Bardic Lineages: Rethinking the Classification of Turkmen Bardic Styles in Soviet and Post-Soviet Turkmenistan

• In Event: Music and Memory II: Style and National Identity

Abstract

Scholars of Central Asian music have often noted that the division of Central Asia into distinct nations, as a result of the Soviet Union’s nationality policies, significantly altered the performance of indigenous music traditions. This paper examines one of the results of such policies in the case of Turkmen bardic performance styles (bagşyçylyk ýollary), which were categorized into distinct styles or schools during Soviet Turkmenistan. These classifications sought to align each style with either a major tribe’s name or one of the five administrative provinces. This paper explores how these categories bear a complex relationship between tribal affiliation and geography. Drawing upon personal performance experiences with various master bards in Turkmenistan, several years of study at the State Music Schools of Turkmenistan (2009–2019), and fieldwork insights, I argue that Turkmen musicians have not heavily relied on these classifications. Instead, in practice, they identify their styles by referencing the lineage of earlier masters through memorializing them. By highlighting the complexities surrounding the classification of bardic styles, this paper contributes to a deeper understanding of how Turkmen bards have sustained their indigenous modes of musical practices.

Author

• Mohammad Geldi Geldi Nejad, Brown U