…but we’ll be back! As you may have noticed, the Dari blog is currently on hiatus. In the meantime, we encourage you to look through the blog archives to keep the Dari vocabulary, grammar, and culture fresh in your mind.

If you or someone you know would be interested in contributing to the Dari blog, please contact us at TLsocial(at)transparent.com with “Dari Blogger” in the subject line.

Until we return, happy language learning!

      

Usually one person flies the kite and the other, an assistant, keeps the charkha (an intricately designed wooden drum that keeps the wire wound around it).

Gudiparan: The Kite
Gudiparan (translation: flying doll), come in different sizes – from about 10 to12 inches in diameter to the size of an adult. The average wing span on fighting kites is 3.5 to five feet.  The shape is mostly diamond-shape. Gudiparan are made of thin paper with a “skeleton” of bamboo wood.  This makes Afghan kites very light and flexible.

Tar: The Wire – Afghan kite wire takes hours to prepare. First shisha (a mold to coat the wire) is made, glass ground (to make the wire sharp for cutting) and mixed with an adhesive material and mashed rice to make a paste. The wire is coated with the paste, dried (often by hanging between two trees), and then wound around the drum (charkha).  The coated wire is sharp—it is designed for kite fighting—and can take hours to make. Kite fighters often cut themselves with this sharp wire. To avoid this, many wrap a piece of leather around their index finger (called kilkak) to protect them.

Charkha: The Drum – The charkha is crucial during kite fighting where fast release of wire is critical. The drum must be lightweight, so it is made of wood.

Jang: The Fight – In order to have a kite fight, two kite teams have to be airborne simultaneously. There can be 25 or more kites in the air during a kite fighting tournament.  As soon as two kite wires come in contact, the fight begins! The fight can last from a split second to up to 1/2 hour, or more, depending on wind, the difference in quality of tar between the two parties and whatever else is going on around them! Generally the team with more experience and patience wins the fight.

Azadi Rawast: With the Wind
Once a teams’ kite wire is cut and they lose the kite fight, the kite is released into the air and follows the wind. This is a great opportunity for someone to catch and own it.  This is when you need a “kite runner!”

Sharti from the Block: The Champion
Most Kocha’s (a block or street) have a Sharti (kite fight champion). The title is given to the one who never loses a kite fight.  Traditionally, shartis have a style that captures fans throughout the neighborhood.  However, even shartis occasionally lose, and this is a “big deal” to the kochagi (neighborhood)

Taar                                  تار                      string

Gudiparan Paper          کاغذ گوديپران        special paper for Kite

Baangs                            بانگس                   bamboo stick

Qaichee                           قیچی                    scissors

Gudiparan                    گودی پران            kite

Sheesha                         شیشه                      glass/ powdered glass used for coating the string.

Glue                              سِرش                      any kind of paper glue

       

Comments

• Thank you so much. I am doing a sociology cultural project and ... by Sandra King
• I appreciate the work that you have put in this page. Really ... by Elmer Cruz

Related Stories

• Afghan Dari Proverbs
• What is that Mountain Proverb in Dari?
• Islamic Religious Titles (Video)

 

Note-: QARI Abdul Nabil  (QARI is the titles).

Islam, a major religion with believers throughout the world, also uses special titles. Because these titles are generally in Arabic (or, sometimes, in Persian), most are not well-known in the English-speaking world. Here are a few that are either well-known or becoming more commonly used: Capitalize when used as a title before a name, but lowercase otherwise. Religious leaders have traditionally been people who, as part of the clerisy mosque or government, performed a prominent role within their community or nation. However, in the modern contexts of Muslims minorities in non-Muslim countries as well as secular Muslim states like Turkey, Indonesia and Bangladesh, religious leadership may take a variety of non-formal shapes.

AAKHUND (آخُند)                                                    Religious Tutor

AKHUNDZADA (آخُند زاده)                                      Low level Muslim cleric

EL-HAJJ OR HAJI (اَلحاج یا حاجې)                            one who has been a pilgrim

AYATOLLAH (آیتوالله)                                               Shiite term for senior clergyman

BEE – BE  HAJI (بې بې حاجې)                                 A female pilgrim of Macca (God house)

CHALEE (چلې)                                                       Usher, altar boy

EMAM    (اِمام)                                                        Head of a prayer in a mosque – could be Mullah

FATWA    (فِتواه)                                                       A religious verdict

HAFEZ (حافیظ)                                                         who memorized the Holy Quran

HAZRAT (حضرت)                                                   Descendants of the Caliphs

HUJJAT-UL-ISLAM (حُجتلااسلام)                          Reverence

JIHADI     (جهادی)                                                    Member of a Jihad party

KHALEEFA (خلیفه)                                                   Caliph

KHWAAJA (خواجه)                                                 Descendants of the Caliph

MALANG (ملنګ)                                                    Spiritualist, not formally trained – sometime supported by donation

MAWLANA (مولانا)                                                Senior Religious rank

MIR (میر)                                                                Descendants of the Prophet Mohammad

MOAZZEN (مواَذن)                                                  one who call people for daily prayers to a mosque

MUFTEE (مُوفتېِ)                                                     Great Reverence who can issue religious rulings.

