International Society of Iranian Studies

Music, Festivity, and Gender in Iran from the Qajar to the Early Pahlavi Period
Author(s): Sasan Fatemi
Source: Iranian Studies, Vol. 38, No. 3, Music and Society in Iran (Sep., 2005), pp. 399-416
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of International Society of Iranian Studies
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Iranian Studies, volume 38, number 3, September 2005

Sasan Fatemi

Music, Festivity, and Gender in Iran from the

Qajar to the Early Pahiavi Period

Introduction

In Iran, music and festivity are inseparable from and have always included the
figure of the motreb, a musician who typically performs at joyful occasions.
Although the term motreb was used in the past to denote all musicians irrespective

of their many differences, since the late Qajar period, musicians specializing in art
music have intentionally distinguished themselves from the professional musicians who perform at festivities. This trend continues to the present and now

the term motreb is attributed to the latter group.' Since the time of the Safavids,
the role of the motrebs and their music, which we have come to know through the

travelogues of Europeans, has gradually continued to decline. In fact the Zandi

and Safavid courts favored the motrebs so much that it was even detrimental to
art music of the time. However, in the Qajar period, especially from the time
of Naser al-Din Shah on, the activities of the motrebs became more limited due

to the expansion and development of art/classical music. Later, during the

Pahlavi era, in conjunction with the rise of Western music and the adaptation
of more modern styles of ceremony and festival organization, the motrebs

became even more marginalized and were restricted to more traditional social
classes. After the Islamic revolution, they were viewed with contempt and it
seemed as if they would vanish forever.

One of the primary considerations to keep in mind regarding motrebs' activities

and their evolution is the closely related question of gender. Motrebs' activities,
from the Safavid period until the present, take on new forms depending upon pre-

vailing social views about male and female domains. In other words, motrebs
modify and adjust their practices every time new gender concerns and conventions arise and this, in turn, creates specific variations in professional structure.
A survey of the emerging practices of motrebs from the Safavid period on demonstrates that women's status in motreb groups has gradually declined. In the Safavid

and Zandi periods groups that included dancer/prostitutes were held in high
Sasan Fatemi is a doctoral student in ethnomusicology at the University of Paris X: Nanterre and
a member of the scientific committee of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran. His
main areas of interests are nursery rhymes in Iran; popular urban music of Iran, Central Asia and

Azerbaijan; the classification of musical genres; and regional musics of Iran.

'In this article, my use of the term motreb has this meaning.
ISSN 0021-0862 print/ISSN 1475-4819 online/05/030399-18 !Z Routledge

()2005 The International Society for Iranian Studies P T.ylo&FrGoup

DOI 10.1080/00210860500300796

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400 Fatemi

regard, to the extent that some European travelogues make mention of prostitutes and dancer-prostitutes who were quite wealthy.2 The remarkable growth
of these groups in the aforementioned periods ended up blurring the distinctions
between male and female domains. Strictly speaking, even though male musicians
were not allowed to take part in women's gatherings, the opposite was entirely
possible and frequently observed.3 Along with the increased distinction
between male and female domains in the Qajar period, prostitution was no
longer associated with the musical practices of the time, as had been the case in
the past, and, consequently, the importance of female groups, who had been
regarded as being superior to their male counterparts, declined greatly. In this
period, female musicians were restricted to the andarun (or the andaruni which
was the part of the house reserved for women) and men were obliged to
gratify their desires by watching the young dancing boys who had also been
prevalent in the past. With the development of the ruhowti shows in the late
Qajar period, women's groups were completely driven out and their activities
became limited to the realm of minor festivities.

This article examines female and male domains vis-a-vis music and festivity in
the Qajar and early Pahlavi periods. It also attempts to make distinctions between
the trends and attributes of female and male motreb groups respectively as well
demonstrating the reasons for the decline, over time, of the former.

The Qajar Period

Women's musical domains. As mentioned above, it was during the Qajar period that

the boundaries between male and female musical domains became more strict.
This discrimination should be viewed as a kind of return to the prevailing
trends of the pre-Safavid period. Asadi finds it probable that in the Timurid
period "women's musical performances were more likely to be found in the
context of the andarun and female audiences."4 With even greater certainty, the
same could be said about the Qajar period. Azod al-Dowleh observed that, in
the time of Fath 'Ali Shah, the royal andarun was imbued with a fascinating
musical atmosphere which was directed behind the scenes by male musicians.
2Don Garcia De Silva Figueroa, Safarnameb-ye Figmeroa, trans. Gholam Reza Sami'i (Tehran,

1363/1984), 310 (translation of L'ambassade de Don Garcia de Silva Figueroa en Perse, translated into

French from Spanish by Abraham de Wicquefort [Paris, 16671) as well as Engelbert Kaempfer,
Safarnameb-je Kempfer, trans. Keykavus Jahandari (Tehran, 1981), 240 (translation of Am Hofe
des persi:cben Gro,konigs [Tubingen, 1977]). Also see Rudi Matthee, "Prostitutes, Courtesans, and
Dancing Girls: Women Entertainers in Safavid Iran," in Iran and Beyond, ed. Rudi Matthee and
Beth Baron (Costa Mesa, California, 2000), 121-150.
3Adam Olearius, Safarnameb-ye Okarius, trans. Ahmad Behpur (Tehran, 1363/1984), 297 (translation of Relation du voyage de Moscovie, Tartarie et de Perse, translated from German into French by
Abraham de Wicquefort [Paris, 1656]).
4Hooman Asadi, "Hayat-e musiqi dar dowran-e tcemurian: az Samarqand ta Herat," Mabur 14 (1380/
2001): 40.

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Music, Festivity, and Gender in Iran from the Qajar to the Early Pahlavi Period 401

Although this case appears to be the exception during the Qajar period, and was,
strictly speaking, not due to any particular connection between motrebs and motrebi

music (even if it does relate to music and festivity), it still merits serious attention
because of its importance. Azod al-Dowleh witnessed a group of more than fifty

female instrumentalists, singers, and dancers, that the author called "baZigar,"
which was organized into two ensembles directed by the court masters Mina

and Zohreh.5 Distinctions between female and male domains are clearly evidenced in the two or three pages that the author of Tarikh-e AZodi devotes to
describing the batigars' activities. First of all, in terms of social hierarchy, the
relationship between male and female musicians was primarily that of masterpupil: Zohreh and Mina were taught by Rostam-e Yahudi-e Shirazi and
Mehrab-e Armani-ye Esfahani, both great masters of the time,6 while ba.igars
were, for the most part, trained under the tutelage of Aqa Mohammad Reza,
Rajab 'Ali Khan, and Chalanchi Khan who were, as Azod al-Dowleh has

noted, lower in rank than the aforementioned Jewish and Armenian masters;7
after this, the ba.Zigars were taught by Zohreh and Mina themselves. Although
Azod al-Dowleh never explicitly discusses the occasions on which male musicians

appear, it seems logical to assume that there were never any male musicians in the

andarun festivities. However, it is still quite difficult to ascertain exactly when and

how male musicians participated in royal life. Still, it is likely that the performances
of male musicians were similar to those of their future counterparts under Mohammad Shah and Naser al-Din Shah, insofar as they featured small groups of two or
three players, included singers, and were probably only allowed to perform during
times set aside for rest, reflection, and occasionally, male revelry.

