the USA, I shall discuss in this
paper the place of American popular music in Central Asian Estrada. I shall conclude that the
homogeneity of modern American life, and particularly the prominence of radio, television,
internet and the record industry, have also homogenized musical life in Central Asia.
VARLI, Ersen (Karadeniz State Conservatory, Turkey)
The process of popularity of religious musical examples with the aspect of Performance
Theory among women and men: music of Sunni and Alevi sects in Turkey (1)
There are different perceptions and evaluations about the concept of popularity of religious
music in different times and places. Although those examples which include religious
doctrine are not involved, their musical aspect is accepted and valuable. We investigate the
process of popularity of religious music of Sunni and Alevi sects. We also look into the
differences between men and women and the ways that they get involved in religious
ceremonies. The function of musical instruments is of great importance. For instance, Ney is
a popular instrument to express religious identity in the Sunni Sect, while in the Alevi sect it
is the Bağlama.
VARLI, Özlem (Karadeniz State Conservatory, Turkey)
The mediums of mysticism during the process of popularity in the Sunni sect, Turkey (2)
The differences between Sunni and Alevi sects are quite significant. For instance, men and
women worship separately in Sunni mosques while Alevi people do it together in “Cem
House- especially in city”, “Dede House”. Also, Sunni women have resumed some special
religious events different from those of from men and the Alevi sect like Mevlüt (for babies,
new houses, jobs, asure ), Friday meeting, 40 Yasin (a special group of verses), meeting to
read the Quran, Mukabele (for one month, Ramadan).
During the presentation, we shall examine the most common “ilahis” (a kind of religious
musical example) and the reasons behind their popularity. We shall also look at the process of
popularity of religious music through two main examples. The first example is Mercan Dede,
a Ney player who is famous for his mystic melodies. The other example is a music piece
25
which was sung by Tülay German, a prominent singer of the early 1980s in Turkey. She sung
Salavat-ı Şerif, composed by Itri; the verses are about the Meryem Mother.
VLAEVA, Ivanka (University of Sofia, Bulgaria)
Music Images of Istanbul: from Fatih Akin’s films to stage and street performances
The starting point of my research is the music of Istanbul as included in Fatih Akin’s films.
Next is a tour of musicians from Istanbul which I saw in Bulgaria as well as my experience as
a ‘mobile musicologist’ in Istanbul. I am looking for some answers which are crucial for the
understanding of cosmopolitan popular urban cultures such as that in Istanbul. Some of the
answers are connected to current music images of Istanbul presented in the films and the
music types that the audience outside learn about. What role do the religious music forms
play in popular culture in Istanbul? What is a part of daily or festivity life? Who perceives the
music as one or another kind?
Istanbul is a cosmopolitan city – a place in both Europe and Asia where many different
traditions correlate and mix. The city is a good example of a hybrid culture in which many
groups of people and their heritage coexist. The popular culture of this place is specific and
contains many different genres in which the traditional music elements have their own space.
Thus the music of Istanbul is like a bridge between traditional and modern, local and foreign,
religious and secular. In my research I also try to find some of these links which coexist in
the popular music there.
YELEMANOVA, Saida (Kazakh National University of Arts)
The study of Kazakh music in its sacred and spiritual dimensions
The study of traditional music culture today is a significant problem for Kazakh
ethnomusicology, but this theme attracts little attention. The general opinion of scholars of
folklore is that traditional culture, by definition, is sacred, especially concerning early and
ritual genres.
The belief of the people that music is a link between this world and the other world lies in
these genres. Kazakhs call kui (instrumental piece) the whisper of God. The musician in
traditional culture is an intermediary between humans and the higher world.
The sanctity of traditional culture is always preserved, even when it forms a layer of classical
(oral-professional) music for listening only. In connection with the theme of this symposium,
we are interested in contemporary manifestations of traditional music, which continue to exist
26
in the context of urban society. This is the memory of the ritual genres (we still write them on
expeditions), the epic tradition, and instrumental performing in regional traditions.
With regard to current practice, here, first of all, the changed status of the musician should be
noted. Today, the musician is the staff. Music has become background noise, at best entertainment. Most of the professional life of Kazakh musicians is associated with the design
of festivities – Toy – or participation in formal concerts.
YUNUSOVA, Violetta (Moscow State Conservatory, Russia)
Popular music forms of Turkic-speaking peoples in the Russian Federation
Three developments in popular music are presented a return to the ancient (archaic) art and
its new regions of Turkic-speaking peoples can be picked out in modern Russia: in the Volga
region, Siberia and North Caucasus. People who live there have different traditions and
religions: Buddhism and shamanism in Siberia; Islam and Christianity in the Volga Region
and North Caucasus. But in the former USSR some main traditions of popular music were
formed. There were popular interpretations of folk songs and dances, some classical
traditions (mugams in Daghestan), which were heard at folklore festivals, on TV and in
amateur performances; popular songs of national composers as professional as amateurs; and,
rarely, popular interpretations of religious music, which were disguised as folk music.
Turkic-speaking music was also popular. Nowadays some new tendencies and interpretations
can be found on the stage: an increase in the role of religious music (in academic and stage
forms); and new forms of popular culture like national rock music, jazz and jazz-rock which
on the national music traditions are based.
