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Encyclopredia Britannica, Ine. William Benton, Publisher, 1943-1973 HelenHemingwayBenton, Publisher, 1973-1974 Chicago JLondonjToronto /Geneva/Sydney /Tokyo /ManilafSeoul Islamic Peoples, Arts of 977

Kulthüm, Farid al-Atrash, Fayrouz, Rashid al-Hunda­ wen~ largely the main factors in the development of an rashi, Şadiqa al-Muliiya, and Mutammad al-Gubanshi. artistic theatre in the 19th and 20th · centuries. But con­ Musical compositions tend to be relatively light and servative Muslims have coiısistently disapproved of the­ short, falling witlıin the numerous genres of taıvslıifJ, atre, and in Saudi Arabia, for example, no native theatri­ songs built ona strophic poetic form originating in Spain. cal establishment exists. Iıi such an atmosphere, women's .Such songs have largely replaced Iong compositions of parts were at first taken by men; later, Christian and Jew­ the qaşldalı type and improvisational forms such as the ish women took the roles, and only in the 20th century layii[f and the maıvwiil. The use of short songs empha­ have Muslim women participated. sizes the process of separation between, rather than the traditional union of, composer and performer. Among TYPES AND SOCIAL FUNCTIONS OF DAN CB AND THBATRB instrumental forms are the taqslm, or improvisation, and The dance. Folk daneing existed among medieval Is­ the Turkish beslıref and samii'l. liimic peoples; but such sources as e:idst are mainly can­ Persian art music continues to be organized into 12 cemed with artistic dance, which was performed chiefly traditional modes, or dastgiih, each of which contains a at the caliph's palace by skilled women. The aristocracy repertory of from 20 to 50 smail pieces called güshehs was quick to imitate this patranage by providing similar ("corners"). In performance of instrumental and vocal performances, its members vying with one anather on fes­ music, the artist improvises on the chesen güslıeh of a tive occasions. One of these dances, the kurrağ (some- · dastgiilı in a specific order. Modern Arab theoıists also have produced valuable treatises. For example, the 19th-century theorists Michel Muchaqa of Damascus and Malıarnmed Chehab ad-Din of Cairo introduced the theoretical division of the scale into 24 quarter tones. In 1932 the international Congress of Arabian Music was held in Cairo, providing a forum for current analysis of subjects such as musical scales, modes, rhythms, and musical forms. (A.Sh.) m. IsHimic dance and theatre The performing arts have received comparatively little attention in the otherwise rich literatnre of the Isliimic peoples. This is most probably a result of the suspicions entertained by some orthodox Muslim scholars cancem­ ing the· propriety of the dance and the theatre. Because this applies particularly in relation to the vexing question of human portrayal and its counection with idolatry, the performing arts were regarded by the faitlıful with more than usual caution. Even in the 19th and early 20th cen­ tnries, most research on the subject; in what may loosely be called the Isliimic world, was carried out by Western­ ers, chiefly European scholars; and only in the 20th cen­ tury have indigenous scholars published research on the subject. There are no known references to. the dance or tıieatre in pre-Isliimic Arabia, although nomad tribes were prob­ ably acquainted with the dance.. The Isliimic peoples themselves seem to have developed this particular art form less .than they did music or architectnre; and in ad­ Dance as entertalnment for the arlstocracy, shown In "A dition to medieval Isliim's cool attitude toward dance and Festive Party," manuscrlpt lllumlnation from the MasnavT theatre as art forms, it must be added that most women, of Jalal ad-Din ar-Rümi, 1295-96 AD. In the British Museum leading a life of seclusion, could hardly be expected to (MS. OR. 7693, fol. 22~ b.). play .an active part in them. Nevertheless, there has been an active tradition of folk dance in most Isliimic coun­ times called kurra) developed into a song and dance tries, in addition to daneing as an entertainment spectacle festival held at the caliph's court. Since the latter part of and, particularly in Persia, as an art form. Dervish dane­ the 19th century the daneing profession has lost ground ing, a featnre especially of Anatolia, Turkey, is a form to the performance of U.S., Latin American, and West­ peculiar to the IsiiiiDie order of that name. ern European dances in cabarets. In a reaction that set in The theatre has not flourished as a major art under Is­ after World W ar II, fervent nationalists have tried to cre­ lam,. although as a form of popnlar entertainment, par­ ate native dance troupes, revive traditional riıotifs in cos­ ticularly in mime and shadow-puppet shows, it has per­ tume and interpretation, and adapt tribal :figures to mod­ sisted ·vigorously. Nevertheless, the theatre with live ac­ ern settings. Few dances have survived unchanged; tors received support from the Ottomans in Turkey, and a among them are the dervish dances, performed mainly live popular drama has been strong in Persia, where a in Turkey. · passian ,play also took root Otherwise, the theatrical Folk dance. Though now taken as an expressian of na­ record of Islam is meagre. Moreover, few neighbouring tional cultnre, folk dances were long regarded as pure en­ peoples had a well-developed theatre of their own; hence, tertainment and were either combined with theatrical outside si:imulus was lacking, and the Isliimic disapproval shows or ptesented alone. Dance performances, accom­ of idolatry was so intense that when the shadow theatre panied by music, took place in a special hall or outdoors; evolved in the East in the Iate Middle Ages, the puppets many dancers, particularly the males, were also mimes. were regularly punched with holes to show that they were Sametimes the dance enacted a pantomime, as in Turkey, lifeless. Nonetheless, drama has had some ties with re­ of physicallove or of a stag hunt, representing the pursuit ligion,.as in Iran and other areas where the Shi'ite branch of a suspicious husband deceived by his wife. of Isliiriı is concentrated. Here a passian play developed, Folk dance, except in Iran, has almost always been rooted in traumatic memories of the