Ashik


An Ashik was traditionally a singer who accompanied his song—be it a dastan or a shorter original composition—with a long necked lute in Turkish culture and related Turkic cultures. The modern Azerbaijani ashik is a professional musician who usually serves an apprenticeship, masters playing the bağlama, and builds up a varied but individual repertoire of Turkic folk songs. The word ashiq is the nominative form of a noun derived from the word ishq, which in its turn is related to the Avestan iš. The Turkish term that ashik superseded was :tr:Halk ozanı|ozan. In the early armies of the Turks, as far back as that of Attila, the ruler was invariably accompanied by an :tr:Halk ozanı|ozan. The heroic poems, which they recited to the accompaniment of the kopuz, flattered the sensibilities of an entire people.

History

The ashik tradition in Turkic cultures of Anatolia, Azerbaijan and Iran has its origin in the Shamanistic beliefs of ancient Turkic peoples. The ancient ashiks were called by various names such as bakshy/bakhshi/Baxşı, dede, and uzan or ozan. Among their various roles, they played a major part in perpetuation of oral tradition, promotion of communal value system and traditional culture of their people. These wandering bards or troubadours are part of current rural and folk culture of Azerbaijan, and Iranian Azerbaijan, Turkey, the Turkmen Sahra and Turkmenistan, where they are called bakshy. Thus, ashik, in traditional sense, may be defined as travelling bards who sang and played saz, an eight or ten string plucking instrument in the form of a long necked lute.
Judging based on the Turkic epic Dede Korkut, the roots of ashiks can be traced back to at least the 7th century, during the heroic age of the Oghuz Turks. This nomadic tribe journeyed westwards through Central Asia from the 9th century onward and settled in present Turkey, Azerbaijan Republic and North-west areas of Iran. Naturally, their music was evolved in the course of the grand migration and ensuing feuds with the original inhabitants the acquired lands. An important component of this cultural evolution was that the Turks embraced Islam within a short time and of their own free will. Muslim Turk dervishes, desiring to spread the religion among their brothers who had not yet entered the Islamic fold, moved among the nomadic Turks. They choose the folk language and its associate musical form as an appropriate medium for effective transmission of their message. Thus, ashik literature developed alongside mystical literature and was refined starting since the time of Turkic Sufi Khoja Akhmet Yassawi in early twelfth century.
The single most important event in the history of ashik music was the ascent to the throne of Shah Isma'il, the founder of the Safavid dynasty. He was a prominent ruler-poet and has, apart from his diwan compiled a mathnawi called Deh-name, consisting of some eulogies of Ali, the fourth Caliph of early Islam. He used the pen-name Khata'i and, in ashik tradition, is considered as an amateur ashik. Isma'il's praised playing Saz as a virtue in one of his renowned qauatrains;

Bu gün ələ almaz oldum mən sazım ---
Ərşə dirək-dirək çıxar mənim avazım ---
Dörd iş vardır hər qarındaşa lazım: ---
Bir elm, bir kəlam, bir nəfəs, bir saz. ---

According to Köprülü's studies, the term ashik was used instead of ozan in Azerbaijan and in areas of Anatolia after the 15th century. After the demise of Safavid dynasty in Iran, Turkish culture could not sustain its early development among the elites. Instead, there was a surge in the development of verse-folk stories, mainly intended for performance by ashiks in weddings. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union the governments of new republics in Caucasus region and Central Asia sought their identity in traditional cultures of their societies. This elevated the status of ashugs as the guardians of national culture. The new found unprecedented popularity and frequent concerts and performances in urban settings have resulted in rapid innovative developments aiming to enhance the urban-appealing aspects of ashik performances.

Ashugh music in Armenia

A concise account of the ashik music and its development in Armenia is given in Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. In Armenia, the ashugh are known since the 16th century onward, acting as the successors to the medieval gusan art. By far the most notable of the ashugh of all was Sayat Nova, who honed the art of troubadour musicianship to crowning refinement.