Given their social status and size (sometimes exceeding twenty-five members
each), the ensembles led by Mina and Zohreh were, in no way, comparable to
the motrebi groups of Naser al-Din Shah's time which are discussed below. More-

over, the status of the groups' masters leads us to believe that their music should
not be compared to the aforementioned groups. These two ensembles were

bequeathed to the king's wives, Golbakht Khanum and Kuchak Khanum, who
were in charge of their internal affairs. The masters Zohreh and Mina were the
wives of Fath 'Ali Shah's uncles and had trained with the best masters of the

time. Moreover, both the masters and the baZigars resided in the palace and
some eventually gave birth to princes or found husbands from noble families.8
Thus, their social status was completely different than that of female motrebs

and motrebs as a whole. It is only during the time of Naser al-Din Shah that we
encounter small female dastebs (groups) that were not associated with the court
and were named after their sardasteh (director). It is not possible to ascertain
whether or not such groups existed before this time, but whatever the case, it

5Azod al-Dowleh, Tarikh-e azodi, ed. 'Abd-al-Hosein Navayi (Tehran, 2535/1976), 38.
6Azod aI-Dowleh, Tarikh-e azodi, 38.

7Azod al-Dowleh, Tarikh-e arzodi, 38-39.

8Azod al-Dowleh, Tarikh-e aZodi, 39.

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402 Fatemi

seems that motrebi groups in this time period were not sedentary, which contrasts
with observations made during the late Naseri age. Drouville, who visited Iran

during the time of Fath 'Ali Shah, explains that, at the very least, the male and
female dancers were nomads and further clarifies that "they were chiefly summoned by the noble or high ranking figures of the time who sought to hold

several festivities each year."9

However, one thing is certain: the musicians' organizations found in the
court of Fath 'Ali Shah did not survive all the way through to the end of

his reign, because of numerous marriages between the men of the court and

members of Mina and Zohreh's groups.'0 It is likely that Mohammad Shah's

court and certain that Naser al-Din Shah's court did not witness female musi-

cians. However, regarding the latter, mention has been made of the fact that he,
in imitation of Fath 'Ali Shah, ordered a woman in his harem to choose ten
beautiful girls to learn from the great masters how to play instruments, to

sing, and to dance, after which they were to be returned to the andarun,"
even though it was the prevailing custom for the court to summon the best

motreb groups in the city when holding festivities and andarun gatherings. All of
the famous dastebs in the Naseri period (such as Gol Rashti, Tavus, Za'feran
Baji, and Haji Qadamshad) were, in fact, women's groups, even if a few men
participated in them (as was the case with the Karim Kur and Mo'men Kur

groups). If we consider these dastebs to be women's groups, it is, first and foremost,

because they contained almost exclusively female dancers and, secondly, because
they normally appeared in the andarun. Even when men were a part of these
groups, they were either blind or, at the very least, unable to watch the women.
The main performance venues for these dastebs were weddings and circumcision

ceremonies,'2 evening parties, mowladi feasts,13 and the like.

Moreover, it should be noted that female musicians in the Naseri era were not
entirely limited to motreb groups, but that there were also female musicians, like
Zivar Soltan, nicknamed Andalib al-Saltaneh, and Ekram al-Dowleh, the pupil of
Sorur-ol-Molk, one of the greatest masters of the time, who were highly respected
and honored and were even active in the domain of classical music. We should
also make a distinction between female motreb groups and the groups of female
harem slaves who performed light music for festivities. In addition to those

found in the time of Fath 'Ali Shah,14 in later periods we also find musicians
9Gaspard Drouville, Voyage en Perse, pendant les annies 1812 et 1813 (Tehran, 1976), 50.

l0Azod al-Dowleh, Tarikb-e Azodi, 40.

"Dust 'Ali Mo'ayyer al-Mamalek, Yaddasht-ha-yi at tendegani-ye kbos.si-ye Naser al-Din Shah
(Tehran, 1362/1983), 21.

12See, among others, 'Adbollah Mostowfi, Sharb-e !enkgani-ye man (Tehran, 1998/1377) 1:213,
206, and 346 as well as E'temad al-Saltaneh, Rxrtnameh-ye kbaterat-e E'temad al-Saltaneb, warbut beb
sal-ha-ye 1292 ta 1313 hejri-ye-qamari, ed. Iraj Afshar (Tehran, 1379/2000), 457.
13See Mo'ayyer al-Mamalek, Yaddasht-ha-yi az Zendeganiye kbosxesi-ye Naser al-Din Sbah, 26 and 63,
and E'temad al-Saltaneh, RAr<nameh-ye kbaterat-e E'temad al-Saltaneb, 484.
14Noted in Drouville, Voyage en Perse, 49.

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Music, Festivity, and Gender in Iran from the Qajar to the Early Pahlavi Period 403

and dancers who were female slaves. Regarding the early years of the Naseri
period, Polak wrote, "The harem dance was performed by professional women
and female slaves."'5 Also, there is, as was mentioned earlier, the story of the
"ten beautiful girls." These types of nonprofessional musicians should be
viewed, in light of their social status and lifestyle, as being completely distinct
from the motreb groups.
The domain of female motrebs was, therefore, only one part of women's overall
musical domain, one that was professional and not associated with the court,
whose range of activities generally included festivities and public celebrations,
with members from outside of the andarun, and although they were likely
nomadic at one time, motrebs were sedentary thereafter and came together to
form dastebs whose female dancers identified the gender of the group. All of
women's musical domains should be considered to be "family" domains.
Indeed, it was in the realm of the mahrams (close relatives who were allowed to
enter harems) where moral principles were respected. However, it would not
be correct to assume that all the female motrebi groups were entirely free from
immorality. As a matter of fact, whenever the boundaries between male and

female domains became blurred, women's dastebs were regarded as being disrepu-

table. We will take a closer look at this phenomenon.

The male musical domain. In this regard, the main examples presented to us are those
of groups consisting solely of dancing boys, which evidently never allowed female
members. It is logical that Western travelers, who were mostly male, inform us
about these domains, rather than the female domain, which was closed to them.