bloody warfare of mimetic or narfative, a tradition stili fostered by many Isliim's early years. This was a local phenomenon, unin­ tribes. fluenced by Christian Europe, and, though stereotyped, Dance as entertainment. The Turks considered danc­ it movingly re-enacted Shi'ite m~tyrdom. ing a profession for the low-born; herice most daneers Low social A popular theatre, frequently 'including dance, evolved · belonged to minority groups: Greeks, Jews, and Arme­ standing of independently from about the 17th century in some Mlıs­ nians. This judgment also applied to the status of profes­ daneers lim countries. West European and, later, U.S. influences sianal daneers and indeed to most professional entertain- 978 Islamic Peoples, Arts of ers at most periods until modern times. In 19th-century The theatre. In lands where the Sunnite sect was Egypt, both male and female daneers were regarded as strong, mime shows were frequent during the later Mid­ public entertainers. Many of the women (ghawiizf) be­ dle Ages. The Ottoman snltans were accompanied on longed to a single tribe and were usually considered lit­ military campaigns by their own troupe of actors; and as tle better than prostitutes. The eretic element in daneing the Ottoman Empire extended, the court became ever Actors has become focussed in the belly dance, which has be­ more partial to entertainment, whether at the accessian of at the come the main form of exhibition dance in modern Tur- a snltan, a royal wedding, a circumcision, an official visit, Ottonıan key and the Arab countries. - or a victory. On such occasions, dances and theatrical co urt The mimetic tradition of folk dance has blended well in performances played their part along with parades, fire­ countries of the Sunnite persuasion with comedy and-with works, music, mock fights, and circus performances in the pa~sion-play- tragedy in Shfite countries. In recent one huge pageant. This lavishing of entertainment years, however, the theatre has been divorced from the reached a height of splendour that the admiring Ottoman dance, for most plays are modelled on European patterns; aristocracy strove to imitate throughout Turkey. In only in the operetta does the old combination remain. Arabia and North Africa, popnlar showsona lesser scale Dance as_an art form. In pre-Islamic times in Iran, were performed in the open air. Another si de to the the­ dance was both an art form. and _a popnlar entertainment. atre was represented in the shadow plays, which were There are pictures of daneers in miniatures, on pottery, given chiefiy during the fast month of Ramaçilin (the and on walls, friezes, and coins. Some of these ancient sacred ninth month of the Muslim year) to while away dances lived on partially in tribal dances but again, un­ the time. der Islam's restrictions on women, the art became a male Among Shl'ites the passian play was regularly per­ monoply. formed, both by professionals and by amateurs. The Iran is perhaps the only Muslim country with a tradition performance was always during the first ten days of the of dance regarded as an art form. When revived after month of Mul)arram (the first in the Muslim year), com­ World W ar II, folk daneing was encouraged and adapted memerating the suffering and death of the descendants for the foundation of a national ballet. · and relatives of the caliph 'Ali. For generations this was Muslim orthodoxy's very uncertainty over the exact a focal point of the year, gripping audiences in total in­ status of the artistic dance ensured that it was always con­ volvement, with its blend of symbolism and realism. sidered as an adjunct to music; although there are de­ Mime slıows. In the medieval Muslim theatre, mime tailed treatİses on Islamic music, none are available on shows aimed to entertain rather than to uplift as art. Re­ dance. grettably, few were recorded in writing and those that Dervis/ı dancing. There is one,outstanding example of weı:e recorded were set down primarily to serve as guide­ pure dance: that of the whirling dervishes, practiced for lines for directors, who might tamper with the wording, seven centuries. The procedure is part of a Muslim cere­ as in the improvisation of the Halian commedia dell'arte. mony named dlıikr. Not all dervish orders dance; some Some plays were historical, but preference was for com­ simply stand on one foot and move the other to music. edies or farces with an eretic flavour. The audience was Those who dance, or rather, whirl, are the Mawlawi (or largely poor and uneducated. Mevlevi) dervishes, an order founded by the Persian poet A rudimentary theatrical form, the mime show was long and mystic Jaliil ad-Din ar-Rümi, at Konya, in Anatolia, widespread in Anatolia and other parts of the Ottoman in the 13th century. Empire. Called meddalı- (eulogist) or mukallit (imitator) The performance, for which the participants don tali, in Turkish, the mimic had many similarities to his classi­ brown, conical hats and green mantles, takes place in a cal Greek forerunners and was a storyteller who used large, octagonal"hall, called a tekke. The dervishes sit in mimicry as a comic element, designed for his largely un­ a circle, reciting poems. Then, rising slowly, they move educated audience. By gesture and word he would imitate from east to west, keeping their places with respect to one animals, birds, or local dialects; he was very popnlar in another, and begin to revolve rhythmically. They throw Arabic- and Turkish-speaking areas. Even today, he has back their heads and raise the palms of their right hands, not been wholly exterminated in the Islamic world by lit­ keeping their Iefthands down, a symbol of giving ;ını:! tak­ eracy, radio, television, and the cinema. Sametimes sev­ ing. The rhythm accelerates, and they whirl faster and eral meddalıs performed together, and this may have faster. In this way they enter a trançe in an atteinpt to be en the so ur ce of a rural theatrical performance. Iose their personal identities and attain union with the Ortaoyun u. The ortaoyunu (middle show) was the first Thefirst Almighty. Later they may sit, pray, and begin all over _type of real theatre the Turks, and possibly other Muslim re al agaib. The dlıikr ends with a prayer and a procession. peoples, ever had. The Ottoman sultans subsidized orta- theatre