Revival of ashik music in Iranian Azerbaijan

era was the darkest period for Azerbaijani literature. The education and publication in Azerbaijani language was banned and writers of Azerbaijan, had to publish their works in the Persian language. However, ashik music was tolerated. Ashiks frequently performed in coffee houses in all the major cities of east and west Azerbaijan in Iran. Tabriz was the eastern center for the ashiks and Urmia the western center. In Tabriz ashiks most often performed with two other musicians, a Balaban player and a Qaval player; in Urmia the ashik was always a solo performer. After the Islamic revolution music was banned. Ten years later, ashik Rəsul Qurbani, who had been forced to make a living as a travelling salesman, aspired to return to the glorious days of fame and leisure. He started composing songs with religious and revolutionary themes. The government, realizing the propaganda potential of these songs, allowed their broadcast in national radio and sent Rəsul to perform in some European cities. This facilitated the emergence of the ashik music as the symbol of Azeri cultural identity.
In September 2009, Azerbaijan's ashik art was included into UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The foundations of ashik art

Ashik art combines poetic, musical and performance ability. Ashiks themselves describe the art as the unified duo of saz and söz.This duo is conspicuously featured in a popular composition by :az:Səməd Vurğun|Səməd Vurğun:

Binələri çadır çadır ---
Çox gəzmişəm özüm dağlar ---
İlhamını səndən alıb ---
Mənim sazım, sözüm dağlar. ---

The following subsections provide more details about saz and söz.

Musical instruments

Mastering in playing saz is the essential requirement for an ashik. This instrument, a variant of which is known as Bağlama, is a stringed musical instrument and belongs to the family of long-necked lutes. Often performances of ashiks are accompanied by an ensemble of balaban and Qaval performers. During Eurovision Song Contest 2012 all three instruments were symbolically played as a cultural symbol of the host country, Azerbaijan.

Poetry genres

The most spread poetry genres are gerayly, qoshma and tajnis.

Gerayly (Gəraylı">:az:Gəraylı">Gəraylı)

The sample of Ashuq poem consisting of 3-5 couplets, four hemistiches per couplet and eight syllables per hemistich. Rhyme structure of garayli is as follows: First couplet: abcb. Next couplets: cccb, dddb. Example:

Bir gözəl keçdi qarşıdan
Sallandı, yana yeridi
Kiprik çaxdı, oğrun baxdı
Od saldı cana, yeridi
.........

Qoshma (Qoşma">:az:Qoşma">Qoşma)

The genre of ashuq poetry consisting of four hemistiches per couplet and eleven syllables per one hemistich is called qoshma. Rhyme system is like abcb, çççb, dddb... Name of the author is given at last couplet , it is called mohurband. Depending on content, there are four main types of qoshma: Gözəlləmə, Ustadnamə, Vucudnamə, and Qıfılbənd. Example:

Bivəfanın, müxənnəsin, nakəsin
Doğru sözün, düz ilqarın görmədim
Namərdin dünyada çox çəkdim bəhsin
Namusun, qeyrətin, arın görmədim
.........

Tajnis (Təcnis">:az:Təcnis">Təcnis)

Tajnis, which often has similarity with qoshma, is based on rhymed jinas words. Example:

... Aşıq gərək bu meydanda bir qala,
Eşq odunu bir ətəklə, bir qala!
Ələsgərdi Xeybər kimi bir qala,
Bacara bilməzsan dur yerində kəs,
.........

Ethical code of behaviour and attitude for ashiks

The defining characteristic of ashik profession is the ethical code of behaviour and attitude, which has been summarized by Aşiq Ələsgər in the following verses;

Aşıq olub diyar-diyar gəzənin ----
Əzəl başdan pürkəmalı gərəkdi ---
Oturub durmaqda ədəbin bilə ---
Mə'rifət elmində dolu gərəkti ---
Xalqa həqiqətdən mətləb qandıra ---
Şeytanı öldürə, nəfsin yandıra ---
El içinde pak otura pak dura ---
Dalısınca xoş sedalı gərəkdi ---
Danışdığı sözün qiymətin bilə ---
Kəlməsindən ləl'i-gövhər tokülə ---
Məcazi danışa, məcazi gülə ---
Tamam sözü müəmmalı gərəkdi ---
Arif ola, eyham ilə söz qana ---
Naməhrəmdən şərm eyleyə, utana ---
Saat kimi meyli Haqq'a dolana ---
Doğru qəlbi, doğru yolu gərəkdi ---
Ələsgər haqq sözün isbatın verə ---
Əməlin mələklər yaza dəftərə ---
Her yanı istese baxanda göre ---
Teriqetde bu sevdalı gerekdi ---