MUJAHID (مُجاهد)                                                   Holy fighters

MUJAHIDIN (مُجاهیدِین)                                           Plural of Mujahid

MAULAWI (مولوی)                                                 Senior Religious rank

MULLAH (مُلا)                                                        Theologian

PACHAH (پاچا)                                                        Descendants of the Caliphs

PEER/PIR (پیر)                                                        title for elder, seer, Wiseman

QARI (قاری)                                                            the person who recites Holy Quran

SAYED (سید)                                                             Descendants of the prophet Mohammad

SAYEDA (سیده)                                                         A female descendent of the prophet Mohammad

SHAHEED/SHAHID (شهید)                                 Martyr (becomes part of the dead person`s name)

SUFI (صوفې)                                                            Mystic

TALIB (طالب)                                                           A religious student

       

Comments

• Hello there. I discovered the blog site the application of ask. ... by about hindu religion

Related Stories

• Afghan Dari Proverbs
• What is that Mountain Proverb in Dari?
• How to Make an Afghan Kite

 

When the British came to India in the 18^th century, they brought their harmoniums also. Although the foot pedal was still retained, the hand pumped version was introduced. When the harmonium came across to North Indian musicians, they immediately favored this instrument for few reasons. When the hand pumped version came out, it did not require foot pedals. For an Indian musician, it was discipline and practice to sit on the floor. Thus, this format of a floor organ worked well. Secondly, the harmonium was able to go with the flow of the voice pretty well. One hand was required to pump air; it was not a problem, because Indian music does not have chords. Since Indian music is primarily melodic, only hand was needed to pump and one hand was needed to play the melody.

Now countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are using this instrument, the harmonium has been used in almost all genres of music.

PARTS OF THE HARMONIUM (پارتهای هارمونیم)

 BELLOWS– (پکه) the bellows is a series of metal tongues which allow the air flow. The bellows must be pumped by hand allow air to flow into the harmonium to produce sounds. The left and right ends of the bellows usually has a metal bar or latch. These latches are on both sides to assist right and left handed players at their comfort. More about left and right handed positions in the next chapter.

KEYBOARD- (کیبورد) this is the most important and unique feature of a harmonium. The keyboard allows one to play melodies. Each key, when played, produces a unique sound. The structure and format of the keyboard resembles a piano. The function and theory will be discussed in great detail in the second unit.

MAIN STOPS- (بندهاې بزرګ) Main stops are the bigger knobs on the harmonium. The purpose of the main stops is to direct air flow. Selecting a certain number of stops in a certain order can affect how the sound comes out.  If no stops are pulled out, then no sounds will be produced, regardless of the amount of air being pumped into the harmonium. There are a few things that your harmonium might not have. Stops are one of them. If you do not have stops, don’t panic. You will still get sound, but the whole harmonium will be having a uniform sound.

DRONE STOPS (بندهاې کوچک) (not shown) – The function of these stops are to produce a constant sound of a single note. Again, not all harmoniums will have this feature.

پکه – Bellows- also means Fan

بزرګ – big

کوچک – small

بندهاې – stops

پارتهای – Parts

موسیقې – music

       

Comments

• May God bless Afghanistan atiqalborz.weebly.com by Atiq Alborz

Related Stories

• Afghan Dari Proverbs
• What is that Mountain Proverb in Dari?
• Afghan Nekah and wedding

 

In the countryside, the birth of a baby boy may be celebrated with gunfire if the boy is born to well-off parents. Relatives, friends, and neighbors visit and a major celebration takes place on the sixth evening after the birth, and people bring gifts for the newborn.

Afghans marriages take place through matchmaking by parents and/or older relatives.

Engagement is a smaller ceremony called shireeni khori, (شيريني خوري) eating sweets. (Dari Alphabet for شيريني خوري خ و ر ى – ش ى ر ن ى  )

Preparations for the wedding are elaborate and take place days in advance. On the eve of the wedding, the religious ceremony called nekah (نکاح) (Dari Alphabet for نکاح ن ک ا ه )

takes place first. This is when the bride must audibly agree to her marriage to the groom in order for the marriage to be legal. Nekah is attended by close family members of the bride and the groom. Both parties mutually agree and enter into this contract; both bride and groom have the liberty to define various terms and conditions of their liking and make them a part of this contract.