The case of Eugene Flandin, who was able to gain entry into the harem of
Prince Malek Qasem Mirza during the reign of Mohammad Shah, was, as
Flandin himself indicates 16 rare. At lunch and dinnertime, travelers were generally
received and entertained with musical performances in the biruni area (or the part
of the house that was reserved for men). If the existence of dancing boys in Safavid
and Zandi periods can be explained principally as a result of men's preference for
them (given the fact that female prostitute-dancers would have been freely available at the time), then the later restrictions placed on prostitution during the Qajar
period provide yet another reason. Throughout this period, it seems that boys who
had a rather effeminate appearance were gradually accepted as young girls.

Although it is difficult to be certain, it is possible that tanpushi (male-to-female disguise) by boys was not entirely prevalent in the early Qajar period. Drouville's

description of boys' bizarre looks during the reign of Fath 'Ali Shah, strengthens

15Jacob Eduard Polak, Safarnameb-ye Polak (Iran va iraniyan), trans. Keykavus Jahandari
(Tehran, 1361/1982), 201 (translation of Persien. Das Land und seine Bewohner [Leipzig, 1865]).
16"If people had found out that the prince had let a namabram [or one who is not mabram] Christian into his harem, this surely would have incited the Shah's anger towards him." Eugene Flandin,

Safarnameb-je Eugene Flandin beb Iran, trans. Hosein Nur-Sadeqi (Tehran, 2536/1977), 74 (translation
of Voyage en Perse de M.M. Eugine Flandin, peintre, et Pascal Coste, architecte, 1840-4 1 [Paris, 1850-54]).

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404 Fatemi

the hypothesis that this was a transitional period for these boys who came to
assume women's roles. The dancers Drouville describes were adolescent boys

with shaven heads and two long braids covering their ears.17 The author

further added that, "they dressed almost like our women."18 The contrasting
gender implications of their clothing vis-a-vis their hairstyles indicates an ambiguity in the sexual representation of these young male dancers. In statements made by
other travelers who came to Iran twenty to forty years later, no reference was made
to these boys' shaved heads and photos from the late Qajar period show that they
have a quite effeminate look.
In addition to public celebrations performed outdoors, on those occasions in

which women were, contrary to the Safavid and Zandi periods, not allowed to
dance, it was dancing boys or entire groups of male motrebs that appeared; such

occasions included bachelors' festivities, joyful get-togethers ranging from ban19jo

quets held in honor of foreign guests' to evening parties rife with drunken
brawls and insults.20 In both cases, whilst the acrobatic aspects of the boys'

dancing was attractive in the eyes of foreign guests, its sensual aspects were no
doubt obnoxious to them. Fraser, who witnessed the dancing of young boys
during the last couple of years of Fath 'Ali Shah's reign, found that their somer-

saults were perfect and enthusiastically described moves that were so "extraordinary" that "human eyes could hardly even follow them."21 Similarly, Edward
Browne found the elaborate posturing of dancing boys more "remarkable for

acrobatic skill than for grace."22 But, when it came to non-acrobatic moves,
they were judged very severely and described using words like "obscene" or
"nasty."23 In fact, Drouville found that women's dances were much more

decent than boys' dances.24 Yet, it is easy to imagine that, for Iranians, the
sensual aspects of the boys' dances were not only as interesting as the acrobatic
aspects, but rather, that this was the very aspect that attracted them most. As
suggested earlier, it seems that prohibitions regarding prostitution should not
be regarded as the sole reason for dancing boys' existence. With regards to the
time of Mozaffar al-Din Shah, Aubin wrote: "Iranians have a greater desire to
17Drouville, Voyage en Perse, 49.
'8Drouville, Voyage en Perse, 49.

"9Refer to Edward Granville Browne, A Year Amongst the Persians (London: 1970), 119-120;
Comte Joseph De Gobineau, Trois ans en Asie (de 1855 d 1858) (Paris, 1922) 1:251; and Charles
James Wi)ls, Iran daryck qarn-e pish (Safarnameh-ye Doctor Wills), trans. Gholam Hosein Qaraguzlu

(Tehran, 1368/1989), 405 (translation of In the Land of the Liont and Sen, or Modern Persia [London,

18831).

20Such were the parties that Wills purports to have seen in Fasa (Wills, Iran daryck qarn-e pish,

2802.

28James Baillie Fraser, Safarnameb-je Fraser, ma'rwf beb safar-e temestani, trans. Manuchehr Amiri
(Tehran, 1985/1364), 198 (translation of A Winter's Joarney from Constantinopk to Tebran [London,
1838]).

2Browne, A Year Amongst the Persians, 120.

23See Wills, Iran daryek qarn-e pish and Fraser, Safarnameb-yc Fraser, same pages.
24Drouville, Voyage en Perse, 49.

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Music, Festivity, and Gender in Iran from the Qajar to the Early Pahlavi Period 405

ogle the gestures of beardless boys than those of female dancers."25 This fact

remained true up until the time that boys' dances had faded away entirely.
Hermann Norden, who during Reza Shah's era attended two festivities at
Dehbid within a one day period, also agreed. On the first night, his Iranian companions filled the mouth of a dancing boy with money and, on the second night,
the female "Tatar"26 dancer who was added to the group received cheers only
from the foreign traveler. Before making summary statements about homosexuality in Iran, Norden came to the conclusion that "it is the beauty and daintiness

of boys and not women that interests men a lot."27 It might seem that his conclusions are too hasty, but one should remember the confession of E'temad alSaltaneh that he was interested in boys, especially those that were no more
than about "panj-shesh"28 (although this literally means five to six, in reality, it
probably was used to refer to boys around eleven years old), and the story
about the husband of the Qajar princess Taj al-Saltaneh, who, regardless of the

age difference, fell in love with a twenty-year-old dancer called Teyhu.29 With
this in mind, a blanket dismissal of such views no longer seems valid.
Porous boundaries between the two domains. Just as all male motrebs do not necessarily
belong to the domain of "bachelors," all female motrebs are not simply restricted
to the "family" realm either. However, even if the former can be integrated into
the "family" or "women's" domain without violating social norms, the presence
of the latter in male gatherings is a social anomaly. Eugene Aubin states that
"Male groups also took part in women's festivities but they were often located
behind a curtain or in a room behind the main hall."30 Also, when describing
Naser al-Din Shah's andaruni and the nights that the king spent with his wives,
Mostowfi wrote: "At times, the king ordered that an area with tent-walling be
built in the corner of the hall [Fath 'Ali Shah's Hall] and then, after bringing
in blindfolded musicians and uncovering their eyes, the party turned into a

music party."31 We know that pre-pubescent boys and eunuchs, who were
hardly regarded as men, were permitted to share company with women,
because Taj al-Saltaneh describes a spring night in which the group of 'Abdi

Jan (a dancing boy) was called upon to come into the harem.32
However, when the opposite occurred, it was indisputably a scandal. One night
E'temad al-Saltaneh, who had invited 'Adib al-Mamalek, Ehtesab al-Molk, and

25Eugene Aubin, Iran-e emruZ 1906-1907, trans. 'Ali Ashgar Sa'idi (Tehran, 1362/1983), 248

(translation of La perse d'aujomrd'bui [Paris, 1908]).

