Recent Changes in The Dutār of Herat

Recent Changes in the Dutār of Herat
Author(s): John Baily

Source: Asian Music , 1976, Vol. 8, No. 1, Afghanistan Issue (1976), pp. 29-64
Published by: University of Texas Press
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/833946
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RECENT CHANGES IN THE DUTAR OF HERAT
by
John Baily
The recent development of a new musical instrument,

the 14 stringed Herati dut-r, was first described by Slobin
(1969b), who included two examples of this instrument on
his record The Music of Afghanistan, Vol. 2: Music of the
Pashtoons, Heratis and Kazakhs (Anthology 4004). Slobin
suggested that the instrument had developed through a
series of intermediate stages from a dut5r having two
strings. Further information was collected by Lorraine
Sakata. She identified 3 and 5 stringed forms of the dutdr
as important intermediate stages, and learned that the 14
stringed dutdr had been invented by Mohammad Karim Herawi,
who worked as a musician at Radio Afghanistan. The present
paper discusses some of the results of a 10 month study of
the Herati dut?r in 1973 and '74. This work was carried
out in the city of Herat and in nearby villages. Three
important types of dutdr are described, the changes which
music in Herat has undergone in the course of the present
century are outlined, and the circumstances under which
the modifications to the dutr were made are examined in
detail. In conclusion, the significance of the changes in
the dutr are discussed in terms of more general social
trends in Afghanistan.
THE SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT
The city of Herat lies in the fertile valley of

the Hari Rud in Western Afghanistan, about 80 miles from
the Iranian border. The valley, a large oasis in an other-
wise barren and mountainous area, contains about 200
villages and one major city, Herat. The original inhabit-
ants of the area were from Iran and the language spoken
now is a dialect of Persian (Dari). A city has existed on
this site for at least 2,000 years and the area has been
controlled by a long succession of local dynasties. At
various times Herat has been part of larger empires, and it
enjoyed its highest level of cultural achievement during
the 15th century A.D. when it was part of the Timurid
Empire of Khorasan (founded by Tamerlane), an area now
divided between Afghanistan, Iran and the Republics of
Soviet Central Asia. The Timurid rulers, great patrons of
the arts, established a highly cultivated court in Herat.
Literature, poetry, architecture, miniature painting and
music flourished. After the fall of the Timurid Empire in
1507, Herat became part of Safavid Iran for nearly 250 years.
For a while Herat continued to be a cultural centre, but
then entered upon a slow and protracted period of decline.
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Pushtun Abdali tribesmen moved in from Qandahar in the late
17th century, and in 1747 Herat became part of the
Afghanistan established by Ahmad Shah Durrani. Herat later
seceded. In the 19th century two long sieges by the
Iranians devastated much of the valley and the city was
largely destroyed. It is only since the 1880s that Herat
has been reintegrated into Afghanistan and political
stability and economic prosperity have returned. Although
Herati culture has many links with the past, there have
been considerable changes in the last 100 years, and these
are shown rather clearly in the music of Herat.
Herat city, with a population of about 125,000

(the total population of the valley is about 1 million), is
an interesting example of a pre-industrial traditional
Islamic city. English (1973) gives a useful account of the
city from the point of view of spatial organization. It is
the commercial, administrative and cultural centre of the
valley. About 10% of the inhabitants of the city are
Pushtun and, apart from very small ethnic minorities such
as the Turkomans, the remainder are Tajik. The Shi'a and
Sunni branches of Islam coexist in Herat, with Shi'as
making up about 40% of the urban population. Shi'ism
became the religion of Iran in the early 16th century when
Herat was part of the Safavid Empire. Many Herati Shi'as
have been on pilgirmages to Iran and tend in other ways to
identify with the culture of that country. It is partly
on account of this Iranian connection that Herat occupies
an anomalous position within Afghanistan. On the one hand,
Herat is regarded as something of a cultural centre because
of its great cultural past and because it maintains a high
standard in fields such as literature, poetry, ceramic
decoration and miniature painting. On the other hand, in
Kabul, the capital, Herat is regarded as not quite part of
Afghanistan, as somehow "over there"; more Iranian than
Afghan. In Kabul, Heratis are labelled ethnically as
Farsiwan (literally "Persian-speakers"), whereas most
Heratis consider themselves to be Tajik.
In many ways traditional Islamic norms and values,

such as the continued seclusion of women, are maintained
in Herat (in contrast to Kabul). The position of an
individual in Herati society depends in part on his standing
as a good Muslim. Within the religious system of social
control certain activities bring religious merit (sawnb),
such as regular prayer, reading religious books, fasting
during the month of Ramazan and making the pilgrimage to
Mecca. In contrast are activities that are sinful (gona-h);
and some musical activities come into this category. The
attitude of Islam towards music in Afghanistan has been
discussed by Slobin (1974). The mullah-s (clerics) in Herat
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(as elsewhere) make an important distinction between
unaccompanied song (kh5ndan) and music played with musical
instruments, alone or to accompany singing (saz or musiqi).
Unaccompanied singing is used by some mullah-s for
religious purposes, and there are specific categories of
songs which deal with religious themes: nat-s and
tasnif-s. For this singing the mullah-s have a system of
magam-s (modes) which bear some relation to the modes of
Iranian music. The attitude that music is sinful is based
not on the Qur'an, but on the Traditions of the Prophet.
It has varied from one Islamic country and historical
period to another, but it does appear that until recently
this attitude was held rather strictly across most sections
of society in Herat. This is perhaps due to the large
Shi'a population in Herat. Shi'ism, for reasons that we
need not go into here, has taken a markedly puritanical
stand against secular music (Caron & Safvate 1966; Zonis
1973). Associated with the negative attitude towards
music in Afghanistan is the low social status of profes-
sional musicians and others who are seen to "over-indulge"
in music (Slobin 1974). The social position of both music
and musicians has undergone modification in recent years.
THE THREE TYPES OF DUTAR
The Two Stringed Dut5r
Although an instrument like the duta7r is depicted

in miniature paintings of court life in Herat from the
Timurid period, it is not possible to say how the instru-
ment portrayed is related to the dut5r of 20th century
Herat. The dutar is one variety of the Khorasani tanbur
(During 1975): the word dutr means "two strings". The
type of dutr which was played in the in the Herat area
until about 1950 is shown in Figure 1. The body is carved
from a single block of mulberry wood, and the belly is made
from a thin sheet of the same material. The traditional
shape of the body is rather long, narrow and deep - some-
times described as qgshoqi (spoon-shaped) - with a ridge
(tez) running along the back. The neck is usually of
mu-lerry, apricot or walnut wood. The fretboard is
decorated with small diamond-shaped bone inlays; the
circumference of the belly is decorated with a long strip
of the same material, while a series of short bone strips
are inset into the sides and back of the body at the
junction with the neck. The latter are a very distinctive
feature of the Herati dutar (see Figure 1). The string
length is 65-75 cm., and formerly the two strings were made
of gut, as were the frets.
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Precise details of the spatial arrangement of the
frets and the tuning for the two strings used in former
times are not known, but an apparently very similar
arrangement is still sometimes encountered today. This
spatial layout has four important features. (1) Only the
ist string is fingered with the left hand; the 2nd string
functions as a drone. (2) The 2nd string is tuned a 4th
below the ist. (3) A position a 5th above the open note
of the ist string is taken as finalis (tonic). (4) From
the finalis the system of fretting gives a single mode
which is approximately the same as Shur, the principal mode
of Iranian music. This system of fretting is now known as
pardeh rsteh, see Figure 4. The term Shur does not seem
to have been used in the countryside in connection with
the dutr, though it was known in the city in the 1920s.
ddh
(5)
Op'e
0 v 'Is - = m;croiovtll1
MaleI
Shur-like modal structure given by the fretting of

