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The Sounds and Moves of ibtiẓāl in 20th-Century Iran

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 January 2016

Ida Meftahi
Ida Meftahi*
Affiliation:
Roshan Institute for Persian Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, Md.; e-mail: imeftahi@umd.edu
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Extract

The scene opens with the camera zooming in on a small raised stage where a group of muṭribs (minstrel performers) are enacting a rūḥawzī piece. At stage left, a young man is singing a love song that describes the physical features of his beloved, Chihilgis. He is accompanied by an ensemble that plays rhythmic music (in 6/8 meter) on traditional Iranian instruments—the tunbak, the tār, and the kamānchih. Standing next to the singer is Chihilgis, performed by a crossed-dressed performer (zanpūsh) who sports a long wig and moves flirtatiously to the song, making coquettish gestures with the eyes, lips, and shoulders. Chihilgis then joins the dance center stage with the two other main characters: the protagonist, enacted by the black-faced performer Mubarak, who has a tambourine (dāyirih) in hand; and Haji, Chihilgis’ old father, who sports a white cotton beard. With variations based on the characters, the dance consists of typical muṭribī moves, including exaggerated wrist and hip rotations, facial gestures such as blinking, and sliding head movements. This musical segment is followed by a witty, humorous dialogue between Mubarak and Haji with sexual undertones.

Type
Roundtable
Information
International Journal of Middle East Studies , Volume 48 , Issue 1 , February 2016 , pp. 151 - 155
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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References

NOTES

1 For an extensive ethnographic account of muṭribī music, see Fatemi, Sasan, Jashn va Musiqi dar Farhang-ha-yi Shahri-i Iran (Tehran: Mahoor Institute of Culture and Arts, 2014)Google Scholar.

2 While in leftist discourse ibtiẓāl has signified a contrast to the politically conscious “committed arts,” in other contexts it connotes a lack of artistic quality, vulgarity, and tastelessness. Here I focus on its formerly mentioned apolitical connotation.

3 Nakhuda, Firaydun, “Hunar va Matiriyalism,” Dunya 1 (1934): 20–25Google Scholar.

4 Nakhuda, Firaydun, “Hunar-i Naw dar Iran,” Dunya 7 (1934): 221–22Google Scholar.

5 Nakhuda, Firaydun, “Hunar dar Iran-i Jadid,” Dunya 10–12 (1935): 366–771.Google Scholar

6 “Marsh-i Tudih, Shumarihʾi Yik,” Namihʾi Rahbar 46 (1943): 1.

7 “Da‘vat az Kulliyyihʾi Ahangsazan-i Iran,” Namihʾi Rahbar 710 (1946): 4.

8 Shakki, Mansur, “Duvvumin Kunsirt-i Sanfunik-i Tudih,” Namihʾi Rahbar 740 (1946): 1–2Google Scholar.

9 Shakki, Mansur, “Musiqi-i Tudih Baray-i Hamih,” Namihʾi Rahbar 710 (1946): 6Google Scholar.

10 Mihrigan, “Hunar-i Bi-Pirayih,” Namihʾi Rahbar 77 (1943): 1–2.

11 Tabari, Ihsan, “Nushin va Namayish-i Jadid-i u bih Nam-i Mustantiq,” Mahnamihʾi Mardum 4 (1947): 98–101Google Scholar.

12 Oskoui, Mustafa, Sayri dar Tarikh-i Tiʾatr-i Iran (Tehran: Intisharat-i Anahita, 1999)Google Scholar.

13 Sultanpur, Saʿid, Nuʿi Az Hunar, Nuʿi Az Andishih (Tehran: n.p., 1970)Google Scholar, 33.

14 See “Az Ibtizal-i Musiqi'i Irani Jilaw-giri Kunid,” Musik-i Iran 6 (1952): 2, 5. The ethnomusicologist Farzaneh Hemmasi explores the visceral physical responses of Iranians to the common 6/8 rhythm of Persian popular music: “Dambolidimbul u Ninashnash: Sounds, Discourses, and Contestation of Intimately Iranian Rhythms” (lecture, Iranian Studies Seminar, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 14 March 2014).

15 Instances include Yousef Abazari's speech at “Padidar Shinasiʾi Yik Marg,” seminar, 8 December 2014, accessed 15 January 2015, http://simafekr.tv/0fa1026idattach.htm; and Ali Rafiʿi, “Khususi Shudan-i Tiʾatr in ʿArsih ra bih Ibtizl Mikashad,” Facebook post, 28 October 2011, accessed 15 January 2015, https://m.facebook.com/AliRaffiPhD/.