26This is Hermann Norden's term.

27Hermann Norden, Soms e ciel de la Perse, trans. by G. Lion (Paris, 1929), 176 (translation of
Under Persian Skies [London, 19281).
28E'temad al-Saltaneh, Ru-nameb-ye kbaterat-e E'temad al-Saltaneb, 971.
29Taj al-Saltaneh, Khaterat-e Taj al-Saltaneh, ed. Mansureh Etehadiyeh (Tehran, 1371/1992), 90.
3Aubin, Iran-c emruz 1906-1907, 249.
31MostoWfi, Sharh-e Zendegani-ye man, 1:386.

32Taj al-Saltaneh, Khaterat-e Taj al-Saltaneb, 35.

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406 Fatemi

Manuchehr Mirza to his house, asked for the 'Ali Khan group whose members
were, in his own words, all women and prostitutes. Additionally, the very
same night, one member of the group, called Yavar, who had attended the chancellor's private gatherings, revealed the following to E'temad al-Saltaneh: the
chancellor's warrant officer had rented a big garden in Hasan Abad which was

only open to a few intimate friends for private night gatherings held one or
two times a week in the presence of certain well-known prostitutes.33 Elsewhere,

he had overheard from certain female motreb who were present at the evening
gatherings of Ehtesab al-Molk that "his excellency Nayeb al-Saltaneh is accustomed to holding depraved gatherings in which all of his subordinates and the

female motrebs of the city are present."34 The secret nature of these acts proves
that, contrary to the Safavid and Zandi periods, they were not socially acceptable
in the Qajar period. After all, it seems that the female motrebs in these dastebs were
totally unrelated to the famous groups referred to earlier and a noble family
would never invite them to its weddings and ceremonies, that is, with the excep-

tion of Mozaffar al-Din Shah who "always received female prostitutes [bearing
the name motreb] in his harem,"35 that is, if we trust the harsh commentary of

Taj al-Saltaneh regarding her "invalid and vulgar" brother.36 Her statements
that "female motrebs never came to my father's [Naser al-Din Shah's] andaruni,
except for weddings, and that the ones who came were only motrebs and not
prostitutes,"37 does make clear to us, regardless of the dubious statements
about her father in the first section, that the female motrebs who were associated
with family gatherings were different from disreputable motrebs.
The relationship between music and spectacle in male andfemale domains. Motrebi has, in

many instances, included buffoonery and taqlid (imitation/spectacle). One can be

certain that female buffoonery never existed in this period and that the taqlid
found in women's gatherings, which was part of the musical show, was probably
performed by female motrebs or a woman from the andaruni and not by professional moqalleds (mimics/actors) attached to the group. 'Eyn al-Saltaneh
remembers a thirteen-year old dancing girl named Gowhar in Zahra Qomi's
group who, despite her youth, wonderfully and perfectly performed many
taqlid during the festivities including, among others, an imitation of the

Turkish accent.38 The stage dances like Gol-e gandom, 'Amu sabZi forush, and
Khaleh row row, which were described by Rezvani and restricted to the women
parties in the andaruni, may also belong to this period. In any case, no written
source provides any account indicating there were female moqalleds.
33E'temad al-Saltaneh, RoZnameb-ye kbaterat-e E'temad al-Saltaneb, 1049.
34E'temad al-Saltaneh, Runamehb-ye kbaterat-e E'temad al-Saltaneb, 1055.

35Taj al-Saltaneh, Kbaterat-e Taj al-Saltaneb, 71.

36Taj al-Saltaneh, Khaterat-e Taj al-Saltaneh, 71.
37Taj al-Saltaneh, Kbaterat-e Taj al-Saltaneb, 69.
38'Eyn al-Saltaneh, Ru!nameh-ye khaterat-e 'Eyn al-Saltaneh, eds. Mas'ud Salur and Iraj Afshar
(Tehran, 1374/1995), 921.
39Medjid Rezvani, Le thidtre ct la danse en Iran (Paris, 1962), 166-167.

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Music, Festivity, and Gender in Iran from the Qajar to the Early Pahlavi Period 407

In this regard, we find more variety among men. Some dance shows were realized by dancing boys themselves. Gobineau states that, while he was in the house
of the governor of Isfahan, he watched a kind of show he considered to be rhythmic pantomime: one of the boys played the role of a woman who argues with her

husband and leaves the house to see her friend.40

Another type of show required that taqlid and/or buffoonery appear before,
after, or between the musical performances and feature professional moqalled

who did not generally belong to the dasteb; for example, the baqqal baZi show men-

tioned by Rezvani41 was performed between two dance numbers; Gobineau saw
this show following the aforementioned dance show, and Feuvrier recounts
another humorous show that took place before the dancing boys performed.42
Moreover, it was possible that a buffoon-dancer might perform with dancing
boys while imitating and ridiculing them.

Aubin43 and Rezvani44 have both referred to this. From 1906 to 1907, Aubin
saw one or two clowns in every group,45 but this may not date back earlier
than the preceding thirty to forty years. It doesn't seem likely that all groups
from the Qajar period always had buffoons or moqalled. It should be noted that
the activities of buffoons and moqalleds were often entirely independent from
music. Famous buffoons like Mehdi Hammal, Sheykh Sheypur, Shoghal

al-Molk, and even Karim Shireh'i could not possibly have had anything to do
with music. But, there is no doubt that the moqalled Esma'il Bazzaz had a music
group because he once complained to the shah that Zel al-Soltan had stolen his

dancers.46 Moreover, if we correctly undersand Mostowfi's remarks,47 then

Esma'il Bazzaz should be regarded as one of the first non-musician sardastebs
(leaders) of a motrebi group.
The relationship between music and show in the male domain is multifaceted
and involves the activities of yet another figure: the luti. That Chodzko, in the

middle of the last century, regarded lutis as "the only professional dancers and

musicians in Iran"48 is, without a doubt, wrong, but his description of them
seems quite adequate: "The show is performed by, or rather, undertaken by
people who are similar to jugglers and are called luti ... they travel with the
dancers and, usually, when a comic group is complete, one can see a few apes
and bears amongst them. Lutis improvise the whole program, called tamasha or

taqlid, with the help of their acrobats and animals."49 Aubin added wrestlers
and athletes to the list of lutis and believed that the magicians and marionette

4OGobineau, Trois ans en Asic (de 1855 d 1858), 252.