the 2 stringed dutmr
Comparing the dutur mode as utilized in the

performance of old Herati tunes associated with the 2
stringed dutar with the mode of Shur as described by
Farhat (1965), we may note the following similarities:
the interval between the finalis and the 2nd above is a
small neutral 2nd; the interval between the 2nd above and
the 3rd above is a large neutral 2nd; the tetrachord above
the finalis is the focal point of melodic activity; the 2nd
below the finalis has importance as a starting point for
ascending melodic phrases. Unlike Shur, the dutr mode does
not employ the 5th above the finalis as a moteqayer (note
of variable pitch). The frets lower than the 2nd below
the finalis are not used in the old Herati tunes associated
with the dut5r, and the presence of these frets is something
of a mystery. In this respect the Herati dut5r contrasts
with the Turkoman dutr of Soviet Central Asia (also found
in Northern Afghanistan), where the open note of the ist
string is often taken as finalis, melodic movement extending
below this to the open note of the 2nd string (Slobin 1969b).
Possibly these lower frets are a recent addition, and in
former times the 2 stringed dutr did not have them.
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While I never saw the 2 stringed dutar in its
original form with gut strings, nor ever heard of anyone
who still played this instrument, it was possible to
obtain a good idea of how this instrument had been played
from a few older informants from villages near Herat who
played the 2 stringed dutar with steel strings, and by
testing out dutfr players who had formerly played the gut-
strung dutar with a dutlr fitted out with nylon strings
(nylon is an acceptable substitute for gut on several
Afghan instruments). Dutr players normally sit cross-
legged on the floor with the body of the instrument resting
on the right thigh and the neck supported at an angle of
30?-40?. In the right hand technique for the 2 stringed
dutr (as I observed), both strings are struck together in
an "open-handed" style, that is, with the fingers and thumb
extended and without the use of a plectrum. Performance
techniques of this type take advantage of the morphology
of the hand in the organization of rhythmic patterns. Four
principal strokes could be distinguished: a downstroke
with a four fingers, which are held slightly apart so that
they produce a "roll" as they brush across the strings; a
downstroke with the ist finger; an upstroke with the ist
finger; an upstroke with the thumb. In playing these
strokes the hand is unsupported, the forearm rests on the
top of the soundbox, the fingers and thumb are extended:
movement consists primarily of a rotation of the wrist.
The usual strategy in performance is to play a constant
rhythmic pattern with the right hand. A distinctive feature
of dutr playing is fast tremolo (riz), played on the 2
string dutar with rapid down-up strokes of the ist finger.
In the left hand technique only the ist string is
fingered, the 2nd string always functioning as a drone. As
with all Herati dutr playing, there is a strong tendency
to rely on two fingers used additively, either the ist and
2nd or the ist and 3rd. With the 2 stringed dutr there is
more use of the ist, 2nd and 3rd fingers in additive
patterns than is found for the 3 and 14 stringed dutar-s.
Three-finger additive patterns are characteristic of the
techniques of the Iranian t5r and seht~r. Dutr technique
relies heavily on legato effects suci as hammer and pull
and combinations of these. Another common left hand device
is the pedal, in which the ist string is played open
(together yith the 2nd string). Little use is made of
glissando.
Open-handed right hand techniques are characteristic

of several Central Asian long necked lutes, such as the
Uzbek and Turkoman dut'Nr-s and the Kirghiz komuz (Slobin
1969a and b). It is tempting to speculate that the open-
handed technique for the Herati dut5r has a connection with
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Central Asian lute styles, but the monophonic style of the
left hand sets the Herati dut7r apart from the polyphonic
Central Asian lute styles, in which two or three strings
are often stopped simultaneously. Melodically, traditional
dutar music is a variety of monophonic Iranian music.
The Three Stringed Dut~fr

In about 1950, the dut?r went through a number of
changes (see Figure 2). The size of the instrument increased
somewhat, to a string length of 75-85 cm., though very often
the smaller 2 stringed dutar-s were simply adapted. Several
more frets were added, the most important of which then gave
a chromatic sequence from the finalis to the 4th above (see
Figure 4). This system of fretting is commonly called
pardeh filmi (film music fretting). This involved the loss
of the neutral 2nds between the finalis and the 2nd above,
and between the 2nd and 3rd above, that characterized the
Shur-like mode. The strings were changed from gut to steel,
the number of strings was increased from two to three
(giving two drone strings), and the instrument was now
played with a metal plectrum (na-khunak: "little finger-
nail") which fitted tightly over the ist finger like a
thimble (see Figure 2). Originally the frets were made of
rather thick wire twisted round the neck of the instrument.
This was effective for obtaining clear legato effects, but
had the disadvantage that the frets were not easily moved
and the instrument was difficult to tune accurately. By
1974, nylon had generally replaced wire for fretting the
3 stringed dut-r.
The addition of frets to give a semi-chromatic

system, allowed the dutlr more versatility and we find four
scale types commonly employed on the 3 stringed dutar.
These are as follows.
Bairami
f)wol p
c'peC
This is simply the Shur-like mode transferred to a chromatic

system of fretting. The 5th above the open note of the Ist
string is taken as finalis. The major 2nd above the finalis
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is often used in this mode instead of the minor 2nd in
ascending melodic movement. The term Bairami is derived
from Bhairavi, the name for this scale type in the
Hindustani music system.
Jog
~d~dp
ii- O
stn'
In terms of intervals (but not the way in which they are

used) this corresponds to the Iranian mode of Homayun
(Farhat 1965), except that the 2nd above the finalis is
a minor 2nd rather than a small neutral 2nd. Again, the
5th above the open note of the ist string is taken as the
finalis. A mode of this kind was played on the chah5rtlr
in the 1920s (see below). With the new system of fretting,
certain tunes in this mode that had been played in the
city in the 1920s became popular for the dutir. In certain
other instances tunes that were formerly in the Shur-like
mode were now played also in Jog (for instance the
chahirbeiti melody).
PMri
f1'q
Piri, unlike Bairami and Jog, makes use of the frets in the
lower region of the neck of the dut-r, and the open note of
the ist string assumes some importance as a starting note
for ascending movement. The 4th above the open note of
the ist string is taken as the finalis. This mode is
common in Logari music (see below).
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Kesturi
~v ope ialis
2r4 stri~ fst striki
Kesturi also makes use of the frets in the lower region of

the neck of the dutar. The 5th above the open note is
usually taken as the finalis, but sometimes tunes in
Kesturi use the open note itself as the finalis. In
certain tunes of apparent Uzbek origin in the Kesturi mode,
melodic movement extends onto the 2nd string of the 3
stringed dutir.
Pri, Kesturi and Bairami are scale types which

are used a great deal in popular radio music, while Jog
is less common. For playing Bairami, Job and Kesturi on
the 3 stringed dutar, the 2nd string is tuned a 4th below
the ist, and the 3rd string is tuned an octave below the
1st. In Pri, the 2nd string is tuned a 5th below the ist.
With regard to performance technique, the main
difference between the 2 and 3 stringed dutar-s resides in
the use of the right hand. Right hand technique is actually
less complex on the 3 stringed dut~r because only the ist
finger, wearing the plectrum, strikes the strings. The
basic motor pattern is a steady down-up strum across the
strings, and this is achieved in several ways. In one
technique, the hand is supported by the thumb, which rests
on the edge of the belly, and movement consists of alternate
extension and flexion of all the fingers, with the plectrum
alone striking the strings. In another technique, movement
consists of a rotation of the wrist: here the hand is held
in a rigid posture with the ist finger flexed and the other
fingers and thumb extended. This position is favoured for
riz patterns. Other techniques lie between these two, and
involve a combination of wrist and finger movement.
An important aspect of right hand technique are the

percussive elements which add to the instrument's dynamic
range. In one common technique, the plectrum is scratched
across the belly of the instrument while strumming the
strings. The further down from the neck-body junction the
strings are struck, the louder the percussive element
becomes (because a greater area of belly is exposed to the
plectrum). Another technique is used occasionally for
playing tunes that are of Uzbek origin: here the 3rd finger
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is tapped on the belly in combination with a downstroke
of the plectrum. This technique may be derived from the
Turkestani dambura (Slobin 1969b:85).
Left hand technique differs little from that of

the 2 stringed dut~r, except that there is less use of
three fingers in additive patterns. This results partly
because the distance between the frets is a little larger,
anc partly because the additional frets get in the way of
the fingers, which would have to stretch further to apply
3-finger additive patterns.
The Fourteen Stringed Dut5r
In about 1960, the dut5r underwent a radical change

