h~: Music of Afghanistan

The thought that immediately struck me when I dove head first into the music of Afghanistan without any expectations was that it sounds a lot like Indian music. The similarities range from common instrumentation to their system of composition and performance. They both use the kind of melodic type system called raga, they both incorporate improvisation as well as strict composition in performances, they both seem to have a great emphasis on rhythmic structure over melody, and so on. Several instruments found in both Afghan music and Indian music are very similar, and some even being shared between both such as the tabla drum. Initially I figured this would be primarily because of their geographical proximity to each other, both located in a cultural region that ought to owe a great deal of its musical traditions to that of Persian modal music. The reason for their similar instrumentation could be attributed to Kabul's importance as a central trading hub of the Orient, meaning the people of Afghanistan would definitely be exposed to many of the instruments by means of the passing caravans.

From at least the During the 1860s, many of the professional royal court musicians had learned Hindustani classical music in India, and several were even descendents from India moved to Kabul. Possibly the most famous of them, often named the father of Afghan music, was Ustad Qasem. He supposedly earns this nickname for his pivotal roles in bringing about a new kind of Afghan music, although how this occurred I can not find any clear information on. It is, however, clear that this new music is in essence a style of Indian classical music with an Afghan flavour. It is said that he developed what is known as Kabuli ghazal, which in rough terms would be the equivalent of Persian and Afghan texts set to Hindustani classical music. Until the early 1900s, the Indian traditions remained mainly confined to the court King Amanullah, after which it began spreading to other cities. As it was subject to some of the earlier domestic radio broadcasts, it soon found its status as Afghan national music.

Diagram of the rubab.

Qasem was also an avid player of the national instrument of Afghanistan, the rubab. It is a lute-like instrument with three melody strings, three drone strings and several sympathetic strings. This is similar to the Indian sitar, and the rubab is often seen as a predecessor of the latter by a few hundred years. It seems to be featured in most of the recorded music I've listened to, and has a very pleasant sound. The sympathetic strings resonate to give it a slight metallic timbre, although not quite as sharp as that of the comparable sitar. I would like to attribute the similarities between the Indian sitar and the Afghan rubab to their shared cultural heritage, likely an indication towards the idea that the music of Afghanistan and India has been similar in nature since long before recorded history.

There is one compilation of music that I found greatly interesting, called Afghanistan: Rediscovered Treasures (2007. Milan Records). Seemingly it is a collection of recorded modern performances of more traditional and tribal music, but the accompanying sleeve notes don't go into too much details about the compositions. Perhaps it is indicative of the Iranian influences? To my untrained ears, much of this music sounds a lot more like what one would typically consider Middle Eastern, occasionally even East European. There seems to be a lesser emphasis on rhythm, although the percussive membranophones are ever so present. The rhythmic patterns are shorter and more repetitive, with much less attention to the kind of elaborate cyclic structures otherwise found in music of Indian tradition and decent. Wind and bowed string instruments appear to be more prominent and play a greater role, while the drones and sympathetic string instruments have diminished in importance.

In the end, I have enjoyed the music I listened too, but at the same time I feel a slight disappointment in finding that Afghanistan does not have a very unique musical tradition of its own, but rather borrows much from other cultures. In addition to the influences that shine through so prominently, it's also a little saddening to find that like many Muslim nations, Afghanistan does not value music highly. It is mainly reserved for events, ofter religious in nature. I can definitely understand how this would inhibit the development of a rich tradition out of the plethora of cultural influences, through traders from all over the Orient, that must have had some impact on the history of Afghan music.