41Rezvani, Le tbietre et la danse en Iran, 112.
42Jean-Baptiste Feuvrier, Trois ans d la comr de Perse (Paris, u.d., ca. 1900), 254.
43Aubin, Iran-e emruz 1906- 1907, 249.
44Rezvani, Le tbeatre ct la danse en Iran, 194.
45Aubin, Iran-c emrmrZ 1906-1907, 249.
46E'temad al-Saltaneh, RuZnamcb-yc kbatcrat-e E'temad al-Saltaneb, 611.
47Mostowfi, Sharb-e endegani-yc man, 361.

48Alexandre Borejko Chodzko, Tbidtre Persan, choix de Tiazies ou drames (Paris, 1878), x.

49Chodzko, Thea'tre Persan, x.

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408 Fatemi

players were a noble class in this group.50 Luti musicians were itinerant motrebs.
Generally, they appeared at the place of festivity the day after a circumcision,

birthday, or wedding ceremony, after having been informed by the local

people about the event, and, with the host's permission, they entered the house
saying "Haqq mobarak koneb enshallah" (God blesses you) and commenced their
performances. Due to their marginal role and itinerant nature (and also, with
regards to the quality of their music, which, in Mostowfi's words, was "elementary'"51), lutis had a lower status than motreb groups, especially female ensembles.
Everything in this period points to the prominence of the female domain of
musical festivities rather than that of the male domain. The most important
parts of the wedding ceremonies or other festivities were held in the andarun, in
the company of women or mabrams, and the most important dasteh were female
ensembles. The number of female ensembles was also much greater than that
of male ensembles (forty female groups versus fourteen male groups in the

Mozaffari age52) and they never seemed to mingle with moqalleds or buffoons.
On the contrary, men's groups appeared in the less important parts of the festivities and, in many cases, in the company of moqalleds. Also, it was the lutis or itin-

erant motrebs (who belonged exclusively to the domain of male motrebs), who held
the lowest rank in the overall motrebi hierarchy.
The Pablavi Era

The advent of the ruhowZi and its consequences. The phenomenon called ruhowzi does
not simply denote a special type of musical show that was performed at family
festivities, but rather, its advent must be viewed as a fundamental factor that
changed the audience-performer relationship and even the relationship among
performers themselves. Acknowledging such changes requires acceptance of
the fact that, contrary to common but mistaken belief, the term motrebi is not,
in every circumstance, the equivalent of the term rubowrZi. In other words, present-

ing motrebi and motrebi music in all eras as if they were rubowZi music or shows

would be a complete anachronism. As we will see, even without referring to his-

torical documentation, one can demonstrate that rubow.Zi, with all of its current
connotations, never would have been a prevalent performance genre in the
Qajar period, because of differences in performance context and place, its importance, and the gender of the motrebi groups it included, whereas motrebs' presence
and performances during this period are indisputable.

Ruhowti's emergence was accompanied by the increasingly common presence

of musicians and other performers in large dasteb which has always resulted in
the latter's dominance over the former. Here, for the first time, male groups
gained dominance over female groups and the most important family
r'Aubin, Iran-c emru 1906-1907, 250.
51Mostowfi, Sbarb-e z,end,gani-ye man, 1: 207.

52Aubin, Iran-c cmru 1906-1907, 248.

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Music, Festivity, and Gender in Iran from the Qajar to the Early Pahlavi Period 409

ceremony moved from the privacy of women to the more public space of the
houseyard, so that, even before the era of kashf-e hejab (women's unveiling), the
boundaries between men and women (mabram and namabram) as viewer-listeners,
became increasingly fluid, under some circumstances. But how did these changes
occur? What were the motivations and causes behind them? Despite a relative lack
of historical evidence, it is still possible to answer these questions. However, one
should keep in mind that these causes and motivations, generally focus on the performance environment and don't reflect a musical perspective, even though the

effects of rubowZi on music have been very profound.

Rubowzi or takhte howrZi (or takht-e bowyt) is a phenomenon familiar to every
Iranian. It was a type of musical show that occurs at ceremonies and festivities
like weddings and circumcision and features performances atop howrZ (small
pools that are often located in front of the home), which were covered with
wood and rugs and served as a stage. However, it is likely that many people
are still unaware of certain details about these shows. These details, mostly
recounted by older motrebs, some of whom are barely more than seventy to
eighty years old, relate primarily to the period from the mid-40's on. With

regard to the initial forms of rubowZi, not much reliable evidence or proof

exists, but rather, only vague and inaccurate information.

On the basis of the statements made by older motrebs, it is possible to provide a
general overview of rubowui programs during the aforementioned period. During

this time period, rubowZi was performed by large motrebi groups which consisted
of instrumentalists, singers, dancers, and actors. The scope of activity of these

rubowZi groups (some of the most famous of which were the groups of Akbar

Sarshar, 'Abdol'ali Moqaddam, Kuchak Mo'addeb, and 'Abbas Mo'asses) was

primarily limited to Tehran's southern quarters, down near Tupkhaneh square,
and the surrounding provinces; although, from time to time groups were

called from neighboring regions. In terms of timing, rubow.Zi performances in

the city and the country had some differences: even though wedding ceremonies
in the country still lasted a week, in the city, it only took about twelve hours.
These twelve hours were, in turn, divided into distinct phases depending upon
the ways in which work was distributed among group members. In the period
spanning from approximately 6 p.m. to midnight, motreb musicians played; after
dinner, up until about 6 a.m., the motreb actors presented their art. The first part
was devoted to music and dance. Sometimes, if requested by the host, it was also
possible to include magic and acrobatic shows in this part. In these cases, the
sardasteb was obliged to call upon outside performers, since motrebi groups
generally did not have magicians or acrobats as permanent members. The
second part usually included short plays with standard characters like the blackfaced clown, the haji, the youngster, and the buffoon; musicians were not inactive
during this portion, but rather, played along with or in between the two successive
shows. In this period, rubow!i were performed by mixed gender groups, and
the audience space, which included the stage periphery, the areas behind the
windows, and rooftops, did not constitute a strict form of gender segregation.