(see Figure 3). The size of the instrument increased again,
to a string length of about 90-95 cm. The shape of the
body changed, becoming wider, rounder and shorter in
proportion to the total length of the instrument. Not only
was the neck longer, but its width and depth increased to
give it greater strength to withstand the tension of the
additional strings. More frets were added, giving a
chromatic range of two octaves (see Figure 4). Nylon was
used to tie the frets, the elasticity of this material
allowing small adjustments to be made. (When the dutar is
played as part of a band, fine tuning of the frets is often
made with reference to the harmonium). Still only the ist
string was fingered with the left hand, but a number of
sympathetic strings were added. The instrument normally
has four long strings and ten side-strings, though some-
times the number of side-strings is eleven and in other
cases it is fewer than ten. Despite this variation, it is
generally thought of as "the 14 stringed dutnr" and called
dutir-e-chahMrdeh jelau or simply chah5rdeh jelau (14
strings). The instrument became highly decorated, with
inlays made from mother-of-pearl or plastic. A special
feature was the raising of the shortest sympathetic string
(the parand string) by a protrusion on the bridge, to allow
this string to be struck in isolation in a special right
hand technique (see Figure 3).
The tuning of the 14 stringed dutar is a complicated

matter because of the many scale types used on the instru-
ment. In addition to the four modes commonly played on the
3 stringed dutlr, there is a wide range of other scale
types, in almost every case derived from the Hindustani
music system. Thus we find Yemen, Kumaj, Piloo, Bih1?g,
Bhairav, Talang, Madhubanti, and many others. The term for
mode or scale type is sor (from swara in the Hindustani
music system). In general, the 4th above the open note of
the ist string is taken as finalis (tuned to the harmonium's
37

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D, the "key" favoured by Afghan bands), but often the modes
are transposed to other positions. To play Herati tunes
in the Bairami mode, the 5th above the open note is usually
taken as finalis and the strings are tuned as follows.
1*?A .,) M il&Siy

I?
zE F c fl B
Tuning in the Bairami mode
Although the 14 stringed dutfr is often held in

the position described above for the 2 stringed dutUr, the
weight of the heavy neck tends to impose restrictions on
the movements of the left hand. To overcome this difficulty,
many 14 stringed dutTr players sit on the ground with the
right knee (still flexed) raised and pushed across the mid-
line of the body, so that the body of the dutar is clamped
and supported between the right thigh, the abdomen and the
right arm. Two separate right hand techniques are employed
for the 14 stringed dutar: in one, the upstroke (towards
the body) is the strong stroke (rist); in the other, the
downstroke is the strong stroke. The term chap is used f
the weak stroke; opposite in direction to the r5st stroke.
In both techniques the plectrum of the 3 stringed dutar is
worn on the ist finger.
The upstroke technique is employed principally by
the inventor of the 14 stringed dutar, Mohammad Karim
Herawi. In his technique, the right hand is supported over
the strings by the 3rd finger and thumb resting on the
belly of the dutr, and the strokes are delivered by the
ist finger. Movement of the finger occurs at the 2nd and
3rd phalangeal joints. On one occasion Karim told me he
had borrowed this technique from the North Indian sitar
(which is played by a few individuals in Kabul); an instru-
ment he greatly respects. However, in the right hand
technique for the sitar, the hand is supported only by the
thumb; the whole hand moving about this pivot and not just
the ist finger. In fact, it seems likely that Karim's
technique was influenced by the technique for the Afghan
tanbur,3 where a very similar hand position is employed in
which the upstroke is the strong stroke.
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The downstroke technique is used by all other dutar
players in Herat, although a few individuals occasionally
use Karim's upstroke technique as a special effect. In
the downstroke technique, the thumb is used to give added
support to the plectrum by pressing against the ist finger;
the other fingers are held in a flexed position tucked
into the palm. The forearm rests on the body of the dutTr
rather close to the tail-piece (trband) and the strings
are struck near the bridge. Movement consists of a rotation
of the wrist. This technique is easier, stronger (having
the weight of the hand behind it), and less fatiguing than
the upstroke technique, which was developed in the context
of a radio ensemble where stamina was not a problem. As
many dut5r players point out, the downstroke technique is
like that used in playing the reba-b.
Whereas on the 2 and 3 stringed dutar-s the drone
strings are almost invariably struck together with the main
string, most players of the 14 stringed dutar strike only
the ist string (except when the parand string is used). The
steady strum of the 2 and 3 stringed dutar-s is not usually
used on the 14 stringed dutir (except by those who might be
considered learners or unskilled players); instead, more
complex rhythmic patterns are used, probably modelled on
rhythmic patterns used in playing the reb?b. The most
important aspect of rebab technique to be adopted on the
14 stringed dutar is the parand technique, in which the
shortest sympathetic string is struck in alternation with
the ist string in fast and sometimes complex rhythmic
patterns. This device is used to generate rhythmic
excitement.
In terms of finger movements, left hand technique

does not differ from the techniques for the 2 and 3 stringed
dutar-s, except that there is little use of three fingers
in additive patterns due to the increased distance between
frets. In other respects, the left hand technique is more
complex because of the many scale types used in the music
played on the 14 stringed dutar. Each of these scale types
requires the dutr player to finger a different combination
of frets from the chromatic range at his disposal. A
further complication is the use of transposition: playing
the same scale type at different positions on the fretboard.
MUSICAL CHANGE IN HERAT
The Rural Use of the 2 Stringed DutUr

Most informants agree that until about 1950 the dutr
was played very little in the city; it was predominantly, if
not exclusively, a village instrument. Its distribution
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extended from the Herat valley westwards into Iranian
Khorasan, northwards into Badghis, and eastwards into Ghor.
Many of the dutar players in the Herat city with

whom I worked associated the dutar with Khvaf, a large
village just across the border in Iranian Khorasan. Many
of the old dutTr-s found in Herat city (both in the posses-
sion of dut5r players and in antique shops catering for
tourists) were said to have been made in Khvaf, and were
in many cases of a high standard of craftsmanship. Some
dutr players also said that the popularity (shaug) of
dutTr playing had come from Khvaf. There is some indication
that a resurgence of interest in the dutFr started in Khvaf
earlier in this century (at a guess in the 1920s) and
spread to the Herat area. This might be connected with
Iranian influences on the music of Herat city at about the
same time (see below). During a brief visit to Iranian
Khorasan in 1975, I was able to confirm that Khvaf had been
noted for its dutr makers and players in the past. Apart
from a switch from gut to steel strings, the dutar in
Iranian Khorasan has changed very little--a useful control
for looking at changes to the dut5r in Herat. Although a
"wave of popularity" for the dutTr may have spread from
Khvaf earlier in the century, it is nevertheless generally
believed that the dutUr was played in the Herat area long
before that time.
While it is difficult to assess the role of the 2

stringed dutar with its gut strings in the context of rural
music in the past - due to the fact that musical changes
in the city have had an effect in the villages - it is
possible to draw some inferences from the present situation
in the villages. It is certain that three types of music
have survived from the past: (1) instrumental music for
sornI (or siz) and dohol, the combination of reed aerophone
and drum that is widespread in the Middle East; (2) women's
music, consisting of songs and dance rhythms played on the
dTire (frame drum); and (3) men's music, consisting of songs
with dutar accompaniment. According to the folk view, these
three types of music are classified in terms of the instru-
ments they utilize: viz. sUzdohol, d-ire and dutFr.
STzdohol music is played in connection with wedding

