The Arts - Central Asia - page 442

commissioning public buildings, advising on policy and writing divan
(collections) of epic poetry.
Better known to Western audiences is Mawlana Rumi (1207-73),
born either in Balkh in Afghanistan or Vakhsh in Tajikistan (both
places claim his birth site), and still today said to be the most widely
read poet in the United States. Most Tajiks and Uzbeks are well-versed
in Iran's national poet Firdausi, whose epic Shah Nama (Shahnameh;
Book of Kings) tells the popular tale of Rostam and Sohrab, in which
the tragic hero Rostam kills his son in a case of mistaken identity.
A strong factor in the universal nature of Central Asian literature
was that it was popularised, not in written form but orally by itinerant
minstrels, in the form of improvised songs, poems and stories. Known
as bakshi or dastanchi in Turkmen and Uzbek, and akyn in Kazakh
and Kyrgyz, these storytelling bards earned their living travelling from
town to town giving skilled and dramatic recitations of crowd-pleasing
verse, tales and epics to audiences gathered in bazaars and chaikhanas
(teahouses). With their rhythms, rhymes and improvisation, these per-
formers share much in common with rap artists in the West (but with
considerably less bling).
The most famous epic is Kyrgyzstan's Manas , said to be the world's
longest, and recited by a special category of akyn known as manaschi,
though other peoples have their own epics, including the Uzbek Alpam-
ish and Turkmen Gorkut . The most popular bards are national heroes,
regarded as founders of their national literatures, and memorialised in
Soviet-era street names (eg Toktogul, Zhambyl and Abay). Soviet propa-

Art lovers should
make the long
trip out to the
Savitzky Mu-
seum in Nukus,
Karakalpakstan,
for one of the
world's great
collections of
avant-garde
Soviet art. For
a preview, track
down the excel-
lent documen-
tary The Desert
of Forbidden Art
(www.desertof
forbiddenart.
com).

CENTRAL ASIAN DISCOGRAPHY
The following recordings ofer a great introduction to Central Asian music and are our
personal favourites.
City of Love (Real World; www.realworld.co.uk) This recording by Ashkabad, a ive-
piece Turkmen ensemble, has a superb and lilting, Mediterranean feel.
Music of Central Asia Vol 1: Mountain Music of Kyrgyztan (Smithsonian Folkways;
www.folkways.si.edu) Collection of evocative Kyrgyz sounds by Tengir-Too, featuring the
komuz and Jew's harp, with a section from the Manas . Other volumes in the Smithsonian
series cover bardic divas, classical shash maqam , and music from Badakhshan.
Rough Guide to the Music of Central Asia (World Music Network; www.worldmusic.
net) Excellent introduction to the sounds of the Silk Road, from Tajik rap to Kyrgyz
folk melodies. Artits include classical singer Munadjat Yulchieva, the Kambarkan Folk
Ensemble, Sevara Nazarkhan, Ashkabad, Yulduz Usmanova and Uzbek tambur player
Turgun Alimatov.
Secret Museum of Mankind, the Central Asia Ethnic Music Classics: 1925-48
(Yazoo; www.shanachie.com) Twenty-six scratchy but wonderfully fresh ield recordings
of otherwise lot music.
The Selection Album (Blue Flame; www.bluelame.com) Career retrospective from
Uzbek pop supertar, one-time politician and exile Yulduz Usmanova.
The Silk Road - A Musical Caravan (Smithsonian Folkways; www.folkways.si.edu)
'Imagine if Marco Polo had a tape recorder' runs the cover note for this academic
two-CD collection of traditional recordings by both maters and amateurs, from
China to Azerbaijan.
Yol Boisin (Real World; www.realworld.co.uk) This recording by Sevara Nazarkhan, a
very accessible Uzbek songtress, has been given a modern production by Hector
Zazou. Sevara supported Peter Gabriel on tour in 2007. Her more recent recordings
Sen (2007) and the more traditional Tortadur (2011) are also excellent.