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410 Fatemi

The use of a covered pool as a stage for shows and concerts was a rather

dated idea. Rostam al-Hokama notes one example of this during the era of
Karim Khan: "In the center of the bazaar crossroads there was a big pool full
of water covered with a wooden surface on which musicians and motrebs sat
and played in turn.''3 However, one can be quite certain that the adoption of
this idea in ordinary houses was a much more recent phenomenon. Up until

the late Qajar period, there is no documentation proving its existence in

wedding ceremonies or other house festivities. I haven't found any trace of it
in travelogues or personal diaries from this period. Regardless of the context,
motrebs, especially female motrebs, performed only in enclosed spaces. Also,

there are no signs that ruhow!Zi took place in either provincial or country weddings. One time, when describing his brother's wedding, Mostowfi referred
to a male gathering in which motreb groups and military bands played around
but not on top of a pool.54
Given the reality that during this period the largest and most important groups
were those of the female motreb and that these ceremonies, whose most important
space was the andaruni of the house, were attended only by relatives and family

members (mahrams), then the lack of any written references to ruhowzi, which
was necessarily performed outdoors, is highly understandable. Nonetheless, as

Beyza'i states, albeit without any clear dating, it is also likely that rubowZi was
popular in middle-class houses where there was no distinction between andaruni/biruni;55 however, this should not be accepted as indisputable proof. It is poss-

ible that Ahmadi, one among the few who have written about ruhowui and its
history, approached the truth more closely when he wrote:
Up through the late Qajar period, joyful festivities were held mainly by wealthy
noble families who, for their enjoyment and entertainment, asked moqalleds and
actors into their houses and created a stage for shows in the corner of the
house. People also sat in cafes to watch the enjoyable shows that were held
from time to time. In the late Qajar period, the house shows became more
prevalent and even ordinary people asked performance groups to come to

their weddings, circumcisions, and other ceremonies. The stages in these

houses were bowrZ which were covered with wood and rugs. Actors took

their turn playing their roles on the stage. This was the reason that the name
takht-e bowZi or ruhowti was given to such shows.56
Ahmadi's attribution of rubowvi to the late Qajar period certainly seems reason-

able. However, because we know that Ahmad Mo'ayyed's group (a rubowzi

53Mohammad Hashem Asef Rostam al-Hokama, Rostam al- Tavarikh, ed. 'Azizollah 'Alizadeh
(Tehran, 1380/2001), 315.
54Mostowfi, Sharb-e .eZdexgani-ve man, 1: 346.
55Bahram Beyza'i, Namayesh dar Iran (Tehran, 1379/2000), 168.

56Morteza Ahmadi, Kohneb-ha-ye hamishch no, taraneb-ba-ye takbt-e howzi (Tehran, 1380/2001), 7.

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Music, Festivity, and Gender in Iran from the Qajar to the Early Pahlavi Period 411

group) emerged in 1920,57 it is also possible that this year marks the beginning,
rather than the peak of rubowzi as Ahmadi had originally assumed.
The transformation of motreb groups. Although there has always been a relationship
between moqalleds and musicians, the exact nature of these relations in every era is
not yet entirely clear. It has now been proven that, in the Mozaffari period, groups
containing both musicians and moqalleds were popular, but we cannot be certain
about this in earlier periods. In any case, throughout the Qajar period and before

the advent and prevalence of rubowuZi, famous groups of motreb musicians had a
musician or dancer as their head (or sardasteh) after whom the whole group was
named. We should mention, for example, sardastebs like Khanum Orgi, who
played the harmonium; 'Aziz 'Ata, who was a singer and dancer;58 Galin, who

played tombak and also danced; Mashallah, who played kamancheh;59 Monavvar,
a dancer;60 Mo'men Kur, a tombak player and vocalist; and finally Karim Kur,
a tar and kamancheb player.6
In a few cases, moqalleds were tacitly or overtly assumed to be the sardasteb. In
1902, 'Aziz al-Soltan presents us with a small group for which a moqalled named
Akbar Ghureh was probably the sardasteb: "With a loutish santur player and a
child singer, Akbar Ghureh came to us from the country and sat in the grass
area. Thez played, Akbar Ghureh made mockery and joked some, and we
laughed." 2 Mashhun spoke of Haji Loreh,63 the famous moqalled from the
Mozaffari period, as if he were the group's leader or sardasteb, though he gave no
indication that musicians were also a part of his group. Although he mentioned
that Hasan Komaji, "who was a humorous figure and enjoyed a good voice," was

a member of that band,64 we know that this man, in spite of his good voice, was
only a moqalled or buffoon and not a musician or singer. 65 We can also find
trace evidence of Haii Loreh's presence at Mostowfi's wedding ceremony
during the age of Ahmad Shah; at this time he was not a sardasteb but a

member of a dasteb that belonged to someone else named Hasan-e-'Ali-Akbar.

Does this indicate a demotion in rank? Or was it simply a mistake on Mashhun's
part when he referred to him as the group leader during the Mozaffari period?

Overall, based on the content of Mostowfi's remarks,6 we can draw the conclusion that the aforementioned ensemble, described as a group of male
57Ahmadi, Kohneh-ha-ye bamisheb no, 8.

58Ruhollah Khaleqi, Sargo.asht-e musiqi-ye Iran (Tehran, 1376/1997), 427.

59Khaleqi, Sargo.asht-e musiqi-ye Iran, 478.

60Hasan Mashhun, Tarikh-e musiqi-ye Iran (Tehran, 1373/1994), 394.

61Mashhun, Tarikh-e musiqi-ye Iran, 379.

62'Aziz al-Soltan, Ruznameb-ye khaterat-e 'Aziz al-Soltan (Tehran, 1376/1997), 255.

63Mashhun, Tarikh-e musiqisye Iran, 394.
64Mashhun, Tarikh-e musiqi-ye Iran, 394.

65See Hosein Kasbiyan, "Jaleseh-ye sokhanrani va goft o shenud ba Hosein Kasbiyan dar

mowred-e namayesh-e takht-e howzi," Sheshomin jashnvareh-ye namayesh-ha-ye ayyini - sonnati, ed.
Laleh Taqiyan (Aban, 1994/1373), 47 and 54.
66Mostowfi, Sharh-e tendegani-ye man, 2:437.

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412 Fatemi

motrebs, was partly composed of musicians. To better ascertain the identity of

Hasan-e-'Ali-Akbar, we can refer back to the memories of 'Eyn al-Saltaneh,
who spoke of his presence as a moqal/ed in a te'atr (theater) that was founded by
'Aziz al-Soltan and Naqqash Bashi in 1889, about twenty-four years before
Mostowfi's wedding.67 Thus, if both Hasan-e-'Ali-Akbars were, in fact, the
same person, this presents a relatively valid example of a non-musician sardasteb
leading a dastch that included both musicians and moqalleds.