and circumcision celebrations, in conjunction with the
Herati folk drama (seil or Magadi theatre), and occasionally
to encourage labourers at their outdoor work. At wedding
and circumcision celebrations sazdohol music is played while
a procession is made round the village, and to accompany
group dancing by men in the 'attan and the chubbWzi (a stick
dance). SFzdohol players are hereditary professional
musicians who are recruited from a low status group called
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Gharibzde. Members of this group practise other profes-
sions such as barber, circumcisor and actor in the folk
drama. A derogatory term for these people is Jat.
The dlire is used by women as an accompaniment to

singing and to play rhythms for a variety of dances. This
music is played at home for domestic entertainment. Women
dance to the daire at wedding celebrations, and there are
also specific wedding songs sung at these times. While
there are a number of songs that are thought of as
"women's songs", the distinction between women's and men's
repertoires is by no means clear cut, despite the segrega-
tion of the sexes outside the household. There is more
overlap between the two repertoires in terms of melodies
and rhythms than in terms of poetry (beit).
Much of the rural male repertoire is in the genre

known as chahrbeiti (also an important genre in Iranian
Khorasan; see Blum 1974). The Arabic word beit means
"couplet", but in the Herati usage it has come to mean a
poetic line, and chahlrbeiti refers to a four-lined verse
form (usually with the rhyme scheme aaba). A good insight
into this type of singing was provided by two sh?'er-s
(poets) from villages near the city, who sang in an
apparently archaic style with their own dutar accompaniment.
In their chahUrbeiti performances the singing was slow and
unmetred, with strained voice production and considerable
ornamentation with glottal shakes (gelu zadan). Much of
their poetry was religious in content and some of it was
extemporised, as shown by verses referring to the social
situation around them. The dut9r was used in a minor
supportive role and provided instrumental interludes between
verses. Performance of chahrbeiti on the dutar is unmetred,
with generous use of riz (tremolo) and left hand legato
(larz-e-panje).
It would seem that in the past chahrbeiti-s
performed in this way formed a substantial part of the male
repertoire. Some were on the theme of unrequited love, such
as the famous "Siahmu wa Jalali". There were also songs
that required a more strongly rhythmic accompaniment. As a
solo instrument, the dutur was used to play the melodies of
songs. I found only one piece in the repertoire of old
dutir tunes that was a purely instrumental piece, and that
may have been derived from the repertoire of sazdohol players.
The evidence suggests that in the villages the dutTr was
played by amateurs for their own enjoyment, and to entertain
small gatherings of friends. The possibility cannot be
ruled out, however, that there were also a few professional
singer/dut5r players recruited from the Gharibzde, who would
have been more likely to have performed at wedding feasts.
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City Music Until 1950
The change of the dutr from its 2 stringed to its
3 stringed form took place when the instrument was adapted
for playing urban music in about 1950. In order to
appreciate the significance of this transformation, it is
necessary to digress somewhat and consider the changes
which music had already undergone in Herat city since the
beginning of the 20th century.
It would appear that some musical styles already

described as existing in the villages at the beginning of
the 20th century were also found in the city. Sdzdohol
music was performed at wedding and circumcision celebrations
in the city, and there were urban enclaves of Gharibzde
(although these had disappeared by 1974). Domestic and
wedding music was also played by women using the d&ire
(here there may have been stylistic differences between
urban and village styles).
The music played by male amateurs in the city, how-

ever, differed considerably from that played in the
villages. The style of chahFrbeiti singing was not common
in the city and, as has already been pointed out, the dutar
was not an urban instrument at that time. Instead, there
was a tradition of music-making by male amateurs that was
related to urban music found in Iran. The common modes of
Iranian music, such as Shur, Chahrga-h, Homayun, Sehg
Mahur, and others, were known to these musicians, who
terms them maqam-s. Maqm-s were performed vocally, in the
unmetred a~vaz style characteristic of Iranian music, with
texts taken from classical Persian poetry. The singing was
accompanied by the Iranian t5r, called chahrtTr in Herat.
This instrument, which probably originated in the Caucasus
in the 18th century (During 1975), was formerly made by
craftsmen in Herat. Details about this period are lacking,
but it seems that, as in Iran, this kind of music was played
by middle and upper class males in the privacy of their own
homes in order to avoid criticism from the mulla-h-s (clerics
and malicious gossip by the neighbours (see Caron & Safvate
1966; Zonis 1973, for the position of equivalent amateur
musicians in Iran). The existence in Herat of a style
closely related to urban Iranian music is not surprising
when we consider the political, religious and cultural links
that Herat has had with Iran.
The performance of this kind of music in Herat seems

to have reached a peak in the 1920s, when a more direct
influence from Iran can be discerned. The term "dastgNh"
was adopted instead of maqfm, and it would appear that
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154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
Iranian-style tasnif-s and reng-s were introduced. There
are reports of at least one Herati musician making several
visits to Mashad to learn new material to bring back to
Herat. Gramaphone records may have been an important
medium of musical transmission: commercial recordings of
Iranian music were available from about 1915 (Farhat,
personal communication). The musicians in Herat in the
1920s played at wedding feasts and at picnics in gardens
outside the city or in local beauty spots. They played in
groups consisting of several singers, who usually also
played the chah-rt-r, accompanied by santur, tabla and sekh
(a metal percussion instrument consisting of a hollow metal
tube beaten with a metal rod). The reba-b was also some-
times played in these bands. The tombak, the drum used for
urban music in Iran, was not adopted in Herat, where the
North Indian tabla was already in use.5 The performances
consisted of a series of ghazal-s sung by different singers
in a single "dastgah", with reng-s played between the
separate ghazal-s. The appropriate tasnif was sung to
conclude each performance of the series of ghazal-s in a
particular "dastgah".
The musicians who played in these groups were

amateurs, who made their living working at other professions
(kesb) such as butchery, shoe repairing, selling charcoal,
or engraving metal. They were not paid cash for their
musical services, but might receive gifts. In the main
they performed because of their love of music. Although a
few of them eventually became professional, they were not
to be identified with the motreb-s of Iran, who were
hereditary professionals. This new phenomenon of semi-
public musical performance in the 1920s may possibly be
related to the increased popularity and respectability of
music in Iran at that time, after a long period of religious
inhibition (Caron & Safvate 1966; Zonis 1973). It might
further be connected with a change of fashion in wedding
celebrations. In Herat this kind of music was patronized
by rich people, who were presumably more in touch with new
trends in Iran.
There were still a number of amateur chahTrtTr

players in Herat in 1974, including a few young men who were
learning the instrument. It was possible to obtain
information about the music of the 1920s from an older
informant, whose teacher had been the foremost chahartar
player of the era. I collected eight of the twelve dastgah-s
of the Iranian system from him. By Iranian standards these
are very simple, with little transposition and in the main
lacking the myeh-s (melodic formulae) characteristic of
each mode. Terms such as forud, gusheh and radif, which
43

154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
are used in Iran, were not familiar to my informant in a
musical context. All this suggests a diffusion situation
in which a complex musical system has become simplified
in the process of transmission, but this may not be the
case. The Herati maqm-s (as I would prefer to call them)
may be part of a musical tradition that had existed in
Herat for a long time. Given that the chahartar must have
been a relatively late addition to the Herati instrumentarium,
the maqnam-s may have already existed in Herat in a vocal
form, perhaps related to the maqam-s used by mullah-s for
their religious songs. The Iranian-style music of the
1920s has left its mark on the current music of Herat.
Certain "traditional" Herati songs, which are still
occasionally performed, can be identified as tasnif-s sung
at that time; and certain forms of instrumental interlude
(naghmeh) used in Herat now are very like common descending
melodic patterns used in Iranian music.
The Iranian-style music that was popular in the