dervishes daneing in a tekk~, engravlng by J. Fougeron from A To~r to the East In-the Years 1763 and 1764, with Remarks on the Cily ot Constantinop/e and the Turks, by Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltlmore, 1767. Islii.mic Peoples, Arts of 979 The marionette theatre. In comparison with orta­ oyunu, the marionette theatre, although popular in Turk­ istan (under the name of çadir hayal) and other parts of Muslim Central Asia, never really caught on in the Otto­ manEmpire. Shadoıv plays (Karagöz). On the other hand, the shad­ ow play had been widely popnlar in Turkish- or Arabic­ speaking countries. Like the mime shows, its essence was entertainment without moral import; and few plays were recorded in writing beyand a sketch of the action; most were comedies and farces for the enjoyment of a poor and uneducated audience. In Turkey, the Karagöz (a character, "Black-eye") the­ atre was the prevalent form of shadow play. This art ap­ parently came from China or Southeast Asia, as the French term ombres chinoises indeed hints, though the prevailing element of the grotesque was probably inher­ ited from ancient Greece by way of Byzantium. The Karagöz was well-known in Turkey during the 16th cen­ tury but was so fully developed that it must have been in­ troduced earlier, and it quickly spread from Syria to North Africa and the Greek islands. Its performers were in great demand at the sultan's court and elsewhere, and A storyteller in Kashmlr. they soon organized their own guild. Since only the Brian Brake-Magnum framework of the play was written down, there was scope for impromptu wit, and Karagöz shows, like the orta­ oyunu companies of actors, who consequently became oyunu, were inevitably satiricaL But with the coming of generally accepted; some were retained by the princes of cinema the Karagöz declined, and performances are now the Rumanian principalities under Ottoman rule. The mostly confined to the month of Ramaçlan. fact that they continued to enjoy popularity down to In the traditional performance, the stage is separated World War I may be explained by their simple dramatic from the audience by a frame holding a sheet; the latter appeal, coupled with sharp satire of the rich and the rul­ has shrunk over the years from about six by 7V:z feet (1.8 ing dasses (but hardly ever of Islam). This irreverence by 2.3 metres) to about three by two feet (0.9 by 0.6 frequently resulted in fines and imprisonment for the ac­ metres). The puppets, which are fiat and made of leather, tors but never in a change of style. are controlled by a rod and placed behind the screen. An During the 19th and 20th centuries, the ortaoyunu was oil lamp is then placed stili farther back so it will throw generally performed in an open square or a large coffee­ the puppets' shadows onto the screen. house. There was no stage, and props w ere simple: a table A standard shadow play has three main elements: intro­ or movable screen, other objects being represented by duction, dialogue, and plot. The introduction is fairly paintings glued on paper. An orchestra of about four stereotyped and consists of an argument and usually a musicians enlivened the show and gave the performers, quarrel between Karagöz and Hacivat, the two most com­ The two all male, their cues. Roles were generally stereotyped, man characters. The former is a simple, commonsense traditional with stock characters, such as a dandy, the foreign physi­ fellow, while the latter is more formal and polished, if characters cian, and regional types (Kurds, Albanians, Armenians, shallow and pedantic. The dialogue between the two var­ of the Arabs, and Jews) quarrelling and fighting in slapstick ies with the occasion but always contains impromptu rep­ shadow style. :ıyiimicry was important, and some actors changed artee, though most puppet masters have at least 28 differ­ play roles and costumes. The plot was flimsy, a mere frame for ent plots in stock-a different one for each night of Ram­ the dialogue, which was itself frequently improvised. açllin. Some are historical, many ribald, but all are pop-

Metin And

Ortaoyunu theatre, painting by Muazzez. In the calleetion of Dr. Metin And. 980 Islarnic Peoples, Arts of

