Buz-baz
Encyclopedia
The most common definition found in a web search describes Buz-Baz as "Ancient Persian - A showman who makes a goat and monkey dance together."
Buz- baz is a musical puppetry
tradition found in Northern Afghanistan
. The puppet is a goat which is controlled by a string connected to the wrist of the puppeteer. The goat is completely carved out wood and made out of sequins and baubles and sometimes bells. The goat stands for two things. One is markhor
, which means snake eating goat of Badakhshan
, and the ancient belief that mountain goats had powers.
Along with the goat, there is traditional Afghan music that plays during the performance. The goat is in beat with the music because it is connected to an instrument called the dambura. This is possible because the goat is on a platform that has a string connected through a pipe to the instrument. So not only is the puppeteer in control of the goat but also plays the dambura at the same time.
Buz- baz is a musical puppetry
Puppetry
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance which involves the manipulation of puppets. It is very ancient, and is believed to have originated 30,000 years BC. Puppetry takes many forms but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects...
tradition found in Northern Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. The puppet is a goat which is controlled by a string connected to the wrist of the puppeteer. The goat is completely carved out wood and made out of sequins and baubles and sometimes bells. The goat stands for two things. One is markhor
Markhor
The Markhor is a large species of wild goat that is found in northeastern Afghanistan, Pakistan , India, southern Tajikistan and southern Uzbekistan...
, which means snake eating goat of Badakhshan
Badakhshan
Badakhshan is an historic region comprising parts of what is now northeastern Afghanistan and southeastern Tajikistan. The name is retained in Badakhshan Province which is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, in the far northeast of Afghanistan, and contains the Wakhan Corridor...
, and the ancient belief that mountain goats had powers.
Along with the goat, there is traditional Afghan music that plays during the performance. The goat is in beat with the music because it is connected to an instrument called the dambura. This is possible because the goat is on a platform that has a string connected through a pipe to the instrument. So not only is the puppeteer in control of the goat but also plays the dambura at the same time.
Sources
- JSTOR: Buz- Baz: A Musical Marionette of Northern Afghanistan by Mark Slobin
- Tea house music by Mark Slobin at http://afghanistan.wesleyan.edu