1920s was gradually replaced in the 1930s by music emanating
from Kabul. An early sign of t e change to come was the
arrival of the first harmonium. The full impact of this
was felt after the arrival of the Kabuli musician Ustad
Nebi Gol, a singer and harmonium player (also competent
at several other instruments) who specialized in the style
of Hindustani music that had become established in Kabul
after its introduction in the royal court. Hindustani
music, often called musigi kelDsik ("classical" music) by
Afghans, has undergone interesting changes in the socio-
cultural environment of Afghanistan. The ghazal and the
rag are the two principal forms used in this predominantly
vocal music in Afghanistan. The singer usually also plays
the harmonium, while other instruments used for accompani-
ment are the reba~b, sarangi, delruba, tabla, and sometimes
the tampura and swaramandel.
Ustad Nebi Gol was an old friend of Ghulam Faruq
Khan from Kabul, who was appointed Governor of Herat in the
early 1930s. The new Governor was a great lover of music,
and Ustad Nebi Gol and his band spent several years in Herat
under his patronage, playing at the many music parties he
gave to entertain richer members of Herati society. He also
played for other people at wedding feasts and parties.
Not only did Ustad Nebi Gol popularize Kabuli music

amongst rich and more educated people, but he also trained
several local musicians in its performance, notably Amir
Jan, who has been singing musiqi kelasik in Herat for nearly
40 years, and his two brothers. At that time we find a new
kind of hereditary musician family becoming established in
Herat. Ustad Nebi Gol came from the Kuche Kharabat, the
44

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musicians' quarter in the old city in Kabul, where many
professional musician families live. Some of these
originally came from what is now Pakistan, while others
came from the barber-musician class. Musicians of this
group are called sizande (instrument or music players);
hereditary professionals who play an urban style of music
in groups consisting of instruments such as the harmonium,
reb-ab, tabla, etc. (as distinct from the Gharibzde, who
play the sornT and dohol). In the 1930s, we find the
emergence of sTzande in Herat, starting with Amir Jan and
his two brothers. Their father (a tabla player) was one
of the few musicians who has become professional in the
1920s. By training his sons as musicians and later putting
them under the tutelage of Ustad Nebi Gol, he in effect
founded a family of sazande. In 1974 this family numbered
eight professional musicians, and their genealogy is shown
in Figure 5. A little later a second family began playing
Kabuli music. In this case the family were originally
Gharibzde who moved from a nearby village into the city
and adopted the instruments and music from Kabul. Women
members of this sazande family also work as musicians,
playing harmonium, tabla and d?ire at wedding celebrations.
This family is much larger than the first and numbered at
least twenty professional musicians in 1974 (unfortunately
I do not have their full genealogy). Both families now
have kinship affiliations with szande families in Kabul,
but there are no marriage links between the two Herati
families.
In a sense, the rise of the szzande in Herat was a

continuation of a process that began with amateurs grouping
together in the 1920s, and which continued with the gradual
professionalization of a few of these musicians. A rather
similar process will be noted in connection with the
professionalization of dut~?r players.
Radio Music and the 3 Stringed Dut1r
In the previous section we noted the origin of

Kabuli-style music in Herat. The founding of the two
sUzande families and their adoption of Kabuli instruments
consolidated the position of this kind of music in the city,
and the shift to the Kabuli style became much more pronounced
with the influence of the radio in the late 1940s and early
1950s. This period marks the beginning of profound changes
in attitudes about music and in the musical tastes of the
lower income groups, who had apparently remained largely
unaffected by the musical changes in Herat city described
so far. The change of the dutar into an urban instrument,
and its transformation to the 3 stringed form, must be seen
as part of this more general musical change.
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154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
Although a radio station was established in Kabul
in 1928, transmissions were not powerful enough to be
received in Herat until about 1947. Even then there were
few radios to receive these broadcasts. In order to over-
come problems of reception, a loud-speaker system was
installed in some of the main streets of Herat by the
Ministry of Information and Culture (which ran the radio
station) in the 1950s. For the first time, many people in
Herat began to hear a lot of music.
The importance of Radio Afghanistan in stimulating

and shaping musical change all over Afghanistan cannot be
over-emphasized. Its effect has become even stronger with
the wide use of transistor radios. Radio Afghanistan
created a new style of popular music, known (in Herat) as
musiqi kilawali (a term which originally referred to
Pushtun music). This music was the synthesis of various
influences produced by a small group of musicians who
were employed at the radio station from the late 1940s.
We may briefly consider the two main musical

influences that played a part in shaping musiqi kilawali.
Firstly, Hindustani music provided the basic terminology,
a variety of scale types, and several of the instruments
which formed the core of the typical radio ensemble around
a singer: notably the harmonium, delruba and tabla. We
have already noted the use of ghazal and rag forms in
Kabul. The second important influence was Pushtun folk
music, notably the style from the Logar Valley in S.E.
Afghanistan. In this style, emphasis is placed on small
group performance by a singer/harmonium player accompanied
by the rebab (often the dominant instrument in the radio
ensemble), tanbur, sarinda and dhol. (As well as these
instruments, radio ensembles have used Western instruments
such as the flute, clarinet, trumpet and "jazz" drums, and
Indian instruments such as the sitar, sarod and sarangi).
The Logari style probably gave Kilaw~li music its distinc-
tive form, in which vocal sections (khndan) alternate
with fast instrumental sections (duni and naghmeh), with
rhythmic resolution on a strong beat (gor) followed by a
short break (istld).
Singers and musicians employed at the radio station

composed a great deal of popular radio material. In
addition, there were two other important sources of radio
material: Indian film songs, and regional (mahali) songs
from various parts of Afghanistan. Cinemas are found in
the cities and large towns of Afghanistan (the cinema in
Herat opened in about 1950), and mainly show films in Hindi
and Urdu which have a strong element of popular music.
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Film music had had an important effect on the tastes of the
Afghan public (as shown by the use of the term filmi for
the fretting of the 3 stringed dutdr). A number of mahali
songs from Herat have been popularized by radio singers
in the past.
The effect of popular radio music on the provinces

is shown very clearly by the changes that took place to the
dutar in Herat. The introduction of melodies based on
unfamiliar scale types, such as Pri and Kesturi, accounts
for the change in fretting on the 3 stringed dutlr, as
these tunes could not be played with the simple system of
fretting (pardeh rasteh). The metallic and "droney" sound
of the Afghan tanbur (which was often heard on the radio)
may account for the switch to steel strings and the change
in number from two to three. The metallic sound was
preferred for its loudness and clarity. The metal pletcrum
used to play the 3 stringed dutr was certainly adopted
from the tanbur.
We lack precise details of the way in which the

change to the 3 stringed dutr came about, but can describe
the following general sequence of events. Radio and cinema
had the effect of breaking down much of the prejudice
against music that was still held amongst most sections
of society. When the streets were filled with radio music,
it was hard to maintain the idea that music was sinful.
The radio created a new demand for live music, and attracted
dutir players from the villages into the city to play in
the tea-houses on market days. (The names of many of
these villagers were still remembered in 1974). In the
city the dutTr players encountered the new radio music,
and changed the layout of their instruments in order to
adapt to this music.
The changes in the dutUr did not all occur

simultaneously, and the development of the 3 stringed dutnr
(unlike that of the 14 stringed dutlr) does not appear to
have been the idea of any one individual. There was a
period of experimentation in which some players changed the
material of the strings, others the arrangement of frets
and so on, until they arrived at the instrument described
earlier. An example of an intermediate stage between the
two instruments is still found, in which the system of
simple fretting is retained, there are two metal strings,
and the instrument is played with a plectrum.
From approximately 1950 to 1965, the tea-house
(chikh~neh or samowNr) was the stronghold of the dutZr
the city. Many tea-houses kept a dutr on the premises with
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154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
which the customers could entertain themselves or be
entertained by the proprietor. Certain tea-houses became
meeting places for dutar players, and were run by men who
were themselves enthusiasts. They were well known for
their regular music sessions. We may detect in this some
influence of the tea-house in Northern Afghanistan as a
focus for musical activity, an influence perhaps also
shown by the popularity in Herat of Uzbek tunes played
with dambura-type percussive effects. A particularly
important tea-house, which seems to have been at the centre
of developments taking place to the dutr, was run by Mama
Ghani at the Qandahar Gate, an important bazaar for
villagers coming to the city.
To some extent, the 3 stringed dutUr was favoured