Karagöz shadow puppets. From left: Yahudi (the Jew) with donkey, Karagöz, Zenne (the woman), and Tasuz Deli Bekir. Marc Riboud-Magnum

ular entertainment. Additional characters or animals may A preoccupation with religion is characteristic of Per­ be introduced, calling for great skill on the part of the sian theatrical performances, and, during the first ten puppet master and his assistant in manipulating several si­ days of the month of Mul).arram the martyrdom of 'AII's multaneously, as well as in reciting the text in changing descendants at the hands of the Umayyads is re-enacted. tones and playing music. Some have one or two musi­ Although these shows are also performed among Shi'ite cians to help. Turks in Central Asia and Shi'ite Arab communities in Mimicry and caricature, while essential to both the Iraq and elsewhere, Iran is their centre. Some plays are meddalı and the ortaoyunu, are technically more devel­ satirical, directed against wrongdoers, but most form a oped in the shadow play. Here entire productions are set of tragedies, performed as passion pİays on these ten based ona comedy of manners or of character. In addi­ successive days. N amed ta'ziyalı ("consolation"), this type tion to the stock characters from various ethnic groups, of drama is an expression of Persian patriotism and, there is, for example, the drug addict who wraps his nar­ above all, of piety, both elements combining in an expres­ cotic in dissolving gum before the fast begins so as not to sion of the national religion, Shi'ism. sin, the light-headed Turk ("he who eats his inheritance") In order to understand the mood of the ta'ziyalı it is Back­ who is a prodigal and a debauchee, the highway robber, necessary to remember that storytellers in Iran recite the ground the stutterer, and the policeman. gruesome details of the martyrdom of I;Iasan, I;Iusayn, of the Karagöz is the most frequent but not the sole type of and other descendants of 'Ali all year long. Tlıus pre­ ta'ziya/ı shadow play in Muslim countries. In Egypt a shadow pared, people swell the street processions during the days theatre existed as early as the 13th century, long before of Mul).arram, clıain themselves, fiagellate tlıeir bodies, records of Karagöz shows in Turkey. A phyşician, Mu­ and pierce their limbs witlı needles, slıouting in unison l).ammad ibn Daniyal, wrote three shadow plays that have and carrying irnages of the martyrs, made of straw and survived. They were performed in the 13th century and covered with blood--contrary to the injunctions of Islam. display humour and satire and the lampooning of match­ Sametimes men walk in the processions witlı Jıeads Ilid­ making and marriage. They also introduce a parade of den and collars bloodied, all part of a pageant dating popular contemporary characters, many of whom earn from the 9tlı or lOth century. Its peak is reaclıed daily in their living in shady or amusing trades. A positively the play deseribmg the martyrdom of 'Ali's family and phallic element is as evident here as in the Karagöz. entourage, wlıiclı used to be presented in the large Iranian popu/ar tlıeatre. Popular theatre existed mosques, but whiclı, when the mosques proved too smail, among the Iranians, who were proud of a long-lived cul­ was given a special place. The roles of reciter of the tural tradition and preserved their nationallanguage un­ martyrdom and of the walking in processian have der Arab domination: indeed, eventheir branch of IsHim, blended over the years to produce the ta'ziyalz play, in Shi'ism, set them apart from the Sunnism of the majority wlıiclı the reciters march in procession to the appointed of Islam. The Ottomans' failure to conquer Iran in­ place and there recite tlıeir pieces, wlıiclı can be consid­ creased competition between the respective intellectual ered as a prologue before the play itself begins. elites. Iran had inherited a considerable theatrical tradi­ The chief incidents narrated in the ta'ziyalı are not nec­ tion from pre-Islaı:nic times; it is not surprising that a essarily presented in clıronological order, but in any case The comic popular comic theatre fiourished there. The central figure the ta'ziyalı texts (manuscripts from the 17tlı and 18tlı · theatre of this theatre was the Katclıal Palı/avlin (or "bald ac­ centuries, thencefortlı, printed texts) give an inadequate iniran tor"), and mimicry was irnportant, both in con:iedy and in irnpression of their forceful effect. Indeed, the audience pantomirne. The BaggaZ-Blizi ("Play of the Grocer"), in identifies itself so closely with the play that foreigners which a grocer repeatedly quarrels with his good-for­ have, on occasion, been manlıandled. Since half of the nothing servant, is a typical example of the popular comic actors play the supporters of the 'Alids and half play tradition. The marionette theatre, or Lobet-Blizl, while their opponents, the latter are sometirnes attacked and using Iranian puppets, was similar to its Turkish counter­ beaten up at the end of the play. The decor, too, is Jıalf­ part. At least five puppets appeared, and singing was an realistic and half-symbolic: blood is real, yet s and is integral part of a production that sometimes resembled represented by straw. The stage effects are frequently Italian and French puppet shows. The ortaoyunu, par­ overdone and this clearly further excites the audience. ticularly in the region of Azerbaijan, is almost identical For instance, I;Iusayn's gory head is made to recite Jıoly with the Turkish of the same name. The shadow play in verses; or an armless warrior is seen to kill his opponent Iran, however, has always been less popular and obscene with a sword he holds in his teeth. The horses are real, than the Ottoman cr Arab Karagöz. although most of the other anirnals are played by Jıu­ Passian plays (ta'ziyalı). Quite different was the pas­ mans. In general, the actors, though chiefiy nonprofes­ sion play, derived mainly from early Islaı:nic lore and as­ sional, infect the audience with their enthusiasm and sembled as a sequence of tragedies representing Shl'ite absorption. martyrdom. Both shadow and passion play were inter­ larded with musical prologues, accompanirnent, and in­ DANCE AND THEATRE IN MODERN TIMES terludes; but these were not necessarily an integral part, Developments in dance. Insofar as dance is related to serving rather to create a mood. the modern theatre, there is little difference between lnterior ol the Great Mosque of C6rdoba, Spain, begun 785. The building is now a Christian cathedral.

Umayyad and 'Abbasid Art

Bowl from Nishapür, lead-glazed earthenware with a slip decoration. In the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Mosaics decorating the portice of the Great Mosque of Damascus, Syria, 715.

