The Role of Afghan Radio and Television in Identifying and Introducing Various Forms of Folk Music
The Role of Afghan Radio and Television in Identifying
and Introducing Various Forms of Folk Music
Author: Professor Islamuddin Feroz Former Professor, Department of Music, Faculty of Fine Arts, Kabul University
ORCID: 0009-0004-0024-1223
Abstract
Afghan folk music constitutes one of the most important components of
the country’s cultural heritage. Throughout history, it has developed and been
transmitted in different ways among various ethnic groups, regions, and
communities. Before the emergence of mass media, folk music was performed
primarily within the geographical and social boundaries of its place of origin
and was transmitted orally from one generation to another.
The establishment and expansion of radio broadcasting in Afghanistan,
particularly from the 1940s onward, marked a turning point in the history of
Afghan music. For the first time, it became possible to record, broadcast, and
hear music from different regions on a national scale. Radio Afghanistan not
only introduced local singers and musicians to a wider public, but also played
a fundamental role in the development of a more inclusive form of national
music by collecting melodies, establishing musical groups, creating different
ensembles and orchestras, and arranging local melodies for orchestral
performance.
From the 1970s onward, private recording studios and the cassette market
further expanded this process, taking folk music beyond radio programming and
into the broader public market and informal networks of sound distribution.
With the introduction of television in 1978, the presentation of folk music
moved from an exclusively auditory stage to a visual one. Artists, musical
instruments, performance practices, traditional clothing, and the cultural
environments of different regions could now be presented to audiences
simultaneously.
By examining these developments, this article demonstrates how Afghan
radio and television contributed to the recognition, documentation,
standardization, reproduction, and popularization of folk music, as well as to
the emergence of new forms of Afghan orchestral music.
Keywords: Afghan folk music; Radio Afghanistan; Afghan
television; ethnic music; traditional musical instruments; cassette; local
musicians.
Introduction
Afghanistan, in terms of its ethnic, linguistic, and geographical
diversity, possesses one of the most varied musical traditions in the region.
Music in this country has never been merely a form of entertainment; rather, it
has been closely connected with rituals, celebrations, mourning ceremonies,
work and everyday life, historical narratives, and social identity.
Different regions of the country—from Herat, Badghis, and Farah to
Logar, Kandahar, Nangarhar, and Laghman, and from Badakhshan and Takhar to
Bamyan, Hazarajat, and the central regions—have developed distinctive
traditions of singing, instrumental performance, rhythm, instrument making, and
song performance.
Instruments such as the rubab, dutar, tanbur, dambura, sarinda, ghichak,
tabla, dhol, and dholak, as well as various wind instruments and instruments
introduced from neighboring regions, each represented a part of this musical
heritage.
Before the expansion of mass media, the transmission of this heritage
was largely oral. A melody might have been very well known in a particular
village, town, or region while remaining virtually unknown only a short
distance away. Consequently, one of the major challenges facing Afghan folk
music was the limited geographical range of its circulation.
Even when court and urban music from Kabul was disseminated through
gramophone records and through the travels of musicians to other cities, a
large proportion of local musical traditions remained inaccessible to a
national audience. Under these circumstances, the emergence of radio brought
about a major transformation.
The first attempts to establish radio broadcasting in Afghanistan took
place during the reign of Amanullah Khan. After an interruption, Radio Kabul
began operating effectively in 1941. From that time onward, radio became one of
the most important centers for the production and dissemination of music in the
country.
From Regional Folk Music to a Shared Aural Heritage
With the arrival of radio, it became possible, for the first time, to
record a folk melody in one region and broadcast it through radio waves to
listeners in other parts of the country. Gradually, this development
transformed the concept of “Afghan folk music” from a collection of scattered
local traditions into a component of a shared musical heritage.
During this process, terms such as “folk” and “rural” became
increasingly common within the context of radio music. Research on Afghan music
indicates that what was referred to as folk or rural music on the radio was, in
some cases, formed through the combination of musical elements from different
regions, including Badakhshan, Qataghan, Nangarhar, Paktia, Nuristan, Logar,
Hazarajat, Panjshir, Herat, Balochistan, and Pashai traditions. Radio played an
important role in introducing and establishing this hybrid form.
