Utilisateur:Cryptic-waveform/Bacha bazi

• Gérer mon brouillon
• Demander une relecture (voir les demandes)
• Publier mon brouillon

Cette page est un brouillon appartenant à Cryptic-waveform

Conseils de rédaction

• → N'hésitez pas à publier sur le brouillon un texte inachevé et à le modifier autant que vous le souhaitez.
• → Pour enregistrer vos modifications au brouillon, il est nécessaire de cliquer sur le bouton bleu : « Publier les modifications ». Il n'y a pas d'enregistrement automatique.

Si votre but est de publier un nouvel article, votre brouillon doit respecter les points suivants :

• Respectez le droit d'auteur en créant un texte spécialement pour Wikipédia en français (pas de copier-coller venu d'ailleurs).
• Indiquez les éléments démontrant la notoriété du sujet (aide).
• Liez chaque fait présenté à une source de qualité (quelles sources  – comment les insérer).
• Utilisez un ton neutre, qui ne soit ni orienté ni publicitaire (aide).
• Veillez également à structurer votre article, de manière à ce qu'il soit conforme aux autres pages de l'encyclopédie (structurer – mettre en page).

• → Si ces points sont respectés, pour transformer votre brouillon en article, utilisez le bouton « publier le brouillon » en haut à droite. Votre brouillon sera alors transféré dans l'espace encyclopédique.

Dance of a bacchá (dancing boy)
Samarkand, (ca 1905 - 1915), photo S. M. Prokudin-Gorskii. Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Bacha Bazi (en persan بچه بازی, litéralement "jouer avec des enfants"), également connu sous le nom de bacchá ' (du persan bacheh بچه‌ "enfant, jeune homme, calf") est une pratique relevant de l'esclavage sexuel et de la prostitution infantile lors de laquelle des enfants prépubères et adolescents sont vendus à des hommes riches et puissants à des fins d'amusement et d'activités sexuelles. This business thrives in northern Afghanistan, where many men keep them as status symbols. Some of the individuals involved report being forced into sex. The authorities are barely attempting to crack down on the practice as "un-Islamic and immoral acts" but many doubt it would be effective since many of the men are powerful and well-armed former commanders.

A documentary by Najibullah Quraishi about the practice was aired on PBS Frontline in the United States , and True Stories in the UK on 20 April 2010. This film premiered at the Royal Society of Arts on 29 March 2010 .

History

The bacchá tradition, historically more common than in present day, waned in the big cities after World War I, forced out for reasons that historian Anthony Shay describes as "Victorian era prudery and severe disapproval of colonial powers such as the Russians, British, and French, and the post colonial elites who had absorbed those Western colonial values."

A number of western travellers through Central Asia have reported on the phenomenon of the bacchá. Visiting Turkestan in 1872-3, Eugene Schuyler observed that, "here boys and youths specially trained take the place of the dancing-girls of other countries. The moral tone of the society of Central Asia is scarcely improved by the change". His opinion was that the dances "were by no means indecent, though they were often very lascivious". At this date there were already signs of official disapproval of the practice.

« These batchas, or dancing-boys, are a recognised institution throughout the whole of the settled portions of Central Asia, though they are most in vogue in Bokhara and the neighbouring Samarkand. In the khanate of Khokand public dances have for some years been forbidden - the formerly licentious Khan having of late put on a semblance of morality and severity.... In Tashkent batchas flourished until 1872, when a severe epidemic of cholera influenced the Mullahs to declare that dancing was against the precepts of the Koran, and at the request of the leaders of the native population, the Russian authorities forbade public dances during that summer. »

Schuyler remarked that the ban had barely lasted a year, so enthusiastic were the Sarts for a bazem "dance". He further describes the respect and affection the dancers often received:

« These batchas are as much respected as the greatest singers and artistes are with us. Every movement they make is followed and applauded, and I have never seen such breathless interest as they excite, for the whole crowd seems to devour them with their eyes, while their hands beat time to every step. If a batcha condescends to offer a man a bowl of tea, the recipient rises to take it with a profound obeisance, and returns the empty bowl in the same way, addressing him only as Taxir, 'your Majesty', or Kulluk 'I am your slave'. Even when a batcha passes through the bazaar all who know him rise to salute him with hands upon their hearts, and the exclamation of Kulluk! and should he deign to stop and rest in any shop, it is thought a great honour. »

He also reports that a rich patron would often help establish a favorite dancer in business after he had grown too old to carry on his profession. Count Konstantin Konstantinovich Pahlen, during his travels through the area in 1908-1909, described such dances:

« Cushions and rugs were fetched, on which we gratefully reclined, great carpets were spread over the court, the natives puffed at their narghiles, politely offering them to us, and the famous Khivan bachehs made their entrance. Backstage, an orchestra mainly composed of twin flutes, kettle drums, and half a dozen man-sized silver trumpets took up its stand. Opposite us a door left slightly ajar led to the harem quarters. We caught a glimpse of flashing eyes as the inmates thronged to the door to have a good look at us and watch the performance.

The orchestra started up with a curious, plaintive melody, the rhythm being taken up and stressed by the kettle drums, and four bachehs took up their positions on the carpet.

The bachehs are young men specially trained to perform a particular set of dances. Barefoot, and dressed like women in long, brightly-coloured silk smocks reaching below their knees and narrow trousers fastened tightly round their ankles, their arms and hands sparkle with rings and bracelets. They wear their hair long, reaching below the shoulders, though the front part of the head is clean shaven. The nails of the hands and feet are painted red, the eyebrows are jet black and meet over the bridge of the nose. The dances consist of sensuous contortions of the body and a rhythmical pacing to and fro, with the hands and arms raised in a trembling movement. As the ballet proceeded the number of dancers increased, the circle grew in size, the music waxed shriller and shriller and the eyes of the native onlookers shone with admiration, while the bachehs intoned a piercing melody in time with the ever-growing tempo of the music. The Heir explained that they were chanting of love and the beauty of women. Swifter and swifter moved the dancers till they finally sank to the floor, seemingly exhausted and enchanted by love. They were followed by others, but the general theme was usually the same. »

Documentary

Afghan journalist Najibullah Quraishi released a documentary titled "The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan" about the practice, made after the end of his exile from the country. PBS Frontline aired it in the U.S., and True Stories in the U.K. on 20 April 2010. Journalist Nicholas Graham of The Huffington Post also lauded the documentary as "both fascinating and horrifying."

See also

• Bacha posh – an inverse Afghan tradition where girls are dressed up as boys
• Köçek
• Obeid e zakani
• Child sexual abuse
• List of transgender-related topics
• LGBT topics and Islam
• Human rights in Afghanistan

Sources and references

• Reuters, "Afghan boy dancers sexually abused by former warlords"
• Bannerman, Mark, The Warlord's Tune: Afghanistan's war on children, ABC (Australian Broadcasting Co.) News, 22 Feb 2010.