Woven sil k bearing the inscription "Giory and happinass to Qaid Abul Mansur Nudjkatin; may Gad continue his prosperity," 10th century. In the Louvre, Paris. 94 X 52 cm.

Plate 1: By courtesy of (centre left) the Victoria and Albert Museum, London: photographs, (top) Alfansa Gutierrez Escera-Ostman Agency, (bottom Jeft} Cliche Musees Nationaux, (bottom right) J.E. Oayton, London Fatimid art

Coronation manlle of King Roger ll of Sicily 1133. Gold embroidery and pearls on a red silk ground. In the Hofburg, Vienna.

Ceiling of the Capella Palatina, Palermo, Sicily. The chapel was buill by the Norman kings of Sicily and decorated by Fatimid artists.

Bowl of lustre-ware by the potter Sa'ad, depicting a Christian priest swinging a censer, first half of the 12th century. In the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Plate 2: By courtesy of (top) the Hofburg Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, {centre right) the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; photographs, {lefO M. Desjardins-Realites. (boıtom right) SCALA. N. Y. F~n~et~~ ~~b~f~~~~~~~fJ~~Fa~~~~,~~~s:{g~~C}~f~ft) ~~s~~~h;~~~i~~u:~;~r~~i~n. Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, O.C.; photograph, Cright) Roland and Sabrına Michaud-Rapho Guillumette Seljuq art

"Golshiih has removed her veil during a ballle," miniature from Varqeh o-Go/shiih, 13th century. In the Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul. (Ms. Hazine 841, fol. 22.) 10.2 X 29.7 cm.

The minaret of Jam, Iran, 1116-1202.

Discussion near a village, miniature painted by Yahya ibn Mahmüd ai-Wasiti from the 43rd maqiimah of the Maqiimiit ("Assemblies") of ai-Hariri, 1237. In the Bibliothlıque Nationale, Paris. (Ms. Arabe 5847, folio 138 r.) 34.8 X 26 cm.

Lustre dish depicting Khosrow ll as he discovers Shirin bathing, by Sayyid Shamsad-Din al Husani, from Kashan, Iran, c. 1210. In the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, o. c. ""

""-~-,-::~~ ı

lvory casket, 13th century. In the Palazzo Aeale, Capella Palatina, Palermo, Sicily. 39 X 40 X 24 cm.

Moorish and Mamluk art

Hanging mosque lamp, enamelled and gilded glass, from Aleppo, Syria, c. 1300. In the Museum für lslamische Kunst, Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, West Berlin.

Court of the Lions, the Alhambra, Granada, Spain, 14th century.

Plate 4: By courtesy of (top left) the Soprintendenza aile Gallerie ed Aile Opere d'Arte de Ila Sicilia, Palermo, (top right) the Osterreichische Nalionalbibliolhek, Vienna.

11-Khanid art of the Mongol Period

Pottery bowl from Klishan, Iran, Iate 14th century. In the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Dlwan ot Sultan Ahmad, pasıoral border painted by Junayd, c. 1405, from Baghdad. In the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 29.2 X 20.3 cm.

Mongol warriors, miniature from Rashid ad-Din's History ot the World, 1307. In the Edinburgh University Library, Scotland. Miniature only, 25 X 11.4 cm.

Plate 5: By courtesy of (top) the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio, Grace Rainey Rogers Fund, (centre left) the Victoria and Albert Museum, london, (bottom Jeft) the Edinburgh University library, Scotland, (bottom right} the Smithsonian lnstitution. Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, O.C.; photograph, (centre leftl John Webb Prince Humay at the Gate of Humayün's Castle, itlustration from the Divan of Khwaju Kermlini, painted by Junayd, 1396, from Baghdad. In the British Museum (MS. Add 18 113, folio 18v). 29 X 20.2 cm.

The mausoleum of Timur at Samarkand, 1434.

Timurid art of the Mongol Period

Capture of the fortress of the Knights Hospitallers at Smyrna, miniature from a Zafar-nameh (a life of Timur) by Behzad, c. 1490, from Herat. In the John Work Garrett Library, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. 25.2 X 13 cm.

Seetion of relief tilework from the mausoleum of Bayram Khan at Fathabad, Uzbekistan, Iate 14th to early 15th century. In the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Length 1.52 m. The Feast of 'Id, illustration from a Divan ot Hiifez, Miniature from Yusot o-Zalikha by Jami, the text in signed Sultan Muhammad, c. 1520. Ina private collection. smail nasta 'liq calligraphy, 1557. In the Freer Gallery 24 X 16 cm. of Art, Washington, D. C. 25.2 X 15 cm.

Safavid art

Plate 6: By courtesy of (top right) the trustees of the British Museum, {centre right} the John Work Garrett library, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, (bottom} the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; photographs, {top left) Alex Langley-Photo Rı::searchers, {centre right) Waıters Art Gallery, Baıtimore, (bottom) John Webb Plate 7: By courtesy of (top left> a orivate collector, Cambridge, Mass. (formerly in the calleetion of Louis J. Cartier), (top right} the Smithsonian lnstitution, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, O.C.; photographs, {top left} Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Mass., (bottom) Ray Manley-Shostal -

lnterior of the Rüstem Pasa Mosque, Istanbul, showing the coloured tile decoration.

