Music of the Bakhshi of Khorasan

Bakhshis of Khorasan is renowned for their skill in playing dotār, a long-necked lute with two strings. They declaim Islamic and Gnostic poems and epics on mythological, historical, or legendary themes. Their music, called maghami, consists of instrumental and/or vocal pieces, performed in Turkish, Kurdish, Turkmen, and Persian.

The Navāyī is the most widespread magham: it is extremely varied, vocal, devoid of rhythm, and accompanied by Gnostic poems. Other examples include the Turkish Tajnīs and Gerāyelī maghams, the religious themes of Shākhatāyī, an ancient romantic magham of the Kormanj Kurds of northern Khorasan. For the Bakhshis, one of the strings of the dotār is male and the other female; the male string remains open, while the female string is used to play the main melody.

Bakhshis of Khorasan music is transmitted either according to the traditional method by direct teaching from master to student, a method reserved for men of the family or neighborhood or according to modern methods where a master trains several students of both sexes and of various origins. Music transmits history, culture, and fundamental ethical and religious rules. This is why the social role of the Bakhshis is not limited to that of a simple narrator but makes them judges, mediators, and healers, as well as custodians of the ethnic and regional cultural heritage of their community.