By contrast, when ruhowZi were prevalent, not only were the well-known

groups comprised of musicians, dancers, and moqalleds, but, for the most part, sar-

dastehs had non-musician members as well. Ahmad Mo'ayyed and his brother,
Hosein Mo'ayyed, both belonged to the domain of spectacle. Akbar Sarshar
and Kuchak Mo'addeb, as Beyza'i has noted, were famous for their buffoonery

and imitations.68 Sarshar, moreover, took the role of dervish in plays69 or the
role of Haji and Shah.70 Babraz Khan, who was a sardasteh,71 played the role of
72
Shah. Even though group leaders like 'Abdol'ali and Haji Mowla'i, also
famous as Nasrollah Sibil, were, to some extent, accomplished dancers-the
former even invented his own particular wiggle (qer) that was unique to and
named after him (qer-e 'Abdol'al) -one can only conclude, based on the
explanations of Gholam Afshar and Shahbaz Bahari,73 that their art should
be categorized, instead, as mockery and buffoonery. This is one reason why

these two sardastehs should be viewed as belonging to the "buffoon-dancer"

category mentioned by Aubin.74 This argument becomes even stronger when

we take into account the unique name of their dance, lowdeb kordi (Kurdish
buffoonery).
Other sardastebs' abilities were unremarkable; they simply managed their
groups or, in some cases, played the role of master of ceremonies. The latter
role entailed activities like giving short speeches, reciting proper verses, congratulating the brides and grooms' families, and presenting programs in the same
way as European announcers: "Now, the famous dancer..." or "Here, we are
going to witness the art of the greatest acrobats of the country ... ," and so
on. Kasbiyan knew that Naser Asadi, one of the literate members of Ahmad
Mo'ayyed's group, had founded this method.75
Motrebi groups were transformed from groups that included musicians,
dancers, and occasionally buffoons or moqalleds-and also had musicians as

67'Eyn al-Saltaneh, Rwtnameh-ye khaterat-e 'Eyn al-Saltaneh, 271.

"Beyza'i, Namayesh dar Iran, 183.

69According to 'Ali Rabbani (ruhow!i musician, personal communication).

70According to Ahmadi, Kobnc-ba-ye bamisheb no, 199.

71According to Khoshru (rwbowti actor, personal communication).
72Accordimg to Khoshru (ruhow.i actor, personal communication).

73Gholam Afshar and Shahbaz Bahari (rubowZi musicians, personal communication).

74Aubin, Iran-c emrur( 1906-1907, 249.

75Kasbiyan, "Jaleseb-je sokhanrani va goft o shenxd ba Hosein Kasbiyan dar mowred-e namayesh-e takht-e

bowti," 51.

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Music, Festivity, and Gender in Iran from the Qajar to the Early Pablavi Period 413

their sardasteh-into large fixed groups with musicians, dancers, actors, and
non-musician sardastehs who were (at least in the beginning) actors. This transformation is in fact, a vast change brought about primarily by the actors in

these groups. The primary motivators behind this change were most likely ambitious figures like Ahmad Mo'ayyed who were intent upon elevating the status of
traditional theater based on improvisation to that of the modern, intellectual
theater, which had been influenced by the Occident.

The ambitious efforts of moqa//eds. The on-again off-again efforts of intellectuals who
were developing and popularizing Western-inspired theater ended up improving
the status of this activity and conversely, inspired traditional moqalleds to imitate
intellectual theater. In this respect, the primary and perhaps most significant
change they were seeking was a change in "viewing environments" from the
rather "uncentralized viewing" of cafes and wedding ceremonies (which, if we

believe that middle class families actually had such shows, were most likely

held on wooden covered how:Z to a kind of "centralized viewing" in a separate

area that was set aside for shows. About these attempts at performing traditional
taqlid in an "independent place that draws an audience for the sole purpose of
watching a play," Beyza'i wrote:

Hosein Chubi's group, performing on a wooden platform in a shaded

central area in the Amin al-Soltan fruit market, began with the play "Mashti

and nim-mashti' which was, due to protests, stopped a little while later.
Hosein Chubi and his group then continued their play at a lumber store
located at the three way crossroads of Nayeb 'Ali. In spite of all the protests
and difficulties, they were able to stay here and perform about 15 traditional
plays.76

In this same time period, which must have been sometime during the late Qajar

period, Tiart -e 'Ali Beg77 [the 'Ali Beg Theater] was established in Shahpur street
near Sanglaj by a Caucasian and it became one of the most prominent theaters and

also had a specific place for musicians;78 this, in turn, demonstrates that these
kinds of shows were accompanied by music, just as they had been in the past.

Apparently, after a rather unsuccessful attempt at using a carriage house &doroshkeh

khaneh) in front of the Dar-al-fonun as the center for his shows,7 Ahmad
Mo'ayyed, turned to the 'Ali Beg Theater where, according to Beyza'i,80 he
experienced the most successful stretch in his performing career. All of these
76Beyza'i, Namayesh dar Iran, 174.

77In this time period, Te'atr was often called "Tiart."

78Beyza'i, Namayesh dar Iran, 174-175.
79Kasbiyan "Jaleseh-ye sokhanrani va goft o shened ba Hosein Kasb!yan dar mowred-e namayesb-e takht-e
bow,"' 51.

Beyza'i, Namayesh dar Iran, 175.

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414 Fatemi

events probably occurred around 1914 or shortly thereafter.81 From about 1920
on, other group leaders like Akbar Sarshar, Babraz Soltani, and 'Abbas
Mo'asses utilized the same methods to popularize "centralized viewing" when
they established other short-lived and unsuccessful theater houses like Te'atr-e
Mina, Te'atr-e Kasra, and Te'atr-e Sa'di.82 From Beyza'i's remarks, we learn that
stages used to have audience members on all four sides, but Mo'ayyed changed
this so that three sides and, ultimately, only one side faced the audience.83 On
the other hand, traditional taqlid who were seeking higher status borrowed
"superficial formal elements from western theater;" for instance, they would
have two or three acts throughout the entire play, use a curtain between the
stage and the audience, use decor-mainly in the form of background paint-

ing-or use loudspeakers and print media to advertise.84 None of these efforts
achieved the desired results and semi-modern moqalleds ultimately had to

content themselves by presenting their art on howz, an activity they had continued
parallel to their efforts at establishing "centralized viewing." Nonetheless, their
endeavors had a profound impact. Even though these groups did not end up
obtaining the same overall social status as intellectual groups, at least they did
gain, before long, an outstanding reputation for being the best festival organizers
in the old traditional quarters, which from this time on-that is to say after the
city space was polarized into payin-e shahr (downtown, poor, and traditional)

versus ba/a-ye shahr (uptown, rich, and modern)-belonged to the downtown.

This type of polarization reflected the cultural duality of the society, drove the
moqalled and motreb groups away from the spheres of the culturally and economically

elite, and restricted them to the downtown quarter. The emergence of these groups
coupled with the rise of the middle class, influenced and solidified the new form of
rubowzi shows. Since these groups were led by a moqalled who was necessarily male,
the male motreb groups transformed, becoming groups directed by stage actors.
Rubow.Zi and the superiori'y of male motrebs. Whether we believe that rubowti was a
rather recent phenomenon that started in the 1920s or whether we suppose it saw
its peak during this time period, the design of the performance space, which had a
central stage surrounded by audiences, provided a suitable and useful model for
up-and-coming stars. Previously, a similar model had been used, not by intellectual theater, but in the ta'rzieb which used a raised platform in the audience center.
However, from the age of Naseri on, in tekiyebs,85 men and women were received

without discrimination, to the extent that, as Gobineau86 has stated, there was
8'See also Kasbiyan "Jaleseb-ye sokhanrani va goft o sbenxd ba Hosein Kasb6yan dar mowred-e namayesh-e

takbt-e bowrzi," 51. Also, information about these dates and the length of Mo'ayyed's tenure in such
theater houses is vague.

