Khananda - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A khananda is a name generally given to singers of mugham

Mugham

Mugam also known as Azerbaijani Mugham is one of the many folk musical compositions from Azerbaijan, contrast with Tasnif, Ashugs. Mugam draws on Iranian-Arabic-Turkish Maqam....

, an Azeri

Culture of Azerbaijan

Following their ambiguous geographic location, the Azerbaijani culture has developed under influence under both Islamic and European cultures, including its Persian, Caucasus and Turkic heritage as well as Russian influences due to its former status as a Soviet republic...

folk music

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

genre. The word is of Persian origin and means "singer". When performing traditional mugham, a khananda is accompanied by a trio of musicians who play the tar

Tar (lute)

The tār is a long-necked, waisted Iranian instrument. It has been adopted by other cultures and Azerbaijan. The word tar itself means "string" in Persian, though it might have the same meaning in languages influenced by Persian or any other branches of Iranian languages like Kurdish...

, the kamancheh

Kamancheh

The kamānche or kamāncha is a Persian bowed string instrument related to the bowed rebab, the historical ancestor of the kamancheh and also to the bowed lira of the Byzantine Empire, ancestor of the European violin family. The strings are played with a variable-tension bow: the word "kamancheh"...

and the daf

Daf

A daf is a frame drum used as a musical instrument in popular and classical music. The term daf is used in Iran / Kurdistan for a large drum that has a series of four interlinked rings in the frame. Daf is mostly used in Middle East, Iran, Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and ...

(tambourine). Often the khananda is the daf-player.

Origins and development

The exact origins of the art of khanandas have not been studied thoroughly however it is likely that it emerged during the urbanization in the medieval

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

epoch. In the growing cities, khanandas would perform at the events organized by the nobility, on weddings and fair

Fair

A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...

s, in caravanserai

Caravanserai

A caravanserai, or khan, also known as caravansary, caravansera, or caravansara in English was a roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day's journey...

s and tea house

Tea house

A tea house or tearoom is a venue centered on drinking tea. Its function varies widely depending on the culture, and some cultures have a variety of distinct tea-centered houses or parlors that all qualify under the English language term "tea house" or "tea room."-Asia:In Central Asia this term...

s. With Persian

Persian language

Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

being the main language of the local literature at the time (mugham lyrics were based on Classical Islamic poetry

Islamic poetry

Islamic poetry is poetry written by Muslims on the topic of Islam. Islamic poetry has been written in many languages.-Islamic poetry in different languages:* Arabic poetry* Bengali poetry* Persian poetry* Punjabi poetry* Turkish poetry* Urdu poetry...

), khanandas used it in their performance and therefore gained popularity mostly among the aristocracy

Aristocracy

Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...

. Small town and village-dwellers to whom the Persian language was alien preferred the music of the ashigs (traveling bards singing in a vernacular

Vernacular

A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...

language, i.e. Azeri). Classical khanandas followed a specific dress code which included a chokha

Chokha

A chokha is part of the traditional male dress of the peoples of the Caucasus. It has been in wide use among Georgians from the 9th century until 1920s, The trend of Chokha in Georgians still continue to occur as they see it as their proud cultural heritage they inherit till this day...

, an arkhalig

Arkhalig

An arkhalig is part of both male and female traditional dress of the peoples of the Caucasus and Iran. The arkhalig originated from the beshmet, a Turkic outer clothing later worn by Cossacks....

, an astrakhan cap (papag), rings and a belt decorated with gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

. Some would even decorate their musical instruments depending on their status and prominence. Khanandas would traditionally gather in salons

Salon (gathering)

A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...

known as majlis-i khananda.

The art of khanandas experienced its peak in the 19th and the early 20th century. Starting from this period mughams were also widely sung in Azeri – a practice introduced by Jabbar Garyagdioglu

Jabbar Garyagdioglu

Jabbar Garyagdioglu or Garyaghdyoglu was an Azerbaijani folk singer . He is known as the first khananda to perform mughamats in the Azeri language.-Rise to prominence:...

. Being home to most of Azerbaijan's renowned classical musicians, the city of Shusha

Shusha

Shusha , also known as Shushi is a town in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus. It has been under the control of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic since its capture in 1992 during the Nagorno-Karabakh War...

became the main cultural centre of Azeri folk music and the arts often referred to as the "conservatory of the Caucasus

Caucasus

The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...

". While traditionally khandadas were trained privately, in the 1870s a Shushavian khananda Kharrat Gulu established the first school of mugham where future singers would undergo professional training. A khananda who was required to have no less than a two-octave voice range would be tested on the knowledge of mugham sub-genres, including their vocal performance, as well as classical poetry. If a khananda's specialization included playing an instrument he or she would be required to demonstrate proficiency in both solo and accompanied performance. A khananda who successfully passed the exam gained the title of ustad ("master").

Starting from the late 1800s khanandas started acting in Azeri theatres incorporating mugham into musical plays. In the past decades a practice of khananda duets has been introduced in Azerbaijan.

Origins and development

See also