QA on Music Theory Print

Qaraami

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History and Origins#

The Qaraami music genre emerged in the 1930s from a specific form of poetry known as Qaraami. Originating in the historic town of Saylac (Zeila), the movement rapidly expanded to northern Somali towns such as Hargeisa and Berbera, where it gained widespread popularity among young people. The Qaraami poetry movement was spearheaded by a youth subculture known as the Kabacad, notable for their fashionable white shoes, which became an identifying symbol of the movement. Cilmi Boodheri is widely recognized as the most famous of the Kabacad poets. Leading Qaraami poets were regularly invited to perform at wedding ceremonies and popular gatherings known as “gaaf,” which attracted large crowds of young people in spite of widespread disapproval from elders and religious scholars. Qaraami poems were collaboratively composed by groups of young poets seated in a circle, who improvised short verses in formats such as lug-kowle (one-lined), labaale (couplets), and saddexle (triplets), with one poet reciting a line and the final half-line (hooris) chanted collectively as a chorus before the next poet continued. This innovative method, referred to by the Kabacad as ‘subcis’ (or rotation) and influenced by traditional Quranic revising sessions, marked a departure from the conventional Somali gabay style. Qaraami songs display notable influences from traditional pastoral folk dances such as the Dhaanto, incorporating its metrical pattern and couplet stanza format. According to Qarshe, the emergence of modern Somali song in the north was largely driven by the urban revival of the Dhaanto movement led by Diiriye Baalbaal. Abdullahi Qarshe is widely credited with being the first to set Qaraami poetry to music and is recognized as the founder of the modern Qaraami music genre. Other notable Kaban players of the 50s included Ali Feiruz and Mohamed Nahari. According to Afrax, the genre eventually split into two distinct forms, termed ‘Qaraami 1’ and ‘Qaraami 2’, with the later kind emerging in the 40s.

Qawwali

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Terminology#

Qawl (Arabic: قَوْل) means ‘utterance (of the Muhammad)’. A Qawwāl is someone who often repeats or sings a Qawl. Qawwali is the music that a Qawwāl sings. Origins The Delhi Sultanate’s Sufi saint Amir Khusrow of the Chisti order of Sufis is credited with fusing the Persian, Arabic, Turkic, and Indian traditions in the late 13th century in India to create Qawwali as we know it today. The word sama is often still used in Central Asia and Turkey to refer to forms very similar to Qawwali, and in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, the formal name used for a session of Qawwali is Mehfil-e-Sama. The gradual development of Qawwali was significantly influenced by the Hindu Krishna Bhakti movement, which popularized devotional music in Medieval India. Historically, Sufi Qawwalis and Bhakti songs shared themes of longing and the personal journey towards God, with the Sufi concept of ishq (love) mirroring the Bhakti idea of viraha. Sufi poet Amir Khusrau composed Krishna-inspired poetry which influenced Sufi music. Originally, musical instrument use in Qawwali was prohibited. The following conditions were initially placed on Qawwali: Sufi Saints such as Nizamuddin Auliya, the teacher of the famous Sufi singer Amir Khusrow, were quite blunt about the prohibition: Eventually, however, musical instrument use found its way into Qawwali. Instruments such as the harmonium, tabla and dholak are now common in many Qawwali parties.

Qaytarma

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Description#

During Qaytarma, a male dancer holds his arms apart and forms fists, making short, provocative movements with small jumps. His dancing partner, usually a woman, acts without sharp movements. Instead, she performs exact movements of her legs and shoulders, making smooth, rotational hand movements. According to other studies, among them those conducted by , only women should participate in Qaytarma, or, if men participate, they should do so separately from women. In addition to Crimean Tatars, Krymchaks, Crimean Karaites, Urums, and Ukrainian Greeks also dance Qaytarma. According to researcher Serhiy Zaichenko, Qaytarma music is typically in or time, which is common of Turkic music.