82Beyza'i, Namayesb dar Iran, 179.

83Beyza'i, Namayesb dar Iran, 174-180.

84Beyza'i, Namayesh dar Iran, 180.

85Tek!yeb is the place where ta'zieh is performed.

"Gobineau, Trois ans en Asie (de 1855 d 1858), 216.

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Music, Festivity, and Gender in Iran from the Qajar to the Early Pahlavi Period 415

no insistence on the typical segregation that otherwise would have been expected.

In the tekiyeh of the shah's sister, audiences were mixed;87 except for the princess
and her attendants who sat at a specific stand, middle-class men sat in one part of

the building and women sat on the ground. Also, in reference to a tekiyeh belonging to a Qajar prince in Shiraz, Wills states that women in the yard were separated

from men with the help of a curtain.88 With regard to Tekiyeh Dow/at (royal
tekiyeh), Mo'ayyer al-Mamalek89 and others provide audience descriptions that
match those of other local tekiyebs. In this grand building, boxes belonged exclusively to the shah's wives and royalty, while common people were only allowed to
sit on the ground surrounding the stage. Women were on one side and men on
the other;90 or, to be more precise, as the photos of such places show, women
sat in the front rows and men in the back.9t
Similar considerations were kept in mind when designing the performance

space for rubowZi. Here, the space set aside for festivities was a vast area the
size of a houseyard in the center of which was a stage, or a howZ covered with
a wooden surface. Although separated in some fashion, men and women gathered

around the how.Z, whether this was from behind windows overlooking the yard or

even from neighboring rooftops. Thus, the entire ceremony possessed the same

splendor as ta'Zieb, but it was of a different nature: joyous instead of sad. This new

space dragged women out of the andaruni and forced them to sit, veiled, near men
or unveiled in an area separated from men with a curtain. By displacing women,
the primary center of the ceremony was displaced. Contrary to the past, in
which the most important aspects of the festivities were carried out in the

mabram space (the women's/family domain), now, the entire event took place
in a mixed space that had both mabram and namahram audiences.92
Here, as far as the audience-performer relationship is concerned, the rules of a
sexist society were respected. In other words, the fact that motrebs-which from
this point on included dancers, actors, and musicians-were male, meant that men

had the ability to introduce changes in the festival space. As is the case with ta'.zieh
and was the old custom of motrebs themselves, men were allowed to present their
87Noted by Mostowfi, Sharh-e zendegani-ye man, 1:299.
88Wills, Iran daryck qarn-e pish, 326.

89However, it should be pointed out that Mo'ayyer al-Mamalek only discussed female audiences
(with the exception of the shah and his dependents) in Yaddasht-ha-yi at Zendeganiye khosusi-ye Naser
al-Din Shah, 64-65.

9OCarla Serena, Adam-ha va ayin-ha dar Iran, translation of Hommes et choses en Perse (Paris, 1883) by
'Ali Asghar. Sa'idi (Tehran, 1362/1983), 164. Also see Browne, A Year Amongst the Persians, 603.

91 See Enayatollah Shahidi, Pa.hubeshi dar ta'zieh va ta'zieh khani, at aghaz tapayan-e doPnre-eQajar

(Tehran, 1380/2001), 792-838, for ta'Zieh photos including, among others, those of Tekiyeh Dowlat.

92Andaruni-biruni divisions in the houses of noble families and the lack thereof in those of the

middle class did not make any significant difference in this regard. It is quite likely that, in the
case of the latter, the primary and most essential part or parts of weddings or perhaps even the
entire ceremony was held in the women's/family's section of the house by female motrebs and
that the host always avoided asking male groups. Generally speaking, it is difficult to prove

takht-e howZi's existence among the middle classes in periods before the one at hand.

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416 FateMi

art in front of women, providing that the former did not see the latter unveiled,

while the contrary would have been, no doubt, a social anomaly. This privilege
placed male motrebs in an advantageous position vis-a-vis their female counter-

parts. Thus, by both shifting the ceremonial center from women's/family space
to the more public space of the yard and by establishing new groups, men
pushed female motrebs into the background, ultimately surpassing them in
importance.

These new circumstances, the modern lifestyles of the upper classes in which
andaruni were no longer needed, and a general indifference towards motrebs
resulted in the decline of female groups, even though they were once much
more important and numerous than male groups. In this age of modernity,
women lost their independence as viewers and listeners as well as their signifi-

cance as motrebs. From this point on, the number of female motrebs declined

significantly. Those who still remained belonged to the Jewish minority

and, although they weren't organized in groups per se, they did continue their

performances in minor festivities like patakhtis. Still, they were the first motrebs
to have offices in Sirus quarter (a quarter famous for motrebs), while men, on
the other hand, preferred, for the longest time, to use the coffeehouses as an office.
Conditions changed once again in the 1930s; there was little change as far as the

performance style was concerned, but a fundamental change insofar as the

relationship between men and women was concerned. Relatively speaking,

kashf-e hejab removed boundaries that had segregated men and women in the audience space. From this time on, women appeared unveiled in the audience; in the
beginning, they were most likely separated from the men (albeit without the use
of curtains or related devices), but later on, they were probably seated beside men.
Also, men in these groups who had been playing women's roles in plays or dances
were replaced by women.93 This is when the era of Zanpushi, with its famous stars
like 'Ali Qomi, Muchul Jan, and Akbar-e Haj 'Abedin, came to an end. These
groups still did not have any female musicians. In this regard, groups in this
period were like those of the Qajar period insofar as they both contained
female dancers and male musicians, with the latter playing blindfolded or

behind a curtain at women's gatherings. However, after kashf-e bejab, rubowZi

groups were not viewed as women's groups; this fact in and of itself demonstrates

the significance of the listener's own gender when identifying these groups as
either "male" or "female." Classified as "women's groups" not only because of
their own gender, but because they performed in events like patakhti which

were typically held by women,94 it was the female motrebs of Sirus quarter who
ultimately became the sole representatives of a once thriving tradition.

93Ahmadi's proposal (in Kobneh-ha-ye bamisheb no, 201) that this replacement happened in the year
1929 seems possible. We know also that women in intellectual artistic domains like music and

theater were on the stage even beforc this date. However, applying his date to rmfbowti shows,
which had traditional audiences at the time, seems too early.

94Sce Ja'far Shahri, Tebran-e-qadim, vol. 3 (Tehran, 1997/1376):142.

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