Attan

A group of local Afghan citizens perform attan, at the New Year's Eve Talent Show held at Forward Operating Base Salerno, Khost Province, December 31, 2008.

Kabuli Attan by Afghan girls in the USA

'Attan (Pashto: اتڼ) is a form of dance that originated in the Pashtun regions of Afghanistan, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and north Balochistan. Attan began as a folk dance conducted by Afghans in the time of war or during wedding or other celebrations (engagement, new year and informal gatherings). It is now considered the national dance of Afghanistan.

The performance of the attan dance in the open air has long been customary in the Afghan culture. Performed in a large circle to the accompaniment of drums and pipes, the dance begins slowly but grows in momentum for two or three hours without a break except for changes in tempo or changes in song. Its duration differs - anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes.

Origin

Attan is a traditional Afghan dance. It is said to be one of the oldest forms of Afghan Pagan dance. Some identify Attan as an a religious ceremony of early Zoroastrians placing it 2000 BCE, while others have placed even older going back to King Yama's celebration of Nowroz and warriors dancing and circling around the fire. This was later modified into an Islamic dance to allow the dancers to get "closer to God." This virtual Attan practised by many Afghan poets and mystics had even reached to corners of Turkey, known in Europe as the Rumi Dance. It is usually performed with a Dhol, which is a double-headed barrel drum. The dance can be anywhere from 5 minute to 30 minutes long. There are many different regional variations of Attan, the most famous being Kabuli, Paktiyaya, Mazari, Kandahari, Sistani, Herati, Pashayi, and Nuristani. During King Yama's time, Attan was performed before going to a war because it used to give the army the confidence that they could win the battle.

Outfits

Performers often wear traditional, sequined Afghan dress.

Styles and Types

The Attan is performed differently in many of the different afghan groups. Some styles of Attan portray themes of war while others portray celebration, especially for events such as marriage, engagements, family gatherings and also as a prelude to the arrival of spring.

All different kinds of Attan are danced with the beats of the drums.However they all differ in style. The beater of the drum known as "Dum", which instantaneously change the rhythm, is circled by the performers. Below is a list of common attan styles.

• Kochai - Pashtun nomadic style done in both Afghanistan and Pakistan
• Logarai - From the Afghan province of Logar
• Paktiawal / Khostai - Notable Attan style originating from the provinces of Paktia and Khost, Afghanistan
• Wardag/Wardak - Da Wardag Attan, another famous style of Attan
• Warziro - Sensational style of Attan from the Waziristan region of Pakistan, famous for its use of guns
• Khattak - World famous Attan by the agile Khattak tribe of Pakistan
• Quetta Style - The attan performed in Balochistan province of Pakistan.
• Kumbhar - A slight variant of the Quetta style attan is the "kumbhar". Performed by tribes in Hazara and Haripur in Pakistan. The word "kumbhar" is the Hindko word for Attan.
• Attan kabuli:is a modify attan by modern music.This dance is performed so that the First all garils dancing with attan music around the stag.Then attan music will stop and sharp music starting. All girls sitting and claping .At this time just one girls dancing after a short period again attan music and all girls dancing and then again sharp music and dancing one girl. This dance will continue until all the girls dancing alone.

External links

• Attan: Afghanistan's national dance
• Sample Attan Video