One of the most important functions of radio was to provide an
opportunity for the identification and relatively systematic presentation of
local musical traditions. Melodies and songs that had previously been
transmitted mainly through oral tradition were recorded in studios and
presented to audiences through regular radio programs.
Radio also created a form of professional standard for musical
performance by selecting musicians and singers and organizing the rehearsal,
arrangement, and recording of their works. In this way, an important
distinction emerged between a “local performance” and a “local performance for
radio.”
A melody that had previously been performed in a local gathering with a
limited number of instruments could be presented on radio with a new
arrangement and a larger ensemble. When a folk melody was prepared for radio,
factors such as the duration of the performance, sound quality, number of
musicians, order of instrumental entrances, the form of the introduction,
accompaniment of the singer, and the ending of the piece became important. These
requirements of the medium led some forms of folk music to be modified for
presentation in new formats. Thus, radio functioned both as a guardian of
tradition and as an agent of change. This process brought a large number of
local musicians into the professional music environment. Radio enabled artists
to move beyond the geographical boundaries of their places of residence and
gain national recognition.
Many musicians, instrumentalists, and singers who came from traditional
and local environments became well-known figures through their appearances on
radio. Among them were artists such as Ustad Dary Logari, Bazgul Badakhshi,
Nawak Herati, Ismail Charikari, Hamidullah Charikari, Gul Mohammad Istalifi,
Bilton, Salam Logari, Safdar Tokali, Mulla Taj Mohammad Sar-e-Puli, Abdul Hamid
Qandahari, Ustad Ayub, and Amanullah Amani. A musician who had previously been
known only in a particular region could, with the establishment of radio,
become known in other cities and provinces as well. The same was true of local
singers.
By broadcasting their voices, radio created opportunities for local
artists to achieve national fame. Gradually, the concept of the “radio artist”
emerged within Afghan society. Appearing on radio represented a form of
professional and cultural recognition and could significantly alter an artist’s
social position. As musical cultures from different ethnic groups and regions
were represented on radio, these traditions came to be recognized as distinct
styles of Afghan folk music, and their artists were introduced to the public. Consequently,
the number of musicians and singers representing different local musical styles
on radio increased steadily. Listeners throughout the country became familiar
with styles such as Herati, Kandahari, Badakhshani, Nangarhari, Logari,
Hazaragi, and the musical traditions of the northern regions and Qataghan.
Overall, the formation of groups representing different folk-music
styles within radio institutions was one of the most important stages in this
transformation. The objective was not merely to record individual local musical
works; rather, there was an effort to bring different instruments and musical
styles together and make them known to a broader audience.
With the expansion of radio and the subsequent emergence of recording
studios, music changed from being solely a cultural product into a commodity
that could be reproduced and distributed. In the early 1970s, the production
and distribution of Afghan music cassettes expanded in Kabul. Studios such as
Afghan Music, Music Center, and Ariana Music played an important role alongside
radio in this development. The cassette made it possible for music to be
recorded once and then reproduced and heard repeatedly in different parts of
the country.
The cassette market enabled folk music to move beyond the limitations of
radio programming. While radio broadcast music at specific times, the cassette
allowed listeners to hear a song whenever they wished, take it to friends and
family, or make another copy. In this respect, the cassette served as a link
connecting radio, recording studios, the market, and audiences. Many of the
voices that people had previously heard on radio became available to them in a
tangible and preservable form through cassettes. For this reason, cassette
culture played a very significant role in preserving and expanding Afghan music
and transmitting it to subsequent generations.
With the establishment of Afghan television and the beginning of its
official broadcasting on August 19, 1978, a new stage in the presentation of
music began. The television studios and transmission facilities were
constructed with Japanese technical and financial assistance, and television
began its operations in color from the outset.
Unlike radio, television did not transmit sound alone. It also presented
the artist, musical instrument, performance style, clothing, movements, and
performance environment to the audience. In this respect, the role of
television in introducing folk music was considerably broader. Audiences could
not only hear a song but also observe how the rubab, dutar, dambura, tanbur,
dhol, zirbaghali, and other instruments were played and recognize the faces of
the musicians and singers. Television also created greater opportunities for
presenting the personalities of artists. Interviews with singers and musicians,
introductions to musical styles, live performances, and cultural programs
allowed folk music to move beyond being an anonymous sound and become
associated with the identity and image of particular artists.
