The Azeri Aşıq in Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan: Towards a Transnational Comparison of a Diverging Tradition

Year 2018, Volume: 2 Issue: 2, 166 - 182, 29.12.2018

Anna Oldfıeld , Behrang Nıkaeen

https://doi.org/10.33906/musicologist.493221

Abstract

The Azeri aşıq
tradition is a genre of musical storytelling that has circulated through the
Caucasus and Northern Iran for over 500 years. Aşıqs travelled between regions
to perform, and practitioners remained in contact for most of the genre’s
history. This contact was disrupted in the early 20^th century, when
northern Azerbaijan was incorporated into the USSR. Divided between two
countries, the aşıqs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Northern Iran have
developed along separate paths. This paper will compare contemporary aşıq
performances as observed in The Republic of Azerbaijan and Northern Iran,
focusing on historical factors, performance contexts, and gender. Finally, it
will consider how increased interaction between the two regions since the 1990s
may influence the future of the genre. This study is based on the fieldwork and
research of Anna Oldfield in the Republic of Azerbaijan and Behrang Nikaeen in
Iran.

Keywords

Azerbaijan, Azeri, Iran, Caucasus, Bardic, Ashiq, Aşıq, Musico-Poetic, Dastan

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