Ashik stories (dastan)

was the first to introduce the word hikaye into the academic literature to describe ashik stories. According to :tr:İlhan Başgöz|Başgöz, hikaye cannot properly be included in any of the folk narrative classification systems presently used by Western scholars. Though prose narrative is dominant in a hikaye, it also includes several folk songs. These songs, which represent the major part of Turkish folk music repertory, may number more than one hundred in a single hekaye, each having three, five or more stanzas.
As the art of ashik is based on oral tradition, the number of ashik stories can be as many as the ashiks themselves. Throughout the centuries of this tradition, many interesting stories and epics have thrived, and some have survived to our times. The main themes of the most ashik stories are worldly love or epics of wars and battles or both. In stark contrast to the conservative medium of Islamic societies where most stories take place, the heroine's rule is always as important as the hero's. In contrast to the doctrine of Islam, there is no objection to the heroine publicly singing.
In the following we present a brief list of the most famous hikayes:
In order to stay in the profession and defend their reputation ashiks used to challenge each other by indulging in verbal duelings, which were held in public places. In its simplest form one ashik would recite a riddle by singing and the other had to respond by means of improvisation to the verses resembling riddles in form. Here is an example:
The first ashikThe second ashik
Tell me what falls to the ground from the sky?Rain falls down to the ground from the sky
Who calms down sooner of all?A child calms down sooner of all.
What is passed from hand to hand?Money is passed from hand to hand

Famous ashiks

21st century


Hep sen mi ağladın hep sen mi yandın, ---
Ben de gülemedim yalan dünyada ---
Sen beni gönlümce mutlu mu sandın ---
Ömrümü boş yere çalan dünyada. ---


İşte gidiyorum çeşm-i siyahım ---
Önümüze dağlar sıralansa da ---
Sermayem derdimdir servetim ahım ---
Karardıkça bahtım karalansa da ---


Dost dost diye nicesine sarıldım ---
Benim sâdık yârim kara topraktır ---
Beyhude dolandım boşa yoruldum ---
Benim sâdık yârim kara topraktır ---

19th century


Durum dolanım başına, ---
Qaşı, gözü qara, Ceyran! ---
Həsrətindən xəstə düşdüm, ---
Eylə dərdə çara, Ceyran! ---
.......


THE mournful and unhappy days, like winter, come and go.
We should not be discouraged, they will end, they come and go.
Our bitter griefs and sorrows do not tarry with us long;
Like customers arrayed in line, they come, and then they go....

18th century


incecikten bir kar yağar, ---
Tozar Elif, Elif deyi... ---
Deli gönül abdal olmuş, ---
Gezer Elif, Elif deyi... ---


Ay həzarət, bir zamana gəlibdir, ---
Ala qarğa şux tərlanı bəyənməz ---
  • Gevherî, Turkish Ozan from Afshar tribe.
Başına bir hal gelirse canım, --- If something happens to you,
Dağlara gel dağlara, --- Come to the mountains,
Seni saklar vermez ele canım, --- She will embrace you as her own,
Seni saklar vermez ele. --- Never hands you in to the strangers.
........

16th century

Khatai, he produced a large volume of lyric poetry in Azerbaijani language. Khatai's poetry is graceful and polished and his language closely approaches to folk idiom:

Winter's shaken off, and spring arrives! --- Rosebuds waken, garden plot revives,
Birds all trill in aching harmony,--- Love's a thrilling flame, disturbing me.
Earth is dressed in furry, downy green, --- Whispers press the silence once serene,.......


Dostun en güzeli bahçesine bir hoyrat girmiş, ---
Korudur hey benli dilber korudur ---
Gülünü dererken dalını kırmış ---
Kurudur hey benli dilber kurudur ---


Başina mən dönüm ala göz Pəri, ---
Adətdir dərələr yaz bənəvşəni. ---
Ağ nazik əlinən dər dəstə bağla, ---
Tər buxaq altinə düz bənəvşəni... ---

15th century

kaplu kaplu bağalar kanatlanmiş uçmağa.. ---- The turturturtles have taken wings to fly...

İsmi sübhan virdin mi var? ---
Bahçelerde yurdun mu var? ---
Bencileyin derdin mi var? ---
Garip garip ötme bülbül ---

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