Bakhshi music from the Khorasan Province

Posted in 2010 in the UNESCO list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

In the province of Khorasan, the Bakhshi are famous for their musical prowess with the dotār, a long-necked, two-stringed lute. They tell Islamic and Gnostic poems and epics containing mythological, historical or legendary themes. Their music, known as Maghami, is composed of instrumental and / or vocal pieces, performed in Turkish, Kurdish, Turkmen and Persian. Navāyī and magham are more widespread. a music that variety, without rhythm and accompanied by Gnostic poems. The Bakhshi consider one string of the dotar to be male and the other female; the male string remains open, while the female is used to play the main melody. Bakhshi music is transmitted through traditional teacher-to-pupil training, which is limited to male family members or neighbors, or modern methods, in which a teacher trains a wide range of students of both genders from different backgrounds. Music transmits history, culture, ethical and religious foundations. Therefore, the social role of the Bakhshi goes beyond that of the mere storyteller and defines them as judges, mediators and healers, as well as guardians of the ethnic and regional cultural heritage of their community.