YELSHIBAYEVA, Aigul (Kazakhstan)
At the beginning of 20th century, the folk music has increased in its capacity and created
strong vocal-instrumental culture particularly “zhyrau” school which is brought singers with
national musical instrument “dombra”. This school had three basic foundation school, which
are Western Kazakhstan, Syrdarya region (river in Kyzyl Orda oblast), Zhetysu (“seven
lakes”) schools. The style of singer was specific to the regions mentioned and varied due to
the types of tempo of voice and skill of the person bring with him or her: some played
dombra by finger clicking the strings, some by flow of movements of hands. The “akyns”,
singers, using the natural style of their poetry skills along with their strong vocal tempo sang
with the help of larynx (throat) and roof of the mouth linking with strong lungs for longer air
flow. Moreover, structural, string, finger notation, terminological and vocal specifications are
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determined due to usage of musical instruments and all these factored into the specific
regional zhyrau schools. These zhyrau schools are subdivided into the following types:
Aqtobe zhyrau school, Mangystau zhyrau school, Zhayik (Ural) zhyrau school, Aral-Kazaly
zhyrau school, Kete-Shomen zhyrau school and Zhetysu zhyrau schools.
Since zhyrau culture are considered as instrumental and vocal genre, we will analyze the link
and rules between dombra and melody used by zhyraus, dombra rhythm and method of
playing this instrument by various users. Nauryzbek zhyrau had opened an importance of
individualism of dombra in music drama. He added new features and creations into the
various ways of playing dombra by traditional zhyrau. He flourished the music and sound by
professionalism in dombra playing, and he created a new classic sample of zhyrau
performance by mixing different sounds of the instrument.
Dombra – adds up front and background support while singing or playing dombra.
Dombra – fine tunes the music by following certain rules of rhythms.
Dombra – adds flourishing characteristics to the music.
Dombra – does not break the rhythms, but helps to retain the longer singing support to the
singer.
In Western Kazakhstan zhyrau school, one could segregate the differences between rhythms
and zhyrau performances of Nauryzbek zhyrau, Garifolla Kurmangaliyev, Mangystau and
Arai region. Flowing zhyr method of West Kazakhstan zhyrau school has been set up by
Nauryzbek, Zhaiyk region school due to Garifolla, Aral region is due to Zhanabergen zhyrau
impact and all these differences could be noted and differentiated by content of the poetry
structure (3+2+2) and by method of playing the national instrument dombra. It should be
noted that the musical differences are due to intonation features as well. In general, it can
easily be concluded that the different characteristics of zhyrau school in different areas are
really due to various approaches in playing the instrument, singing method and
professionalism and skills of the zhyrau.
Book Presentations
During the conference tea breaks there will be presentations of recently published books by
the following scholars: John Baily, Keith Howard, Janos Sipos/Eva Csaki, Tom Solomon,
Inna Naroditskaya, Razia Sultanova, Saida Yelemanova, and Giovanni De Zorzi.
Visual art Exhibition “Musical instruments of the Turkic speaking world”
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Artist: Elena Tchibor (University of Oxford),
Curator: Irene Kukota (University of Oxford, Sotheby’s Institute of Art)
Convenor, Academic Consultant, Dr. Razia Sultanova;
Musical instruments have always been an integral part of Turkic Asian culture. Their
idiosyncrasies correspond to the history of each particular region and its material culture,
beliefs, superstitions and aspirations. For ancient Asian cultures, musical instruments are
almost living beings; their makeup and sounds represent the elemental forces. Materials the
instruments are made of invoke the powers of nature (wood, mother of pearl, tusks, animal
leather and hair, fish skin, intestines etc.). Their tunes are based on natural rhythms, such as
the rhythm of the heartbeat, breath, the slow and dignified gait of a camel in a caravan.
Everything is taken from nature and returns to nature. Everything moves in unison with
elemental forces and upholds the pre-ordained rhythm of the universe. These instruments
remind us, the people of the 21st century, of the holistic and ecological vision of the world of
the primeval cultures, where men and nature were an inseparable whole. The musical
universe of Turkic-speaking peoples is not a subject contemporary artists explore. The artist
Elena Tchibor attempts to breach this gap and offers a closer view of these magnificent
musical artefacts, revealing the light, the smell, and the colours of the land changing with the
seasons. Another main attraction for the artist was how the elemental forces and everyday
objects were turned into art or served to produce art – a subject very close and relevant for
many a serious contemporary artist. The mini-exhibition Musical Instruments of the Turkic
Speaking World is the exploration of a magical terra incognita – the life and beliefs of the
Turkic-speaking nations through images of musical instruments. Such practice-based
research, focusing on the metaphors, values and meanings shaping Asian civilizations and
their material musical culture, in particular, hopes once again to raise the question formulated
by John Blacking: “How musical is the man?” - in this particular case, “How musical is
Asian Turkic-speaking man”?
Convener of the Symposium: Dr Razia Sultanova [email protected]
Symposium Assistant: Dr Parmis Mozafari: [email protected]