Turkmen Music in Iran

In Golestan and Khorasan in Iran as in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the word bakhshi refers to instrumentalist, singer, and storyteller.

The word bakhshi comes from Turkish, and in turn from a Chinese word, po-shih, which refers as erudite. Through the Turkish Ouigours, certain Chinese language elements penetrated in the 13th and 14th-century Mongol literature. The word bakhshi emerged in Turkmen, Iranian and Turkish literature with the coming of the Mongols. At the time, the role of the bakhshi seems to have been sometimes that of the healing shaman and at other times that of a Buddhist priest.

As for the bakhshi of Khorasan, they claim that the root of their name can be found in the word bakhshande (donor, bestower of gifts) because of the musical gift that God has bestowed upon them. This is a title of respect in northern Khorasan and among the Turkmen of Torkaman-Sahra.

The bakhshi can also said to be originated in almost all of Central Asia, among the Kazakh, Kirghiz, Uzbek, and Turkmen people as well as in Afghanistan, Tajik-Arab and in Xinjiang. Among other customs, on the other hand, the term bakhshi, throughout centuries has chosen a composer, a story-teller, and singer of legends and epics.

As a singer, the bakhshi is more exactly a narrator of dastan (of a story) and an instrumentalist, who plays the dotar (long-necked two-stringed instrument) and who, in most cases, makes his own musical instrument. The majority of the great bards of Khorasan, regardless of their ethnic origin, sing in three languages (Kurdish, Turkish, and Persian). Whether professional or semi-professional, today the bard doesn't usually earn his living solely through playing music. Most often, he is also, for instance, a farmer, a barber, or a teacher. With his instrument, the dotar, he usually sings and plays by himself. Though, the Turkmen bards prefer to play in groups of two or three. In this case, the bard is followed by another dotar player and a person playing the kamanche.

The right to assume the title of bakhshi is subject to specific conditions. A bakhshi should not only be a good musician and have a good voice; he also needs excellent language for telling stories. Ideally, he learns his art from his father or his uncle while living under the family roof. Some acquire their training under the tutelage of a master (ostad). The learning process evolves in three stages: the first stage is learning the dotar technique, the second stage is learning vocal techniques and the third stage is remembering the stories. In the last stage, the master teaches his student a fragment of a dastan on a daily basis, so that he can memorize and ready it the next day. The bakhshi is well-known for his extraordinary memory.

Traditionally, the bakhshi plays at village ceremonies like weddings and circumcisions, but he also performs at private gatherings and in ghahve-khanes (coffee houses) of the bazars. Unfortunately, today, television has taken the place of the old-style bard in the Ghahve-khane. Fortunately, today we can also hear the bakhshi performing in concerts often within the context of festivals (Ameneh Yousefzadeh).