From ‘Dede Gorgud’ to modern ashiq traditions
Asymposium entitled "From ‘Dede Gorgud’ to modern ashiq traditions" will be held at Baku State University on February 28 -March 1.
The symposium will bring together more than fifty researchers and performers from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, who will present scientific presentations and cultural program.
The event is organized by Baku Yunus Emre Institute and the University of Bayburt (Turkey) with the support of BSU, Kazakh National University of Arts, and Kazakh National University of Arts.
Media partners of the event are Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az Azernews.az
‘Dede Gorgud’ is an antique epos that describes ethnography, historical geography, language, mindset, outlook, socio-political and moral views, showing us good morals and culture of the Turkic people.
The first manuscript of The Book of Dede Gorgud, consisting of 12 stories (songs), was found in a Dresden library by German orientalist Heinrich Friedrich von Diez, who published a translation of the “Tapagoz” (cyclops), which is a part of the epos in 1815.
In 2000 Azerbaijan and UNESCO celebrated, the 1,300th anniversary of the epic Azerbaijani legend “Kitabi Dede Gorgud ".
Ashiq art began to form in Azerbaijan since ancient times. Ashiq art is a music form of oral art formed in folk environment and in terms of impact strength, popularity and uniqueness of maturity it is an expression having no analogue.
Classical heritage of Azerbaijani ashiqs consist of more than 200 songs, 150 dastans (large literarymusical compositions), 1500-2000 poems in different traditional poetic forms (goshma, garayli, tajnis, divani, mukhammas etc.).
Despite the regional differences ashiqs are united by a common national language, musical repertoire and the saz, an invariable attribute of the Azerbaijani ashiqs, which may be accompanied with such musical instruments as balaban, nagara, gosha nagara and gaval. Saz is one of the symbols of the Turkic world.
The instrument got its final shape in the 16th century. It is sounded mainly with plectrum made of cork of cherry tree. In most cases, the arm and sides body of Saz are adorned with pearls. The stringed musical instrument, Saz is played solo and in ensembles.
The art of Azerbaijani Ashiqs was included in the UNESCO`s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009, as a symbol of national cultural identity that embodies various artistic spheres practiced by poets, composers, singers or actor-narrators, thus uniting in one artistic expression the communities of the entire country.