Pashto music
Encyclopedia
Pashto music is commonly found in Pakistan
, Afghanistan
and among the Pashtun diaspora
around the world. It is mainly listened to in the Pashtun
regions, which includes Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas
, and Balochistan
in Pakistan. The major centers of Pashto music are Peshawar
, Karachi
and Quetta
.
.
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.
. Instruments used include the rubab, Harmonium
, Drum
s 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.
. 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.
collection of Pashto Music
Music of Pakistan
The music of Pakistan includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Persian, Turkish, Arabic and modern day Western popular music influences...
, Afghanistan
Music of Afghanistan
The music of Afghanistan has existed for a long time, but since the late 1970s the country has been involved in constant wars and people were less concerned about music...
and among the Pashtun diaspora
Pashtun diaspora
Pashtuns , also called Pathans have many communities around the world. Pukhtuns have long history to conquer and colonizing several regions especially the ancient regions of Sub-continent in duration of past few centuries...
around the world. It is mainly listened to in the Pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
regions, which includes Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
, and Balochistan
Balochistan (Pakistan)
Balochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...
in Pakistan. The major centers of Pashto music are Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
and Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
.
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 Pashtuns 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 rubab and mangai. Tappa has up to 16 different models of harmony and is being sung with full orchestra. In hujrah it's sung with rubab and sitarSitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
.
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 tempoTempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring 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.
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.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).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.Badala
Badala is a professional form of folk music and consists of an epic poem or a balladBallad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
. Instruments used include the rubab, Harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
, Drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s and Tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
. In Badala, tribal traditions are the main theme as well as heroism, tragedies and romance. Badala consists of variations, because each couplet
Couplet
A couplet is a pair of lines of meter in poetry. It usually consists of two lines that rhyme and have the same meter.While traditionally couplets rhyme, not all do. A poem may use white space to mark out couplets if they do not rhyme. Couplets with a meter of iambic pentameter are called heroic...
is varied in rhythms from other. It is sung traditionally at night.
Rubayi
Rubayi is a Pashto form of a GhazalGhazal
The ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century...
. 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
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
poetry.
Composers and performers
- Obaidullah Jan KandaraiUbaidullah JanUbaidullah Jan Kandaharai, or simply known as Obaidullah Jan, was a prominent Pashto singer from Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was popular among the Pashtuns in southern Afghanistan and in Quetta, Pakistan. He brought some new style to traditional Pashto music and was considered a classical singer...
- Sardar Ali TakkarSardar Ali TakkarSardar Ali Takkar is a Pashto music singer, who is mostly famous for singing the revolutionary poetry of Ghani Khan. A mechanical engineer by profession, Takkar is a graduate of the University of Engineering and Technology in Peshwar, Pakistan...
- Nashenas
- Gulzar AlamGulzar AlamGulzar Alam, born on 14 October 1954, at Charsadda, is a Pashto singer with a fan base from Afghanistan to Pakistan and among Pashtoons around the world.-Life and career:...
- Farhad DaryaFarhad DaryaFarhad 'Darya' Nasher is an Afghan singer and composer, as well as a highly acclaimed music producer, and Good Will and Peace Ambassador for Afghanistan to the United Nations. Widely popular, he has earned affection for not only his music but also patriotism...
- Zeek AfridiZeek AfridiZeek Afridi is a Pashtun singer from Pakistan.Afridi comes from the tribal area of Tirah. His family belongs to the Afridi tribe of the Pashtun community. He was raised and educated in Peshawar, Pakistan. He attended F.G. Boys Public School in Peshawar, as well as Government College, Peshawar...
- Nazia IqbalNazia IqbalNazia Iqbal is a popular Pashto singer. She was born in Swat valley, Pakistan. She has fan base stretching from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pashtun areas of Balochistan, Pakistan to most parts of Afghanistan, and has achieved much recognition...
- NaghmaNaghmaNaghma is a prominent Afghan singer who started in the early 1970s. She and her ex-husband, Mangal, were a popular musical duo who dominated Afghan music scene during the 1970s and early 1990s. Naghma sings in Pashto and Dari...
- Rahim Shah
- Ahmad WaliAhmad WaliAhmad Wali is a popular Ghazal singer from Afghanistan. He began his career in the 1970s, becoming popular in his native country before he was forced to flee by political upheaval in Afghanistan. He continued his work after resettling in Germany, performing throughout Europe and the United...
- Zeb and HaniyaZeb and HaniyaZeb and Haniya is a pop group from Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The duo's songs are mostly in Urdu, but some lyrics are also in Pashto, Persian and Turkish...
- Zarsanga - The Queen of Pashto folk music
- Fay Khan
- Haroon Bacha
- Bakhtiar Khattak
External links
collection of Pashto Music