The Ashiqs of Azerbaijan: Wandering Singers and Storytellers
In 2009, the art of the Azerbaijani ashiqs was added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. Ashiqs are singers and poets who pass on songs, verses and stories by word of mouth. What exactly does an ashiq do, and why is this art considered significant?
Who Is an Ashiq?
An ashiq is a singer and a poet at once, accompanying himself or herself on the saz. The sound of this long-necked lute is a fixed part of every performance. An ashiq thus combines the roles of musician and poet in a single appearance, and that is how ashiq art joins music with poetry.
Where Did Ashiqs Perform?
Traditionally, ashiqs performed at weddings, at gatherings and in teahouses. That closeness to the audience still shapes the art today.
On these three kinds of occasion the ashiq met different listeners and had to adjust the performance to suit them. The saz went along everywhere. Through performing, the ashiq stayed in constant exchange with the audience. Ashiq art therefore lives on the spoken word and the immediate sound, and in that respect it differs from recorded music.
Repertoire and the Dastan
An ashiq's repertoire is varied. It includes songs, improvised verses and so-called dastans: prose stories with songs woven in. In a dastan, prose narration and singing alternate while the saz sets the rhythm and the mood. Story and song thus come together in one performance.
Among the well-known texts is the epic Dede Qorqud from the medieval Oghuz tradition. It gives a point of reference to anyone who wants to get to know the dastan and ashiq art, and it makes a fitting companion read to the dastans.
Poetic Duels and Improvisation
The ashiqs' poetic duel is a special form of performance. Participants trade improvised verses and must answer each other on the spot. There is no prepared text: every line is created in response to the opponent's line.
Improvisation also shows why ashiq art counts as a living tradition. Each performance arises at a particular moment in front of a particular audience and is never quite like the one before.
Why Ashiq Art Matters
The inscription on the UNESCO list in 2009 drew attention to the fact that ashiq art links music, poetry and oral literature. Ashiqs are bearers of cultural memory, since they pass on stories that are hard to capture in writing. That memory lives on in dastans, songs and improvised verses.
The importance of ashiq art also lies in the way performers merge different forms. Song, verse and prose narrative all belong to their repertoire, and the dastan shows how these forms interlock. Anyone who wants to get to know the culture of Azerbaijan should listen to the sound of the saz and the words of the ashiq. For further reading, the epic Dede Qorqud is a good choice.