As with the Ghazals, the Rubayi have been heavily influenced by Arabic, Persian and Turkic poetry. The Rubayis of Rehman Baba are popular among the masses and is sung before the starting of Badala. Badala consists of variations, because each couplet is varied in rhythms from the others. In Badala, tribal traditions are the main theme as well as heroism, tragedies and romance. Instruments used include the rubab, harmonium, mungey or tabla.
Shaan is sung during happy occasions such as marriages or the birth of a child, and is sung in private congregations and social gatherings.īadala is a professional form of folk music and consists of an epic poem or a ballad. The two sides are usually the lover and the beloved (the man and woman). It requires 2 or more persons who reply to each other in a poetic form. This is a form of folk music in which a story is told. Loba is very popular among the masses and are added within Tappas occasionally. Most of these songs in Pashtun culture have been expressed in different areas about daily life and love. The first lines are repeated in the middle of the song and Tappa is usually added according to the subject and circumstances. Neemakai ( Pashto: نيمکۍ) has many different forms and normally women compose it. Traditionally Charbetta is started just after the finishing of a Tappa. The singing or recitation of a Charbetta is called Tang Takore. The tempo is usually very fast and is sung by two or more singers as part of a chorus in which one singer reads the first line while the others follow the remaining. That includes the heroic deeds and heroism of legendary figures and sometimes expresses romantic feelings. Normally, it is a poem of four lines but might also have six or eight lines. In hujrah it is sung with rubab and sitar.Ĭharbetta is another popular genre, which consists of an epic poem with special rhythms.
Tappa has up to 16 different models of harmony and is sung with full orchestra.
In music it is sung with the traditional Afghan musical instruments rubab and mangai. It is the only song sung in the time of grief and on the occasion of marriage. It is also common among the Pashtuns that a boy of school age would sing it, the elders in their hujrahs, or the women in their home and Godar alike. Be it laborers, peasants, or women, all sentiments find expression in the Tappa. The Tappa is a composition of two unequal meters, in which the first line is shorter than the succeeding one, yet it reflects all human feelings and aspirations elegantly. Tappa ( Pashto: ټپه) is the oldest and most popular genre of the Pashto poetry. Afghan men performing at the new Afghan Cultural Center on Camp Leatherneck in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.