Ottoman art

The Sultan watching daneers and comedians in the Hippodrome, illustration from the Surname-i Vehbi ot Ahmed lll (1703-30), painted by Levni. In the Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul.

ls nik ware dish, second half of the 16th century. In the Victoria and Albert "S tar Ushak" carpet from western Anatolia, Iate 16th to Silk caltan said to be that of Bayezid ll Museum, London. Diameter 30.5 cm. early 17th century. In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, • (1481-1512). In the Topkapı Saray Museum, New York City. 2.17 X 4.27 m. Istanbul.

Plate 8: By cour!esy of (bottom left, centre) the Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul, {bottom centre) the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, (botıom righl) the Metropolitan Museum of Arlı New York, gift of Joseph V. McMullen: photographs, {top, battom left, centre) Ara Guler-EB Ine., (bottom centre) John Webb, (bottom right) Otto E. Nelson Islamic Peoples, Arts of 981 Muslim production and its European or American coun­ Arabic and Turkish, adapted Moliere's L'Avare ("The terpart. Dance and drama are combined according to the Miser") and presented it on a makeshift stage in Beirut artistic needs of the production or the personal tastes of in 1848. He did so before a select audience of foreign the producer and director. Perhaps more important is the dignitaries and local notables, and he wrote his play in dance itself, independently performed as artistic self­ colloquial Arabic and revised the plot to suit the. taste expression. T.J:ıe geographical centre of folk dance is in and views of his audience. Further, he changed the locale the area east of the Mediterranean, though remnants of to an Arab town and arabicized the names of the partici­ other cultures have survived. There are Balkan traces in pants: Other touches inCluded instrumental and vocal western and northern Turkey, for example, and Berber music and the playing of women's roles by men, in the and even black African traces in Morocco and elSewhere traditional manner. The ab o ve features characterized the in North Africa. · Arabic theatre for about hıi.lf a century. An-Naqqash, to­ Ara b· countries. In the Arab countries, daneing is pop­ gether with his family, composed and presented two other nlar, varying in town, village, or with nomad tribe. In the musical plays, one based on Möliere's Le Tartufje, the town, daneing is reserved · for special occasions, chiefly other on the story, in The Thousand and One Nights, of Western social dances. On the other hand, villages have the Abü al-:ı;Iasan who became caliph for aday. such favourites as the dabkah. This is danced mainly by Soon the main centre of Arabic theatre moved to Egypt, n:ıen, and is quite common in festivities in the area he­ whose comparatively tolerant autonomy offered an at­ tween northern Syria aıid southern Israel; for instance, mosphere for literary and artistic creativity more con­ the· Druzes· (sectarian Arab communities in Lebanon, genial than other parts of the Ottoman Empire. Syrian Syria, and Israel) ·are very fond of it. The performers and Lebanese intellectuals ·and actors emigrated there, dance in a straight line, holding handkerchiefs high in the particularly after the anti-Christian riots of 1860 in:Syria; air, while the first in the row gives the sign for stepping or Though a sornewhat crippled Arabic theatre continued jumping. Among the Bedouins almost any pretext suffices in Syria, its infinence was carried into Egypt by emigres for dancing, although in recent years daneing has been an:d later spread to other Arabic-speıi.king regions. The practiced niost often ·at weddings and s imilar festivities. number of theatres, a potentially large public; the mu- Usually two male dancers, or two rows of male dancers, ni:ficence of Egypt's rulers, increasing prosperity under Egyptian repeatedly advance toward each other or the audience British rule after 1882, and increasing educa:tion soon theatre and retire. To this basic :figure, there are numerous vari­ made Egypt the centre of Afabic theatre, a pösition it has atioiıs that give the differerit dantes their names. successfully maintained since. Turkey. The Turks are also lovers of music and dance, The colloquial Arabic of Egypt was increasingly em~ and when they meet frequently sing and dance. There is ployed in the theatre, and several companies tonred the no single national dance popnlar throughout the country; country and neighbouting :parts. The composition of dances·vary in the numbers required, some peing for solo these companies was fluid, for the actors were :fickle in performance, others designed for pairs or groups, though their loyalties; nevertheless, certain types of Egyptian nearly all have instrumental accompaniment As illustra­ theatre can be discerned in the Iate 19th century and tion of the possibilities of; a basic step, there are at least during the early 20th. Some, like the company of Sa­ 40 variations of the group darice known as bar, a chain ariııi.h Hijiiz!, used music to such an extent that their pro­ dance. Again, several folk dances have characteristics ductions approached opera or operetta. Others, like that akin to pantomime, breaking up into :five main cypes; of of 'AIT al-Ka:Ssiir, specialized in downright farce, ex­ imitation: village life, nature, combat, courtship, ·arid pressed in revue form, with a Nuhian hero, the "Bar­ animals or birds. barin," who made a specialty of ridicule and mimicry. Opera is popnlar in Turkey, reflected in a long tradition Yet others, like the company of Najib ar-Rıl}.anl, oscillat­ of invitations to foreign companies, ıind the musica:l the­ ing between outright farce and comedy, skillfully de­ atre,. which frequently includes dancing, is also wide­ picted coriteriıporary Egyptian manners; in particular, spread. On the other hand, classical ballet was unknown Najib ar-RÜfiinl created a character called Kish-Kish until a school of ballet was opened by foreign teachers Bey, whose misadventures and unsolicited advice on with