THE ORPHEUS-TYPE MYTH IN TURKMEN MUSICAL TRADITION

• Authors: Zeranska-Kominek Slawomira
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The myth of a poet-musician who dies of love while seeking immortality in art is found not only in European culture; it is also present in the tradition of the peoples of Central Asia. Görogly (Son of the Grave) is an initiated singer and poet, who, in following the path of love, vanquishes death, restores harmony to the universe and brings cultural goods to the mankind. Tales of Görogly or Körogly (Son of the Blind Man), arranged in an epic cycle, are known among Turkmen, Uzbeks, Karakalpaks, Kazakhs and Turks, as well as Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Georgians, Kurds and Tajiks. A tale from this cycle, entitled 'Harman Dali', which tells the story of love between a beautiful princess and the brave djigit Görogly, is widely known in Turkmenistan, above all in the Turkmen part of Chorasmia. The analysis of this tale reveals musical, philosophical and cosmological threads and the wealth of symbolical meanings. Substantial similarities between both myths are described by juxtaposing the Turkmen tale with a 15th-century ballad on Orpheus and Eurydice by Robert Henryson.

Keywords

EN

CENTRAL ASIA MUSIC; MYTH OF POET-MUSICIAN; ORPHEUS; TURKMEN MUSICAL TRADITION

Discipline

• ARTS_&_ARCHITECTURE: ARTS & ARCHITECTURE

• Publisher: Warsaw University, Institute of Musicology (http://www.imuz.uw.edu.pl) and the Musicology Section of the Polish Composers' Union
• Journal: Musicology Today
• Year: 2005
• Volume: 2
• Pages: 126-136
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Zeranska-Kominek Slawomira

• Slawomira Zeranska-Kominek, Uniwersytet Warszawski, Instytut Muzykologii, ul. Krakowskie Przedmiescie 32, 00-927 Warszawa, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

09PLAAAA067225