The Formation of Musical Practice in The Differentiation of Archaic Culture

American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research

72

https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajsshr

VOLUME

Vol.05 Issue05 2025

PAGE NO.

72-74

DOI

10.37547/ajsshr/Volume05Issue05-14

The Formation of Musical Practice in The Differentiation
of Archaic Culture

Yuldashev Izzat Ikramovich

Lecturer and researcher at the Uzbekistan State Institute of Arts and Culture, Uzbekistan

Received:

17 March 2025;

Accepted:

13 April 2025;

Published:

15 May 2025

Abstract:

This article substantiates the influence of differentiation within archaic syncretism on the formation of

musical practice, the genesis of the earliest musical instruments, and the manifestation of mythological and
cosmological views, as well as the collective-semantic communicative unity of early human communities.

Keywords:

Archaic culture, music, instrument, syncretism.

Introduction:

The emergence of archaic culture and art

was closely connected with the daily life of primitive
tribes, their adaptation to geographical and climatic
conditions, and their nomadic lifestyle. It is important
to note that early humans could not distinguish
between nature and existence from mythological
thinking and communal-sacral beliefs. Elements of
archaic art used in hunting and rituals were inherently
part of this holistic worldview. Observance of taboos
and the use of artistic elements were also interlinked.
Early humans viewed objects used in daily life as
necessities, and even basic clapping and sound
production were associated with cult-like reverence
toward phenomena.

It should be emphasized that the structural-functional
evolution of primitive-mythological thinking led to the
gradual differentiation of archaic artistic syncretism.
For archaic people, sound-producing objects used in
rituals and hunting served simultaneously as
communicative signals and cult symbols. Primitive
dances, synchronized with sounds and rhythms,
reflected the process of hunting.

METHODS

According to D. Lukach, early dance was a mimetic
representation within the syncretic activity of primitive
humans, depicting warfare, hunting, and other actions
[1:16]. Using plastic and visual elements, people
portrayed animal behavior, battle scenes, and hunting
sequences in an integrated form [2:152]. Over time,

such mimicry evolved into the expression of musical
sounds. Through gestures, symbols, and actions,
people conveyed many phenomena and events
[17:103].

Symbols were the foundation of communal-
communicative structures for ancient people. The
integration of musical and natural sounds into
collective and individual consciousness led to the
indistinguishability of symbols and reality. People tried
to understand natural events through harmonized
collective needs and relationships. M. Nurmatova

notes: “The harmony of natural phenomena and

processes is the first link in the genesis of aesthetic
harmony. The earliest drawings and songs created by

ancient humans were products of this harmony”

[3:104].

It is particularly noteworthy that the symbolic
expression of natural elements through early string
instruments played by plucking or strumming has been
viewed as evidence of a transition from one cultural
stage to another.

According to academic sources, archaic musical
practices included signals, communicative tones, and
magical melodies [10:70; 11:368]. Musicologists have
emphasized the structural features and leaps of
intervals such as the fourth (IV) and fifth (V) in folk
tunes [12:15-16; 13:109; 14:144-146]. Art historian
Prof. O. Ibrohimov emphasized that signal tones
typically occurred within fourth and fifth intervals

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American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research (ISSN: 2771-2141)

[15:74-76]. This suggests that people used musical
leaps (fourths and fifths) to reflect cosmogenic and
cosmological views.

Interestingly, when measuring the tonal structure of
ancient Eastern string instruments like the dutar and
rubab from their middle points to the upper and lower
registers, the fourth and fifth intervals correspond to
natural resonance and accurately perceived tones

—

further

indicating

a

deliberate

cosmological

arrangement.

RESULTS

Researchers G. Bongard-Levin and E. Grantovsky
highlighted that ritual instruments like the childirma,
zagoma, and daf bore symbolic markings related to
shamanic practices [16:158].

Ancient Turkic shamans (bakhshis) used string and
percussion instruments

—

similar to the dutar and other

instruments

—

to express cosmic concepts through

musical sequences.

Initial perceptions of the Earth, Sky, Sun, and nature
were encoded in symbols and integrated into creative
expression [9:67].

Folklorists such as K. Imomov, T. Mirzayev, B.
Sarimsoqov, and O. Safarov noted that early rituals
involved artistic and symbolic veneration of celestial
bodies like the sun, moon, stars, wind, rain, and
rainbow [18:294].

Pythagoras and his followers described the seven
celestial bodies

—

Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars,

Jupiter, and Saturn

—

as producing harmonious musical

tones while revolving around the Earth [19:555-557].

There are notable similarities between ancient Greek
and Turkic cosmological views. However, the
cosmological beliefs of the Turkic people were deeply
rooted in Tengriism and shamanic traditions. Through
ritual use of instruments like the dutar and frame
drums, shamans believed they ascended through the
seven layers of the cosmos in devotion to Tengri.

DISCUSSION

Initially, string instruments were widely used in ritual
and religious practices. Archaic musical practices were
inseparable from animistic, totemistic, and fetishistic
beliefs.

In the animistic and hylozoistic views of early humans,
rhythms and melodies were associated with cosmic
patterns and expressed through instruments. Art
scholars argue that concepts like rhythm, symmetry,
proportionality, and harmony represented universal
order and were studied in cosmological contexts
[4:199].

S. Boltazoda mentioned the ritual smearing of sacrificial

blo

od on drums during ceremonies like “Sust woman”

or “Rain invocation,” noting that “In primitive

consciousness, the semantics of blood symbolizes the

flow of time and cosmic movement” [5:19].

According to I. Jabborov, fire and sun symbols were
reflected in Khorezmian rituals and musical expressions

using words like “jaxuv

-

jaxuv,” “jaqqu,” “ohay,”

“ohayyo,” and “hey” [6:272

-273].

M. Jo‘rayev and J. Eshonqulov suggested that the
circular form in the “clap dance” may symbolize the

sun, and that expressions like

“hu,” “xu,” “qu,” or “ku”

may be etymologically linked to “kun” (sun) [7:167].

Professor Abdurauf Fitrat noted in his book Uzbek
Classical Music and Its History that ancient melodies

were referred to as “kug” [8:37].

J. Eshonqulov observed that the Turkic

“ku” and “kuy”

(melody, sound) were equivalent to the Sumerian “gu”

[9:150-154].

Modern morphological analysis of instruments shows
that the circular shapes of drums and sound chambers
in string instruments are remnants of archaic
cosmological symbolism. The round structure of
instruments like the dutar, tanbur, rubab, saz, and oud
reflect ancient understandings of the sun, moon, and
celestial bodies.

In primitive societies, art was not an isolated
phenomenon

—

it was fused with mythological

consciousness. As people accumulated practical
knowledge and experiences through labor and play, art
gradually became a separate phenomenon.

The fragmentation of artistic syncretism in early music
led to the differentiation of musical instruments into
types: string, percussion, and wind.

Archaic hunting rituals incorporated symbolic gestures
and rhythmic sounds to regulate communal
relationships. Livestock breeding and agriculture also
evolved alongside elements of archaic art.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the fragmentation of syncretism in
primitive culture separated cosmological views from
mythological thought, differentiated musical practices
from unified artistic activity, and contributed to the
formation of distinct musical instruments. This process
reflects the ongoing cultural differentiation that
influenced the classification of instruments.

The formation of aesthetic taste was a socio-cultural
phenomenon connected with the diversification of
instruments.

The

differentiation

of

primitive

syncretism

occurred

simultaneously

with

the

emergence of musical-cosmological concepts in the
religious practices of ancient Turks.

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American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research (ISSN: 2771-2141)

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