MUSICAL DIALECTS OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS

Text and photographs by Onnik James Krikorian

Ashiq Qarib, an ethnic Azeri musician, Algeti, Georgia. Photo © Onnik James Krikorian 2013

The Ashiq Tradition

The Ashiq tradition — wandering minstrels in much the same way as Sayat Nova was — particularly fascinates Wheeler and his colleagues. Indeed, he explained to Osservatorio, it was a chance visit to the mainly ethnic Azeri-inhabited town of Marneuli and hearing the local Ashiqs there that gave birth to the idea behind the Sayat Nova Project. “We had a fascinating recording session,” he says, “and Stefan and I started talking about all these interesting phenomena that haven’t been studied. There’s no information yet there needs to be something so we started talking about collecting it all on a web site.”

Ashiq Nargile, an ethnic Azeri musician, Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo © Onnik James Krikorian 2013

Sergo Kamalov, an ethnic Armenian musician, Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo © Onnik James Krikorian 2013

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