Ashik

Azerbaijani Ashiq musicians performing in Old Baku near the Maiden Tower^{[citation needed]}

An image of an Azerbaijani Ashiq player

An Ashik (Azerbaijani: Aşıq,Turkish: Aşık}, Persian: عاشیق‎, Armenian: Աշուղ, ashugh, Georgian: აშუღი, ashughi) is a mystic troubadour or traveling bard, in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, and Iran who sings and plays the saz, a form of lute. Ashiks' songs are semi-improvised around common bases.

The Ashik tradition in Turkic cultures of Anatolia, Azerbaijan and Iran has its origin in the Shamanistic beliefs of ancient Turkic peoples.^{[citation needed]} The ancient ashiks were called by various names such as bakhshi (Baxşı), dede (dədə), and uzan or ozan. Among their various roles, they played a major part in perpetuation of oral tradition, promotion of communal value system and traditional culture of their people. These wandering bards or troubadours are part of current rural and folk culture of Azerbaijan, and Iranian Azerbaijan, Turkey, the Turkmen Sahra (Iran) and Turkmenistan, where they are called bakshy.

In September 2009, Azerbaijan’s ashik art was included into UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Etymology

The word Ashik is derived from Arabic word Asheq (عاشق) and means the "one who is in love". It is also sometimes found as a male personal name.^{[citation needed]}

Famous Ashiks

20th century

• Ashik Hussain Nanji
• Muharrem Ertaş
• Ali Ekber Çiçek
• Aşık Mahzuni Şerif
• Aşık Khanlar
• Aşık Veysel
• Muhlis Akarsu
• Neşet Ertaş
• Ashiq Edalet
• Aşik Daimi
• Davut Sulari
• Aşıq Hüseyn Bozalqanlı
• Aşıq Hüseyn Saraclı
• Mikayıl Azaflı
• Aşıq Hüseyn Cavan
• Aşıq Kamandar
• Aşıq Əmrah

19th century

• Aşik Sümmani
• Aşiq Alı
• Aşiq Ələsgər
• Molla Cümə
• Aşiq Musa
• Jivani

18th century

• Sayat-Nova

17th century

• Karacaoğlan
• Kul Nesîmî
• Xəstə Qasım
• Aşıq Abdulla
• Sarı Aşıq

16th century

• Pir Sultan Abdal
• Aşıq Abbas Tufarqanlı
• Aşıq Qərib

13th century

• Yunus Emre

Major Ashik Stories

As the art of Ashik is based on oral tradition, the number of ashik stories can be as many as the Ashiks themselves. Throughout the centuries of this tradition many interesting stories and epics have thrived, and these are the ones who handed down. The main themes of the most Ashik stories are worldly love or epics of wars and battles or both.

• The epic of "Köroğlu" is one of those which combine the occasional romance with Robinhood-like chivalry. Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov has created an opera by this name, using the Ashik stories and masterfully combined some Ashik music with this major classical work.

• Ashik Kerib, Azeri epic, made famous by Mikhail Lermontov, is another major story of a wandering Ashik who began his journeys with worldly love and attains wisdom by traveling and learning then achieving sainthood. The story of Ashik Kerib has been the main feature of a movie with the same name by director and producer Sergei Parajanov.

• Kerem ile Aslı is the story of a Muslim prince Kerem and a Christian girl Aslı who fall in love despite major opposition by their parents and community.

See also

• Art of Azerbaijani ashiqs
• List of Turkic languages poets
• Ishq

External links

• Details of the film Ashik Kerib by Parajanov
• Women Performers of Legend and Folk Poetry
• The Poet Minstrels of Azerbaijan
• Encyclopedia Iranica. C. F. Albright. Asheg.
• An article on Ashuqs by British Library

Video

• Ashik film