government encourageiiıent. Although most of the every subject have made him a dassic creation. A con­ ballet performances are in. Istanbul, they are well re­ ventional theatre sprang up in Egypt, too, catering for a ceived on tour. growing number of intellectuals, and presentjng dramas ·Irim. In Iran a national dance ·company was formed and tragedies in polished, literaiy Arabic. Its clıief ex­ with government support after World W ar. II, and ancient ponent was Jürj Abyae;l, who had studied acting in Paris. customs were revived. This Iranian ballet company soan In contrast, Yüsuf Walıbfs National Troupe performed became outstanding in the Muslim world; drawing on· an­ realistic plays, usually dramas or .melodramas, using cient war dances, fire-priest dances, dervish dances, and either colloquial or literary Arabic, sametimes a com­ tribal folklore, as well as on scenes and decor from paint­ bination of both. ing, sculpture, and the rich imagery of cliıssical Persian The plays performed by the Egyptian troupes and others poetry. ·various folk dances are likewise performed all in Arabic-speaking lands developed through three over­ over Iraıi; they are accompanied by music and reflect lapping but distinguishable stages: adaptations, transla­ local traditions and customs. Same are minİetic, others tions, and original plays. Adaptations came first, in the erotic, others, again, war dances (chiefly in the mountain 19th century (see above). Translations of established areas) and comic dances (usually with masks). Many of wörks appealed to a discriminating public, but original these are dying out as new taStes and custoriıs evolve, and plays, part of the evolution of modern Arabic literature, Iranian dance companies have tried to preserve some of reflected a growing interest in political and social prob­ _these dying forms. · lems. The decline of foreign infinence and the arrival of The contemporary theatre; The modern Muslim the­ political indepeıidence encouraged creativity whiclı, how­ 'atre is almost wholly a Western European importation, ever much under European infiuence, has some original uncounected with the traditional medieval theatre, which works to its credit. Two 20th century Arabic playwriglıts; has almost completely disappeared, although there are both Egyptian, are Tawfiq al-:ı;Iıi.kim, a sensitive shaper vestiges of it. · ·· · of both social and symbolical dramas, and Mıi.hmüd Tay­ : · Arab countries. . Contemporary Arabic. theatre owes mü, a novelist and comedy writer who strikes deep into miıch to the·imaginative daring of the Naqqash family lıı Egypt's social problems. · 19th-century Beirut, which was then under Turkish rule. Turkey. The development of the modern Turkish the­ ·Signi:ficantly, they w ere Christians, then better educated atre strongly resembles its Arabic counterpart. In Istan­ and more cosmopolitan than Muslims, and· they had the bul, theatrical performances were not unusual among the advantages of Beirut's contacts with Europe and positioiı diplamatic and international set, and sonie local Turks as the headquarters of missioniıry activit:Y: A Beirut were acquainted with them. Nonetheless, Turkish plays Maronite (a Roman Catholic following the Syrio-Anti­ for live actors-barring ortaoyunu:-date only from ochene rite, widespread in the area), Mariin an-Naqqash 1839. The first Turkish playhouse was built in Pera (now (died 1855), who kriew French and Italian as well as Beyoğlu), signi:ficantly in the middle of the foreign and 982 Isllimic Peoples, Arts of embassy quarter of Istanbul. Many of the actors were lance. After 1942 many new companies were formed, members of non-Muslim minorities, such as the Armeni­ and there was speedy .development, .with growing interest an; and the first plays presented in Turkish were adapta­ in social and political subjects, though competition from tions from the French, chiefiy Moliere. They were done foreign filriıs was considerable. Nevertheless, theatre during the 1840s, when music was an important item. clubs in Iran's towns bear witiıess· to a sizable grass-roots The Gedik The Gedik Paşa Tiyatrosu, called after the area in Istan­ movement. (J.ML.) Paşa bul where it was located, was the first theatre in which Theatre Turkish playswere produced by native actors in Turkish. IV. Visnal arts The actors received a salary and local writers presented In order to ~wer whether or not there is an aesthetic their own plays. Originally built for foreign companies, iconographic, or stylistic unity to the visually .perceptibl~ the theatre was reconstructed in 1867 and re-opened in arts of Isliimic peoples, it is first essential to realize tha:t 1868 for a Turkish company headed by an Arı;nenian, no ethnic or geographical entity \Vas Muslim from the Agop, who was later converted to Islam and changed his beginning. There is no Isliimic ari:, therefore, in the.way name to Yakup. For almost 20 years the Gedik Paşa The­ there isa Chinese art or a Frenchart. N or is it simply a atre was the dramatic centre of the city; and plays in period ari:, like Gothic art .o ı:. Baroque art, for once .a translation were soon followed by original plays, several land or an ethnic entity became Muslim it remained with a nationalİst appeal, such as Namık Kemal's Fat/ıer­ Muslim, a smail number of exceptions like Spain or Sicily land, first produced in 1873. The actors had to struggle notwithstanding. Political and social events transformed against prejudice and the playwrights against censorship a number of lands with a variety of earlier histories into (same were imprisoned or exiled); but the Turkish theatre Muslim lands. But, since early Isliiı:n as such did nöt spread beyand Istanbul in the 1870s and 1880s to such possess or propagate an art of its own, each area could places as Adana (in southern Anatolia). and Bursa (just continue, in ·fact often did continue, whatever modes south of Istanbul, across the Sea of Marmara). ofcreativitY it had acquired._ It may then not be appro­ After the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, censorship