as a solo instrument, and the style of playing that
developed emphasized speed and ornamentation. Often the
dutar was played in a small group with a singer and a
zirbaqali player. The zirbaqali is a goblet-shaped clay
drum that was introduced into Herat during that period
(possibly from Northern Afghanistan). Dutfr players from
the villages brought their rural repertoire to the city
and popularized it there, while they took back the new
music and latest ideas about playing from the city. The
tea-house sessions were popular with city dwellers and,
while the first "generation" of dutar players in the city
were villagers, the second "generation" consisted of urban
enthusiasts who had learned to play by watching dutdr
players in the tea-houses. In this way the dut5r became
established as an urban instrument. It is noteworthy
that almost all of the well-known 14 stringed dutar
players in the city in 1974 had learned something about
dutUr playing through watching the musicians in Mama
Chani's tea-house.
Following the example of the tea-house session,

people began to invite dutlr players to their houses to
play at small social gatherings. The word shauq is used
to describe a gathering of dutr enthusiasts for the
purpose of making music (shauq: hobby or passionate
interest). This word was important in defining the social
role of the amateur dutar player, who claimed the status
of shauqi in order to dissociate himself from the low
status Gharibzde and szande hereditary professional
musicians. By this, he meant that he played music for
his own enjoyment and for his friends and, more important,
that he would not accept money or gifts as payment. He
considered his shauq as outside the sphere of money.
Although he might play in public, the status of shauqi
distinguished him from the professional musician (at least
in his own mind), whom he might dismiss as someone who
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"just plays to get money because it's his job". Despite
the dutar player's claim for special treatment, he often
came under heavy pressure from his family and from the
mullah-s not to play music.
The Invention of the 14 Stringed Dutr and Its Role in City

Music
The 14 stringed dutUr was invented by Mohammad

Karim Herawi (also known as Karim Dutari) in Kabul. Karim
was born in Herat in 1937, and at the age of 13 he started
to learn to play the dutlr, largely by watching the dutdr
players in Mama Ghani's tea-house. In 1957 he went to
Kabul, hoping to study at a technical institution (he had
attended school up to the 6th grade). One day he went for
an audition at the radio station. The music organizers at
the radio station had never heard of the Herati dutr,
and thought the instrument was a kind of dambura fitted
with frets. They were pleased with the public response to
several broadcasts Karim made playing Herati material, and
they invited him to join an orchestra which was then being
formed, probably on the advice of Russian experts. This
orchestra - OrkestrA7 Mahali (National Orchestra) - consisted
entirely of Afghan instruments, and was led by Ustad
Mohammad Omar, the foremost reba-b player in Afghanistan
Through playing in a radio orchestra, Karim soon
began to realize the limitations of the 3 stringed dutar.
He found that the full strum across all three strings was
often inappropriate in the ensemble, but that when he played
on the Ist string along (using the upstroke) the sound was
so weak he could hardly hear himself play. In addition,
the range of the 3 stringed dutUr was limited. In order to
overcome the first problem, he tried to increase the volume
of the instrument by progressively adding sympathetic
strings with pegs on the side of the neck. In principle
this worked, but in practice the small 3 stringed dutar
was not strong enough to withstand the added string tension
of more than a few side-strings, and the neck warped.
Several instruments were ruined in this way, until Karim
commissioned a reba-b-maker in Kabul, Joma Khan Qader, to
build a larger and stronger kind of dutar that could with-
stand the tension of many extra strings. Exactly why the
number of strings finally chosen should have been fourteen
is not clear: the rebab usually has 13 or 15 sympathetic
strings, while the number on the tanbur varies between 9 to
15 in addition to its 6 long strings (Slobin 1969b:119). A
series of prototypes for the larger dutr was built and in
the process of development certain changes were made in the
dimensions of the body, giving it a rounder shape and making
it shorter in proportion to the neck in order to allow the
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154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
addition of more frets. The rebab-maker decorated these
dutar-s with inlaid mother-of-pearl designs used for the
rebab. The 14 stringed dutdr was completed in about 1960,
and Karim continued to play it in the radio orchestra for
the next ten years.
Although the full facts are unclear, some reports

suggest that even before Karim went to Kabul, people had
tried adding side-strings to the dutWr, although Karim
denied this. If it is correct to suppose that the tanbur
exerted an influence on the change from the 2 stringed to
the 3 stringed dutar, then the addition of more strings
would be a predictable extension of the 3 stringed dutdr.
It might be supposed that the development of the 14 stringed
dutar was simply the transfer of the layout of strings on
the tanbur to the dutar's shape. Although Karim has claimed
that his invention was inspired by the sitar, he was
probably also influenced by the design of the tanbur (and
we have already noted that his right hand technique resembles
that used on the tanbur). In practical terms, however, we
must consider the reba-b (with its drone, sympathetic
parand strings) rather than the tanbur or the sitar as the
most important model for the 14 stringed dutar, as this was
an instrument that Karim actually played.
Within a short time of starting work at the radio

station, Karim began taking lessons in rebnb playing from
Ustad Mohammad Omar. He was quickly gaining a respect for
Hindustani music as played in Afghanistan and wished to
learn the r5g-s and instrumental pieces based on rag-s
that form the standard repertoire of the rebab. He has
stated that he wanted to play this music on the dut5r:
clearly the instrument had to be modified to accommodate
the special techniques Karim had studied on the rebab - the
right hand patterns and parand8 techniques wherein the
virtuosity of rebab playing resides. The change in the
dutar was thus not only stimulated by the need to increase
its volume and range, it was also the fulfillment of the
need to produce a spatial layout capable of playing music
that was already closely adapted to the reba-b.
Karim did not visit Herat for several years after
joining the radio. Early in the 1960s, a 5 stringed dut5r
enjoyed a brief period of popularity in Herat. This instru-
ment was essentially a 3 stringed dut?r with an additional
long string and a short parand string. Although this
instrument would seem to be a logical intermediate stage in
the "evolution" of the 14 stringed dutar, it in fact arose
after Karim had completed the 14 stringed dutar. I was
not able to obtain any convincing account of the origin of
the 5 stringed dutar from Herati dutar players, and I
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154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
conclude that the instrument was developed as a result of
people hearing Karim play the 14 stringed dutdr on the radio
in occasional solo performances (he popularized several
tunes in this way). They could hear Karim's single string
and parand techniques, and the 5 stringed dutlr was devised
in the absence of precise information about Karim's instru-
ment. Herati dut5r players adopted the downstroke technique
for playing the 5 stringed dutar, and used parand techniques;
ways of playing the instrument that were probgbly derived
from watching sazande rebab players in Herat.
When Karim brought his dutlr to Herat a year or

two later, Herati dutar players were quick to add the extra
sympathetic strings on their own instruments (and they
asked the dutar-makers to construct larger instruments
with thicker necks), but they did not copy Karim's right
hand technique, retaining the downstroke technique that
had been developed for the 5 stringed dutar. The 14
stringed dutar-s made in Herat continued to have the long
and narrow qashoqi body shape, and it was not until about
1970, when Karim returned to live in Herat, that one of the
two dutlr-makers in the city adopted the modified body
shape and decorative motifs used in the dutlr-s made by
Joma Khan Qader in Kabul. This Herati craftsman has now
lavishly extended the decoration of the dutdr.
The 14 stringed dutar quickly became popular with

