Why Women Sing: Female Performers in Traditional Societies

Yıl 2021, Cilt: 4 - Ethnomusicology journal Special Issue / Women Play Sing the Earth-Music and Women, 35 - 50, 30.12.2021

Razıa Sultanova

Öz

Female performance in traditional societies has always been a phenomenon that presented a real challenge for women-singers. It is common for famous female per- formers to have had a diffıcult but remarkable destiny. In Central Asia, the female role in society is mostly associated with the fulfillment of family duties and child- bearing commitments. However, we can find a number of cases of famous women-singers, who on their path to success, recognition and fame, each had to overcome the limitations imposed by traditional societies in profound ways. Four prominent Central Asian female singers of the 20th and 21st century form the focus of my presentation: Berta Davydova (1922-2007, Uzbekistan), Munojan Yulchieva (b.1960 in Uzbekistan), Jamala (b. 1983 in Kyrgyzstan) and Manizha (b.1991 in Tajikistan). Bringing attention to performers of both classical and popular gen- res of music, I am going to demonstrate that any genre featuring female performances has its particular challenges and demands and that in order to achieve a success- ful career, women-singers have always needed to take a risk. All four women had entered the hall of fame in the history of music with their outstanding destinies as celebrated musical performers. Their background - always controversial - was the reason for developing their singing career. All four have achieved fame thanks to their determination and dedication to singing and hard work, but they have had to overcome many diffıculties arising from their national conservative surroundings. There- fore, their popularity and victories are to be recognised as heavily contextual. Whether by their own will or by force, those women had entered music history as heralds of changing societies, entering the strictly gender biased area of performance, that had previously belonged to male singers. The 21st century has proven that Central Asian women-performers can go even further, shedding light upon and exposing current social conflicts and prejudices through their musical performance, as is seen in this day and age, in the Eurovision song contest, which as a globalised product of modern media, has become an arena for Central Asian young female pop singers Jamala and Manizha. These women form their authentic image by contributing to the broader social and political history of their nations.
What are the features of traditional societies in the past and present? Why is being a female performer is very diffıcult in those societies? Why do women-performers become the centre of social key problems? In this presentation, I will exemplify those questions and their effect on world cultures.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Female performers, traditional socieeties, Central Asia, music, social problems

Why Women Sing: Female Performers from Central Asian Traditional Societies

Öz

Female performance in traditional societies has always been a phenomenon that presented a real challenge for women-singers. It is common for famous female per- formers to have had a diffıcult but remarkable destiny. In Central Asia, the female role in society is mostly associated with the fulfıllment of family duties and child- bearing commitments. However, we can fınd a number of cases of famous women-singers, who on their path to success, recognition and fame, each had to overcome the limitations imposed by traditional societies in profound ways. Four prominent Central Asian female singers of the 20th and 21st century form the focus of my presentati- on: Berta Davydova (1922-2007, Uzbekistan), Munojan Yulchieva (b.1960 in Uzbekistan), Jamala (b. 1983 in Ky- rgyzstan) and Manizha (b.1991 in Tajikistan). Bringing attention to performers of both classical and popular gen- res of music, I am going to demonstrate that any genre featuring female performances has its particular challen- ges and demands and that in order to achieve a success- ful career, women-singers have always needed to take a risk. All four women had entered the hall of fame in thehistory of music with their outstanding destinies as ce- lebrated musical performers. Their background - always controversial - was the reason for developing their sin- ging career. All four have achieved fame thanks to their determination and dedication to singing and hard work, but they have had to overcome many diffıculties arising from their national conservative surroundings. There- fore, their popularity and victories are to be recognised as heavily contextual. Whether by their own will or by force, those women had entered music history as heral- ds of changing societies, entering the strictly gender-bi- ased area of performance, that had previously belonged to male singers. The 21st century has proven that Central Asian women-performers can go even further, shedding light upon and exposing current social conflicts and pre- judices through their musical performance, as is seen in this day and age, in the Eurovision song contest, which as a globalised product of modern media, has become an arena for Central Asian young female pop singers Jamala and Manizha. These women form their authentic image by contributing to the broader social and political history of their nations.
What are the features of traditional societies in the past
and present? Why is being a female performer is very diffıcult in those societies? Why do women-performers become the centre of social key problems? In this presen- tation, I will exemplify those questions and their effect on world cultures.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Female performers, traditional socieeties, Central Asia, music, social problems

Kaynakça

• Germaine de Stael-Holstein, Anne-Louise. (1818). Dix Annees d'Exil. Paris Langlois, S. 2001. "Traditions: Social". International Encyclopaedia of the
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• Sultanova.Razia. (2009). Sacred Knowledge: Schools or revelation? Mas- ter-Apprentice System of Oral Transmission in the music of the Turkic Speaking world. Germany: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing . (2014). From Shamanism to Sufısm: Women, Islam and Cul- ture in Central Asia, IB:Tauris
• Warnock, Kitty. (1990). "Women's positions in traditional society".https:// link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349- 20817-3_2
• Veselova, Viktoria & Melnykova, Oleksandra. "Crimean singer in line to represent Ukraine at Eurovision", theguardian.com. The Guardian. (11. 02. 2016)
• Qureshi, Regula Bukhardt. (1990). "Sufı music and the historicity of Oral Tradition", in Ethnomusicology and Modern Music History: Festschrift for Bruno Nettl, (ed. S Blum and P Bohlman). Urbana:III