priate at all to talk about the visual arts of Isliimic pea-: was not relaxed, but interest in the theatre grew, particu~ ples, and one should instead consider separately each of larly over political matters; and plays about the new con" the areas that became Muslim: Spain, North Africa, stitution were written and performed. After the founda­ Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Iran, Anatolia, India. Such, tion of the Turkish Republic in 1923, the state subsidized in fact, has been the directian taken by some recent schol­ several theatre companies and a. school for dramatic arts. arship. Eventhough tinted at times with parochial nation~ Official support not ouly gave financial encouragement alism, the approach has beerı. useful in that it has focused but also implied a change .of attitude over such matters attention on a number of permanent features in different as the participation of Muslim women in productions. regions of.Isliiı:nic lands that are older than aiıd indepen­ By the middle of the 20th century, theatricallife was dent from the f~th itself and ~om. the political eiıtitY mostly centred on Istanbul and Ankara, although the­ created oy il:. Iranian art, in particular, exhibits a number atres and companies continued in the smail towns too. A of features (certain themes sJ.Ich as the representation of growing number of original plays, some infiuenced by . birds or an epic tradition in painting) that owe. little to American literature, have been-written and produced and its Isliiı:nic character since the 7th centiıry. Ottoman ait the standard was higher than before World War I, when shares a Mediterraneaiı tradition of architectural can­ Turkish poetry and fiction were rather more. impressive ception with Italy rather than with the rest of the Muslim than the drama. Subjects, too, have been more diverse. world. . . · To topics such as the position of woman, marriage and Such examples can easily be multiplied, but it is prob­ divorce, and the character of Isliiı:nic institutions-all ably wrong to overdo their importance. For if one looks popular under the Ottomans_:have been. added the at the art of Isliiı:nic lands from a different perspective, Greco-Turkish War, education, village conditions, secu­ a totally . different picture emerges. The persp'ective is larization, class struggle, and psychological problems. that of the lands that surraund the Muslim world or of The Darmen Tiyatrosu, the oldest resident private the­ the times that preceded its formation. For even if there atre company in Turkey that continues to perform in the are ambiguous examples, most observers can recognize a 1970s, was founded in Istanbul in 1955 by Haldun Dar­ fiavour, a mood in Isliiı:nic visual arts that is distinguish­ men: in the 1971 World Theatie season in London the able from what is known iıi East Asia (China, Korea, company performed A Tale of Istanbul, a comedy in­ and Japan) or in the Christian West. This mood or fiavour cluding _elements of fol.l4ore, a pnppet show, singing, and has been called decorative, for it seems at :first glance to a belly dance. This theatre also produces modern Western emphasize an immense complexity öf surface effects with plays. apparent meanings attached. to the visible motifs. But Iran. In Iran the birth of the modern theatre dates it has other characteristics as well; it is often colourful, Western from the second half of the 19th century: Adaptations both in architecture and in objects; it avoids represeıita­ European and translations from European plays appeared in Per­ tions of living things; it gives much prominence to .the and sian, often with the location and names suited to Iran. work of artisans and counts among its masterpieces not Russian Moliere, again, was a favourite· and western European merely works of architecture or of paİnting but also the infiuences infinence considerable, though Russian literature ıı.Iso left creations of weavers, potters, ıind metalworkers. The iniran its mark, particularly in Azerbaijan, whose northern problem ·is whether. these uniquenesses of Isliiı:nic iırt, population had a chance to watch Russian actors during when compared to other artistic traditions, are the result WorldWar I. of the nature.of Islam or of some other factor·or series Original plays. began to be written. almost at once; one of factors. of the earliest playwrights was an Azerbaijani, one These preliminary remarks suggest at the very outset Akhundof, living in the Caucasus. He wrote seven come­ the main. epistemological peculiarity of IsUii!lİC art: it dies ridiculing Persian and Causasian Muslim society; all consists of a large number of quite disparate traditions were translated into Persian and printed in 1874. Other that, when seen all together, appear distinguishable from plays likewise showed pronounced yearnings for social what surrounded them and from what preceded them reform presented in a satirical style; some of these were through a series of s"tylistic and thematic characteristics. published in a magazine called Tyatr ("Theatre"), which The key question is how this was possible, but no answer first appeare_d in 1908. Anather type was the patriotic can be given before the tradition itself has been properly play, extolling Iran's history. defined. · · Some pre-World W ar I pieces were designed for reading Such a . de:finition can only be provided -in history, rather than production. They were performed usually in through an examination of the formation and develop­ schools, but there were hardly any professional actors, ment of the arts through the centuries. For a static sudden and the stage and props were very simple. After World phenomenon is not being dealt with, bu.t rather a slow _War I, suitable halis were built in Teheran and other building up of a visuallanguage of forms with many dia­ cities, but the iron hand of Reza Shah (1925--41) curtailed lects and with many changes. Whether or not these com­ development through continuous censorship and surveil- plexities of growth and development subsumed a com-