From this perspective, television played an important role in
constructing the “public image” of Afghan musicians. Overall, it can be argued
that Afghan radio and television were not merely instruments for disseminating
music; they also played an important role in shaping the history of
contemporary Afghan music. By collecting, recording, producing, arranging, and
broadcasting local music, radio reduced the distance between different regions
and created opportunities for society to become familiar with a wide range of
musical styles, instruments, and artists. The establishment of radio orchestras
also enabled local melodies to enter new orchestral formats. Through the
combination of indigenous Afghan instruments with Indian and Western
instruments, a new musical language gradually emerged in Afghanistan.
This combination eventually became one of the defining characteristics
of urban and national Afghan music. Television complemented this process
through visual presentation and ensured that people's understanding of folk
music was no longer limited to listening to sound alone. In this way, the
artist, the instrument, and the performance style also became visible and
recognizable elements. At the same time, private recording studios and the
cassette market enabled music to be reproduced and circulated on a much wider
scale, bringing folk music into a new cycle of cultural production and
consumption.
Therefore, if the period before radio can be regarded as the period of
oral and local transmission of music, the radio era may be considered the stage
of nationalization and professionalization, while the era of studios,
cassettes, and television represented the stage of mass reproduction,
commercialization, and visual presentation of music.
Conclusion
An examination of the history of Afghan folk music demonstrates that
radio and television played a fundamental role in the recognition,
presentation, and expansion of this cultural heritage. Before the emergence of
mass media, folk music generally remained within its own geographical and
social boundaries and was transmitted through local performances and oral
traditions. Radio changed this situation by placing the music of different
regions before a national audience through broader coverage. Radio Afghanistan
became one of the most important centers of musical production and
dissemination by recruiting local singers and musicians and forming groups
representing different ethnic musical styles.
These activities enabled local artists to move from regional to national
recognition, while some traditional instruments, such as the rubab and dutar,
acquired new positions within orchestral arrangements. Private recording
studios and the cassette market complemented this process by making possible
the large-scale reproduction and circulation of musical works. With the
emergence of television in 1978, music entered a visual phase, and public
awareness of local artists, instruments, and musical styles expanded.
Television also made it possible to present the musical cultures of
different regions visually and made the relationship between music, artists,
and regional identity more tangible for audiences. Ultimately, Afghan radio and
television were not merely media for broadcasting music; they themselves became
part of the history of contemporary Afghan music.
These media brought scattered local musical traditions closer together,
helped create a form of shared musical language, and, together with musicians,
instrument makers, recording studios, and the cassette market, contributed to
the emergence of Afghanistan’s modern music industry and musical culture.
The audio and visual heritage left behind from this period is valuable
not only for understanding the history of music but also for studying the
social, cultural, and identity-related history of Afghanistan.
References
Baily, J. (2015). War, exile and the music of
Afghanistan: The ethnographer’s tale. Ashgate.
Baily, J. (2010). Two different worlds: Afghan music for
Afghanistanis and kharejis. Ethnomusicology Forum, 19(1), 79–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/17411911003669608
Burkhalter, T. (2002, November 12). Afghanistan sucht seine musikalische
Identität [Podcast]. Norient. https://norient.com/podcasts/johnbailyafghanistan/
Koepke, B. E. (2002). The impact of political Islam on
cultural practices in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, during the Taliban era
[Doctoral dissertation, The Australian National University]. P27
Roy, S. (n.d.). Afghan music. Le Rubab Afghan. https://www.afghanrubab.com/en/la-musique-afghane/
Sonneborn, D. A. (2011, August). Afghanistan’s music
in the Smithsonian collection. Smithsonian Folkways Magazine. https://folkways.si.edu/magazine-summer-2011-afghanistans-collection/world-central-asia/music/article/smithsonian
Sakata, H. L. (2002). Ustad Mohammad Omar: Virtuoso
from Afghanistan [Liner notes]. Smithsonian .https://folkways-media.si.edu/docs/folkways/artwork/SFW40439.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Smithsonian
Institution. (n.d.). Afghanistan music: Radio Kabul recordings, 1961
[Archival collection component]. Smithsonian Institution Archives. https://www.si.edu/object/archives/components/sova-cfch-asch-ref5685
Comments
Post a Comment