dut5r players in Herat, and has to a great extent replaced
the 3 stringed dutlr. From all accounts it was a young
dutr player called Amin-e-Diwaneh who set the style for
playing the instrument. He was described by many informants
as a very gifted musician (he died in about 1970). His
fast and exciting style, a direct extension of the way the
3 stringed dut5r was played in the tea-houses, was very
influential amongst other dutZr players who took up the 14
stringed dutar. His style was quite different from the way
that Karim played the dutir, and it was probably Amin who
consolidated the preference for the reba-b-style right hand
technique. Karim's upstroke technique is too quiet and
tiring for the fast and aggressive style favoured in Herat,
and the instrument Karim now usually plays professionally
in Herat is the rebab. Amin even made his own innovation
to the structure of the dutir, replacing the small pieces
of bone that support the sympathetic strings above the
fingerboard with the eyes of needles, which apparently
allowed the sympathetic strings to resonate very clearly.
This idea was not adopted by other players.
The 14 stringed dutar is played as a solo instrument
and in small groups consisting of a singer, dutdr player
and zirbaqali player--the kind of ensemble that grew up
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around the 3 stringed dutar in the tea-houses. These small
groups are much in demand amongst poorer people for
playing at parties and wedding feasts. They also play at
dancing-boy parties, which are illegal and held in some
secrecy. Tea-house sessions are now less frequent than
they were. The musicians belonging to these small groups
live in the city, but some of them work as musicians mainly
in outlying villages. These musicians almost invariably
come from amateur backgrounds. The dutlr has also been
adopted by the slzande who, although they do not play the
dut-r themselves (disdaining it because of its amateur
associations), often employ a dutir player in their bands
because of the favour with which Heratis regard the instru-
ment. The main source of income for sdzande bands are
wedding feasts in the city. They also play in the Herat
theatre, and during the month of Ramazan, when proprietors
of cafes and tea-houses engage a slzande band or a small
group to play each night on a contract basis.
In the main, the repertoire of small groups and

sdzande bands in Herat consists of popular radio songs
played in the kilawali style, with strong emphasis on fast
instrumental sections. The slzande make more use of ghazal-s
and occasionally perform rlg-s. Uzbek songs from the North
are a staple part of the small group repertoire, being less
favoured by sNzande bands. Herati musicians also learn
popular songs from Radio Mashad, which they remould into
the kilawRli form; sometimes these songs make their way
from Herat to Radio Afghanistan. Old Herati songs now
form a very small part of the repertoire performed in
public (except in the theatre); there are, however, several
singers who have continued to create new songs in what is
recognizable as the Herati idiom.
The rise of professional dutlr players is an

important aspect of musical change in Herat. The
professionalization of amateurs is not confined to dut5r
players, but also extends to singers and players of other
instruments. Some musicians make their living entirely
from music; others are semi-professionals, who supplement
their incomes by playing for money. In practice the shauqi
role has to a large extent lost the implication that the
musician does not accept payment. Nevertheless, in order
to dintinguish themselves from the sdzande, musicians
still claim shauqi status, stressing their amateur origins
and avoiding unnecessary mention of the fact that they
make money from playing music. SMzande musicians look down
on the shauqi players in their bands as amateurs (ama-turi),
who cannot play well because they were not trained to play
music from an early age. It is evident that a number of
dutlr players were more or less forced to become professional
52

154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
through the excessive demands of their friends for (free)
music, since it became impossible for them to keep up a
regular job while they were out night after night playing
at parties. Some dutar players started asking for payment
in order to discourage people from inviting them out so
much.
Although the religious attitude against music has

weakened, some Herati people still feel that music is bad
kUr (bad work). The mullah-s maintain their line of argu-
ment, but people pay less attention to them. Some dutlr
players deny that playing music is sinful, and assert
that the mullah-s are wrong. Others agree that music is a
little sinful but think God will not punish them, or they
may argue that it is only sinful to play the dutar for
dancing-boys. Perhaps the most striking comment I received
on this subject came from a weaver who keeps a 3 stringed
dutar in his workshop: "This weaving job is very tiring
and boring, and I have to play sometimes to find enjoyment
in life. We know that when we die our fingers, which have
been playing the dutar, will go to Hell, and we accept
that."
CONCLUSIONS
The case of the Herati dutar throws light on the

question of innovation in the design of musical instru-
ments. It is clear that the changes in the dutlr occurred
in response to the need to adapt the instrument to play
kinds of music that had originally existed quite separately
from the dutlr. There were three important stages in the
instrument's metamorphosis--forms that are conveniently
labelled 2, 3 and 14 stringed dutlr-s, though the structural
differences between them extend to other features besides
the number of strings they have. The change from the 2 to
3 stringed dutar might be termed a "collective invention";
made by a number of men who experimented with different
aspects of the instrument, such as the number of strings,
the material of the strings, the system of fretting, and the
use of a plectrum. The change from the 3 to the 14 stringed
dutar might be described as an "individual invention",
being the idea of one man placed in a particularly
stimulating environment. In this case, too, we find a
period of experimentation in which first the number of
strings was gradually increased, and then changes in the
shape, size, fretting and decoration of the instrument made
later. The changes in the dutarr as a purely physical entity
have a significance that extends far beyond their interest
from the point of view of material culture. They express
in a concrete manner the essence of a complex and dynamic
sociomusical situation which involves changes in music
53

154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
structure and changes in the social position of music and
musicians.
Formerly, the music of Herat was closely related

to types of music found in Iran, and this connection is
still evident in the mahali music of Herat. In the city,
however, music related to Iranian styles has been largely
replaced by the kilawali music recently developed in Kabul.
There have been changes in the musical modes used, and in
the intervals from which they are constructed. There has
been a change from a slow, unmetred vocal and instrumental
style to a style which lays greater stress on fast and
strongly emphasized rhythms, particularly in instrumental
sections. Iranian instruments such as the tr and santur
have been replaced by instruments actually derived from
North India or closely related to North Indian types.
Music plays an increasingly important role in

Herati society. In the past, music was confined to wedding
and circumcision celebrations and to domestic entertain-
ment. Now, in addition, music is played in the theatre,
in cafes and tea-houses, and at many parties and gatherings
of music enthusiasts, as well as over the radio and in the
cinema. Probably music is also more frequently played in
the domestic situation than in the past. Correlated with
the increase in the amount of music is an increase in the
number of people who play music, and a change in the social
status and recruitment of professional musicians. In the
past there was a rigid distinction between hereditary
professional musicians and amateur musicians. While
professionals provided necessary musical services, they
occupied a low social status: amateurs dissociated them-
selves from these musicians by playing only in the privacy
of their own homes. This distinction is breaking down as
music becomes a more socially acceptable profession and as
amateurs become more ready to play in public. A significant
number of amateurs have become professional musicians.
Finally, I wish to make two points about the

significance of these musical and social changes. Firstly,
I would explain the increase in the amount of music and
the improved status of professional musicians in terms of
the (partial) release of music from religious and social
inhibition. It is hard to state to what degree in the past
the low status of musicians and music was determined by
social as opposed to religious factors. Slobin (1974)
differentiates the low social status of musicians from the
Islamic attitude towards music, and explains their improved
status in recent years as a direct result of government
sponsorship of music; but perhaps the two were more intimately
connected than he suggests. Musicians may have occupied a
54

154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
low social status precisely because music was considered
sinful. In the last 130 years, the religious establish-
ment in Afghanistan has been one of the most powerful of
several power groups in the country (Kakar 1974). It
exercised power both in the political sphere, and in the
regulation of social norms and values. Modernization in
Afghanistan has often put the government in opposition to
the religious establishment (as distinct from religion
itself). The effect of a policy of promoting popular
music and of improving the status of musicians probably tended
to undermine social control by the religious establishment.
Secondly, I would interpret the change in musical

structure as one element in a more general cultural
"reorientation" in Herat. The anamolous position of Herat
in Afghanistan is changing as Heratis increasingly identify
with the culture of Kabul. This in turn is connected
with the gradual emergence of an Afghan national identity
throughout Afghanistan. It has been the policy of the
government to break down local allegiances and divisions,
and to instil in the people a spirit of nationalism. In
Afghanistan, the creation of a national popular music
propagated to the provinces by radio may have performed
an important function in this process. Music may serve
as an area of shared experience which helps to delineate
the boundaries of a nation; perhaps at a deep level the
sentiment of Afghan popular music is a sentiment of
national identity. It is evident that Heratis are proud
of the dutUr because it is a distinctly Herati instrument.
Increasing the volume of the dutar in an ensemble composed
of instruments from various parts of the country (the
Orkestrl Mahali) might be understood as a move to allow the
"voice" of Herat to be heard in a group that represented
an integration of the diverse cultural elements in
Afghanistan. The presence of the dutar in radio ensembles
and in Kabuli-style bands in Herat is perhaps best seen
as a symbol of Herat as an integral part of Afghanistan.
NOTES
1This research was supported by the Social Science Researc

