Traditional Iranian Music in Irangeles: an Ethnographic Study in Southern California
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Traditional Iranian Music in Irangeles: An Ethnographic Study in Southern California Item Type text; Electronic Thesis Authors Yaghoubi, Isra Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 29/09/2021 05:58:20 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/305864 TRADITIONAL IRANIAN MUSIC IN IRANGELES: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA by Isra Yaghoubi ____________________________ Copyright © Isra Yaghoubi 2013 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the SCHOOL OF MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAN STUDIES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2013 2 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that an accurate acknowledgement of the source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED: Isra Yaghoubi APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: July 25th, 2013 Anne Betteridge Date Associate Professor of Iranian Studies ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis was made possible with the assistance of many, to whom I offer my heartfelt thanks: To my thesis committee members: Anne Betteridge has been an advisor with endless patience and keen insight on ethnographic work and the writing process; Kamran Talatoff, from whom I have learned so much about Iranian society and culture; Leila Hudson, whose integrative perspective has been so helpful; and Janet Sturman, whose critical feedback and guidance have been vital in the writing and shaping of this study, particularly as regards ethnomusicology. To many scholars who responded to my request for contacts and ideas: Houman Sarshar, William Beeman, Bruno Nettl, Niloofar Mina, Lloyd Miller, Stephen Blum, Lorraine Sakata, and Mark Slobin. To Maryam Shariati for assistance in polishing the Persian consent form. To community leaders in Los Angeles who facilitated many key research contacts: Homa Sarshar and Bijan Khalili, and to Ali Nouri for putting me in touch with so many musical artists. To my neighbors when I lived in L.A., whose warmth and hospitality were my local refuge: Fariba and Neemat Rabizadeh, their dear children; and Alan and Heather Broidy. To my family: my mom, Guita Sazan, a great-hearted warrior of life, for steadfast support and the songs, albums, and concerts spanning genres of traditional Iruni music that were woven into the soundscape of my upbringing; my dad, Stu Silverstein, for years of honing my writing skills; my bābā jān, Kiumars Yaghoubi for spiritual support, and his wife Lilliam Castro, for warmth and welcome at the khānāgāh; my dear brothers, Danny and Ari, for their charm and inspiration; my grandma Soraya, my khāleh Shiva, and her husband Joseph, for hosting me on Shabbat’s in L.A., and my cousins Benji and Bayla for laughter and good company. To Margaret Dugan and Miriam Saleh at the School of Middle East and North African Studies at the University of Arizona, for administrative and logistical help. To the Malakeh Taleghani Endowed Fellowship in Iranian Studies, the Roshan Fellowship, and the University of Arizona Social Behavioral Science Research Institute, for funding essential to supporting my fieldwork. To the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the Title VI Foreign Language Area Studies grant, for my intensive Persian language studies at UT-Austin. To dear friends: Vida Ravanmehr, a wellspring of emotional and logistical help, daily conversations in Persian, and hours of help translating Persian poetry, lyrics and texts; Ted Warmbrand, for talks on folk music as it relates to history, and society; Constance and Randi at the Little Chapel of All Nations, for an oasis of kindness, understanding, meditation, and a quiet space for writing. To the UofA Ramblers, the ‘Shabbatluck’ crew, and to Tucson, for all the wonderful experiences in this Sonoran space of learning, natural beauty, and creativity. To all those I interviewed, for sharing personal stories, journeys, wisdom, and sentiments – my appreciation is beyond what words can convey and yet, thank you. 4 DEDICATION For the Conductor, and all matāreb-e eshq/minstrels of love, may your melodies fill our hearts with gratitude and joy. *** خدايا مطربان را انگبين ده برای ضرب دست آھنين ده چو دست و پای وقف عشق کردند... - مولوی )ديوان شمس( Oh G-d, give honey to the minstrels, For the drum, provide a hand of iron, For hand and foot they’ve devoted to love… -Rumi (Divan of Shams) 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ...................................................................................6 ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................7 I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................8 Research Focus ....................................................................................................8 Iranian L.A. Soundscapes ....................................................................................8 Framing this Study: Persian Pop and the Ghost of Stigma ................................13 Music, Authenticity, and Identity ......................................................................19 Research Questions ............................................................................................21 Personal Background .........................................................................................22 II. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................25 Site as Los Angeles, Southern California ..........................................................25 The Geography of “Irangeles”: Pockets and Sprawl .........................................28 Sample and Methods ..........................................................................................30 Interviewing Logistics .......................................................................................31 In Preparation and in the Field: Contacting Community Leaders .....................33 Networking in the Neighborhood ......................................................................35 Researcher Roles ................................................................................................39 III. THE ARTISTS AND THEIR MUSIC ............................................................41 Persian Classical Music .....................................................................................41 Persian Popular Classics and the Legacy of Golhā ............................................50 Sufi Music ..........................................................................................................56 Regional Folk Music ..........................................................................................66 IV. IN DIASPORA: CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITES, & STRATEGIES ......75 Audience and Venue ..........................................................................................75 Teaching and Networks .....................................................................................81 V. CONCLUSION .................................................................................................84 APPENDIX A: MAP – INTERVIEW SITES .......................................................90 APPENDIX B: MAP – IRANGELES (1) .............................................................91 APPENDIX C: MAP – IRANGELES (2) .............................................................92 APPENDIX D: GLOSSARY OF MUSIC TERMS ..............................................93 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................94 6 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1.1 ...............................................................................................................10 Figure 1.2 ...............................................................................................................12 Figure 1.3 ...............................................................................................................12 Figure 1.4 ...............................................................................................................18 Figure 2.1 ...............................................................................................................29 Figure 2.2 ...............................................................................................................29 Figure 3.1 ...............................................................................................................48 Figure 3.2 ...............................................................................................................48 Figure 3.3 ...............................................................................................................48 Figure 3.4 ...............................................................................................................52