Mahr (مهر) (Dari Alphabet for مهر م ه ر)

The marriage-gift (Mahr) is a divine injunction. The giving of mahr to the bride by the groom is an essential part of the contract.

Sermon (خطبه نکاح) (Dari Alphabet for خطبه نکاح خ ط ب ه  ن ک ا ه )

The assembly of nikah is addressed with a marriage sermon (khutba-tun-nikah) by the Muslim official. In marriage societies, normally, a state appointed Muslim judge called Qazi (قاضى) (Dari Alphabet for قاضى ق ا ض ى) the nikah ceremony and keeps the record of the marriage contract. However any trust worthy practicing Muslim can conduct the nikah ceremony, as Islam does not advocate priesthood. The documents of marriage contract/certificate are filed with the mosque (masjid) and local government for record.

After the sermon all members praise each other and elaborate feast, music, and dancing follow.

       

Comments

• Along with almost everything which seems to be building within ... by Shirley Ruhoff

Related Stories

• Afghan Dari Proverbs
• What is that Mountain Proverb in Dari?
• Afghan Music (Harmonium)

 

Image by DVIDSHUB on flickr.com

Today’s post is a response to one of our readers who have asked us to teach him the Dari proverb that says, “There is a road to the top of even the highest mountain”.  No wonder Afghans use mountains in their proverbs. When you go to Afghanistan there are very few places that you will not see mountains. They are everywhere! Anyways, let’s get to the bottom of the proverb about the mountain. The proverb in Dari is کوه هر قدر بلند باشد باز هم سر خود راه دارد.                [ koh har dadar boland bashad baaz ham sar e khod rah darad].

This proverb is used to motivate people to not give up and keep trying. Sometimes it is also used to describe that regardless of how powerful someone is there is still someone else more powerful than him or her. It can be used in many different contexts, however as the learners of Dari as a second language I encourage you to go for the first option and use it to motivate people, because that is the most appropriate and common use. Also other usages require a deeper understanding of the context and culture.

The following is the vocabulary used in the proverb:

کوه          koh                         mountain

بلند        boland                    high

باز هم     baaz-ham              still

راه         rah                         way/path/road

دارد       darad                    He/she/it has

And finally, here is the literal translation of the proverb: “however much a mountain higher is, still on it

a way it has.” We usually include the literal translation of the resentences in order to help you see how the structures of the sentences in Dari work. For example, in the literal translation above, we can see that the verb “has” is at the very end of the sentence which shows us that the verb in Dari comes at the very end of a sentence.

Please leave your comments and questions in the comment area and we will be happy to respond.

       

Comments

• Thank you. Please continue the great posts. by Angela

Related Stories

• Afghan Dari Proverbs
• Islamic Religious Titles (Video)
• How to Make an Afghan Kite

 

In this blog post we will introduce you to some very common Afghan proverbs.

1.      Qatra qatra darya maisha.

The literal meaning of the proverb above is (drop drop river becomes.) as we remember from our previous blog posts that the verb comes at the end of a sentence and here in the literal translation you see that the verb is at the end. The meaning of this proverb is that drops make a river. It is used to encourage people that regardless of how little they are able to do; it still counts and means a lot because if we continuem some day we will achieve our goal. For instance if someone argues that they don’t recycle because their efforts will not make much difference, we can tell them qatra qatra darya maisha. Which means that if everyone of us contribute even a little, combined together it will have a huge impact. It can be used in many different situations.

2.      Haich gul bay khaar naist.

This proverbs means: There is No flower without thorns. It indicates that as human beings we all have flaws and shortcomings and no one is perfect.

3.      Durugh-go hafiza nadarad.

The literal meaning of this proverb is ( liar memory does not have.). It means that a liar is forgetful because they have said so many lies that they can not remember them and might give two different accounts of the same incident.

4.      Joyenda yabenda ast.

This proverb literally means (a seeker a founder is). The literal meaning is important because it will help the students of Dari language to identify every word in the proverb and also know the structure of the sentence in Dari. This proverb means that a seeker is a finder. If you are determined to do something and you don’t give up, you will eventually succeed.

 Pleas watch the accompanying video of correct pronunciation of the proverbs.

       

Comments

• Those are very useful. Especially the last paragraph makes me ... by thezircon
• What is the Dari version of “it is what it is”? I think I ... by Rezaghul
• Will you please do one for “There is a road to the top of ... by Matt

Related Stories

• What is that Mountain Proverb in Dari?
• Islamic Religious Titles (Video)
• How to Make an Afghan Kite