Council (of Great Britain) with a grant to John Blacking
and the author. My thanks are due to Veronica Doubleday
for assistance with the collection and analysis of data
and with the preparation of this paper. I am indebted to
Mark Slobin and Lorraine Sakata for suggestions in the
planning stage of this research.
55

154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
2The question of performance technique for the dutar
and their significance in terms of perceptual and motor
skills is considered more fully in "Motor patterns in
playing the Herati dutar", in John Blacking, ed, The
Anthropology of the Body, A.S.A. (forthcoming).
3The Afghan tanbur is a large long-necked plucked lute

which has 6 long strings and a variable number of side-
strings. All the strings are of metal, and the instru-
ment is played with a metal plectrum. The ist and 2nd
strings are placed together in a double course, and these
are the only strings to be stopped with the left hand (as
for the dutlr). The other strings function as drone and
sympathetic strings. It is particularly associated with
Pushtun music of S.E. Afghanistan.
4The Afghan rebab, another instrument associated with the

Pushtuns, is a short-necked plucked lute. The body has
two inter-connected sound chambers; the belly of the
lower chamber is made of skin. There are 3 main strings
(formerly 3 double courses) of gut or nylon, tuned in
4ths; 2 or 3 metal drone strings; 13 or 15 metal
sympathetic strings. It is played with a small wooden
plectrum. The characteristic right hand technique involves
a strong downstroke in which the hand makes a percussive
impact with the skin belly, and a much weaker upstroke.
The rebab is regarded as the national instrument of
Afghanistan.
5There is evidence
were already to Herat
in use in suggest that
on a the
small reba-b
scale and the tabla
at the
beginning of the 20th century. It appears likely that
these instruments were brought to Herat by Pushtuns and
used for a style of Pushtun music, as distinct from the
maqa[m-s of the Tajik population.
6The type of harmonium referred to here is the small
protable model with bellows at the back. It is pumped
with the left hand and played with the right. The range
is just over three octaves; it has a normal piano-type
keyboard. This instrument was introduced by Christian
missionaries into India, and probably reached Afghanistan
by the late 19th century. In Herat it is called armoni5,
or pianu.
7Karim Dutari, under the name of Abdul Karim Herati, plays

the 3 stringed dutar on UNESCO Musical Anthology of the
Orient: Vol. 3 Afghanistan BM30 L2003. Karim has told me
that the melody he plays is derived from an Indian film
tune. In this piece he uses the upstroke technique.
56

154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
8The parand technique, which is extensively employed on
the rebab, appears to have been devised by Ustad
Mohammad Omar in the 1940s. Before that, the drone
strings and the shortest sympathetic string were struck
together in alternation with the main strings in right
hand patterns that were similar to the jhala patterns of
instruments such as the sitar and sarod. Ustad Mohammad
Omar refined this technique so that only the shortest
sympathetic string was struck. In making this change
the bridge of the rebab was redesigned so that the
shortest sympathetic string (parand) was separated from
the other strings. Some complex parand patterns employ
a brief tremolo on the parand string.
91 have also seen one example of a 4 stringed dut5r, wh

was essentially a 3 stringed dutar with an added long
string. Its owner played it with the usual 3 stringed
dutlr technique. Nowadays, 3 stringed dutlr players
occasionally use the single string downstroke technique
as a special effect, most commonly for playing an intro-
ductory section (shakal) for an instrumental piece.
REFERENCES CITED
Blum, Stephen
1974 Persian folksong in Meshed, Iran (1969).
Yearbook of the IFMC, Vol. 6.
Caron, Nelly, and Safvate, Dariouche

1966 Iran: Les traditions musicales. Institut
International d'Etudes Comparatives de la
Musique. Paris: Buchet/Castel.
During, Jean
1975 La Musique traditionelle Iranienne. Son
evolution recente. Ph.D. thesis, L'Universite
des Sciences Humaines de Strasbourg.
English, Paul
1973 The traditional city of Herat. In L.C. Brown,
ed. From Madina to Metropolis. Princetown:
The Darwin Press.
Farhat, Hormoz
1965 The Dastg~h Concept in Persian Music. PhD.
dissertation, University of California at Los
Angeles. University Microfilms 66-226.
57

154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
Kakar, Hasan
1974 Trends in modern Afghan history. In L.
Dupree and L. Albert, eds. Afghanistan in
the 1970s. New York: Praeger Publishers.
Slobin, Mark
1969a Kirghiz instrumental music. Providence:
Asian Music Publications.
1969b Instrumental music in Northern Afghanistan.

PhD. dissertation, the University of Michigan.
University Microfilms 70-14,644.
1974 Music in contemporary Afghan society. In

L. Dupree and L. Albert, eds. Afghanistan
in the 1970s. New York: Praeger Publishers.
Zonis, Ella
1973 Persian classical music. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press.
58

154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
Figure 1. The 2 stringed dutar
tuning peg -----

(gushak)
nut
(Shat'n kharak)
fret
(pardeh) bone decoration
at neck-body
junction
neck -/ 0
(dasteh)
belly
(rut31)
body
(k-asek)
bridge
(kharak)
59

154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
Figure 2. The 3 stringed dutTr
r"
metal plectrum worn

on the 1st finger
(nakhunak)
60

154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
I
Figure 3. The 14 stringed dutWr
pegs C bridge, showing

for sympathetic
protrusion to support
strings C 0 parand string
parand string
Iststring
peg for
parand
string
61 downloaded from
This content
154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
Figure 4. Arrangements of frets on the three types of du
1 1 1
Al B C CC D E F- G A B C D
1I 1
2 stringed dutir
AI Af1
1. BI C Cf D E F1
F4 G GF A 1
B C C
A A B 14 C Cstrin
14 stringed dutgr

154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
Figure 5. Genealogy of a sizande family
0'3
(= works as a professional musician

1 founder of this family of sdzande
2 member of sazande family from Kabul
No female members of this family work as
Male musicians occur only when father is a

154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00
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Abdul Sha'er Gada Moham
Singer of chah-rbeitis Player of

and 2-stringed dutr player who work

154.59.125.48 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:30:17 +00:00

Recent Changes in The Dutār of Herat

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Recent Changes in the Dutār of Herat

Author(s): John Baily

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/833946

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The recent development of a new musical instrument,

THE SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT

The city of Herat lies in the fertile valley of

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Herat city, with a population of about 125,000

In many ways traditional Islamic norms and values,

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The Two Stringed Dut5r

Although an instrument like the duta7r is depicted

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Shur-like modal structure given by the fretting of

Comparing the dutur mode as utilized in the

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Open-handed right hand techniques are characteristic

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The Three Stringed Dut~fr

The addition of frets to give a semi-chromatic

This is simply the Shur-like mode transferred to a chromatic

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In terms of intervals (but not the way in which they are

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Kesturi also makes use of the frets in the lower region of

Pri, Kesturi and Bairami are scale types which

An important aspect of right hand technique are the

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Left hand technique differs little from that of

The Fourteen Stringed Dut5r

In about 1960, the dut5r underwent a radical change

The tuning of the 14 stringed dutar is a complicated

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1*?A .,) M il&Siy

Tuning in the Bairami mode

Although the 14 stringed dutfr is often held in

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In terms of finger movements, left hand technique

The Rural Use of the 2 Stringed DutUr

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Many of the dutar players in the Herat city with

While it is difficult to assess the role of the 2

STzdohol music is played in connection with wedding

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The dlire is used by women as an accompaniment to

Much of the rural male repertoire is in the genre

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It would appear that some musical styles already

The music played by male amateurs in the city, how-

The performance of this kind of music in Herat seems

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The musicians who played in these groups were

There were still a number of amateur chahTrtTr

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The Iranian-style music that was popular in the

Not only did Ustad Nebi Gol popularize Kabuli music

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In a sense, the rise of the szzande in Herat was a

In the previous section we noted the origin of

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The importance of Radio Afghanistan in stimulating

We may briefly consider the two main musical