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MUSICAL EDUCATION IN THE AVESTA PERIOD, THE PERIOD OF
FORMATION OF THE VOCAL-CHORAL SYSTEM
Raximberdiyeva Hojiniso Muqimjon qizi
Independent researcher
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16669079
Abstract:
This article covers historical and scientific views on the formation and
development of Uzbek folk music. The origin of folk music, musical instruments and
ceremonial traditions from the most ancient times, their aspects related to court, military,
religious and folk oral creativity are analyzed on the basis of scientific sources. The article
reflects on the ancient musical heritage, the formation and development of folklore samples,
the tradition of epic poetry, as well as the wedding and ceremonial culture of the Uzbek
people, its ethnic, social and spiritual foundations and modern forms. The study reveals the
specific features of musical art against the background of historical processes, its harmony
with the ethnic and cultural heritage of the people.
Keywords
: Uzbek folk music, folklore, shashmakom, court music, ceremonial music,
ancient musical instruments, khatna wedding, Avesta period.
Introduction
. The sacred book "Avesta", created in the ancient land of Khorezm,
especially in its "Letters" [Gatho] section, contains a lot of information about musical
performance and its styles. Zoroastrianism also played an important role in restoring and
developing ancient traditions in its time, so the emergence of the Darbori and Dabiristan
schools belonging to this cultural layer is considered a period of serious changes. Many of the
hymns of the "Avesta" that have come down to us are created in the form of a surud [i.e., a
song]. Surud [songs] in the "Avesta" style are sometimes performed in the musical folklore of
Iran and Tajikistan in the current Persian-Tajik languages. According to N. Khakimov's
research, 17 hymns of the Zoroastrian era have reached our time through yashts. The main
sources of this ancient song tradition go back to the "Avesta". In the 7th-9th centuries BC, the
culture and musical art of the peoples of Central Asia developed significantly in other
countries, in particular in Bactria, and later the Medes and Achaemenids6 [Xhoxhamanish]
empires spread to the territory of Iran. During this period, the art of music rose to the level of
professional schools. The main schools were formed in the Darbori and Dabiristan traditions,
and religious music was mainly in the Harbadistan style7.[2.26.17-24]
The sacred book "Avesta", created in the land of ancient Khorezm, especially in its
"Letters" [Gatho] section, contains a lot of information about musical performance and its
styles. Zoroastrianism also played an important role in restoring and developing ancient
traditions in its time, so the emergence of the Darbori and Dabiristan schools belonging to this
cultural layer is considered a period of serious changes.
Many of the hymns of the Avesta that have survived to us are composed in the form of a
surud [i.e., a song]. Suruds [songs] in the Avesta style are sometimes performed in the musical
folklore of Iran and Tajikistan in the current Persian-Tajik languages. According to N.
Khakimov's research, 17 hymns of the Zoroastrian era have reached our time through the
Yasht Choir. The main sources of this ancient song tradition go back to the Avesta. In the 7th-
9th centuries BC, the culture and musical art of the peoples of Central Asia also developed
significantly in other states, in particular in Bactria, and later the Medes and Achaemenid
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empires spread to the territory of Iran. During this period, musical art rose to the level of a
professional school. The main schools were formed in the traditions of Darbori and
Dabiristan, and religious music was mainly in the Harbadistan style.
Musical education; The art of music has been an integral part of the culture of the
peoples living in the territories of Central Asia since ancient times. Its directions, genres, and
forms have been formed and developed over the centuries as a product of the creative activity
and thinking of the ancient Sogdians, Khorezmians, Parthians, and Bactrians, who lived in the
territory of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and East Turkestan, the
ancestors of the Uzbek people. There is also sufficient evidence to prove that the development
of this art form was greatly influenced by the peoples (Scythians, Savromats-Sarmatians,
Sakas-Massagets) who lived in the steppe, forest-steppe, and mountainous regions of the vast
region stretching from the northern borders of China to Eastern Europe. [2.9.21-27]
The historical formation of the art of music initially took place under the influence of
early mythological representations as a need to try to understand nature and the events
taking place around us, and later became the spiritual and moral content of various rituals
conducted under the leadership of priests. Musicians, instrumentalists, dancers, and all artists,
united by a common goal, studied and enriched the musical and spiritual heritage left by their
ancestors, continuing the traditions of teacher and disciple, and passing it on to the next
generation. They showed great dedication in reaching their representatives.
The first buds of the activity of such people, due to the characteristics of their time, took
root in the environment of the community of soothsayers. A clear expression of a person's
inner spiritual experiences, observations related to living, life, death, and his thoughts under
the influence of events and phenomena in the framework of everyday relationships began to
sound brightly and brightly in the form of musical melodies. In turn, music also served as an
ideological weapon, that is, a means of influence, for soothsayers, who were supposed to
influence the spiritual and emotional feelings of the people.
The ideas put forward in the writings of the "Avesta", which is considered the sacred
book of Zoroastrianism, undoubtedly embodied the life, lifestyle, customs, religious beliefs
and beliefs of our ancestors. Among the knowledge that Zoroastrians were required to acquire
at the end of their education, music knowledge and musical culture occupied one of the main
places. For example, on May 9, 53 BC, as Crassus wrote in the Avesta, when a severe winter
came and all living things were in danger of extinction, the god Ahura Mazda presented a
golden trumpet to King Jamshid. When the king blew the trumpet, the earth split, and people
and animals entered the underground cities built by Jamshid under the sounds of the golden
trumpet. The existence of settlements called Varakhsha, Varzonze, Varozun, Vurazun
(Nurozar-Nurato) [2.8.60-71] in the territories of the present-day Bukhara and Navoi regions
once again proves that these regions were the cradle of humanity, a hotbed of high culture
and spirituality.
In the process of organizing palace ceremonies in a high-quality, upbeat atmosphere,
special features of musical art were also noticed. Palace music practice was carried out in
accordance with the rules strictly established by the astrologers in the horn service. Based on
this, each day of the week was allocated for performing certain exercises. For example: on
Saturday, rulers in most cases convened meetings and assigned responsible work to the
appropriate persons, while on Sunday they pondered over the solution of the country's
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internal problems and dealt with legislative issues. On Monday, they went hunting, and on
Tuesday they were engaged in horse riding, wrestling, and various military games. On
Wednesday, they were allocated for the country's foreign affairs, receiving ambassadors from
neighboring and distant countries. Letters and replies to letters were written.
Employees of the country's administrative apparatus, governors of regions and cities,
elders, tribal, representatives of various peoples and nationalities, clan heads were received
on Wednesday, and important issues of state importance were resolved. Construction issues
were also discussed, and ideas and proposals for the construction of cities, fortresses,
defensive fortifications, caravanserais, sanatoriums, bridges, baths, schools and temples were
studied. Appropriate instructions were given and decisions were made.
Friday, considered the "show" and "decoration" of the week, was considered the
"decoration" of the rulers, who were free from all work, organized various banquets and
celebrations. In order for the ruler and his entourage to receive spiritual nourishment and
have fun, musicians, entertainers and representatives of other arts were invited and gave
entertaining performances. Also, conversations and debates were held with leading scientists
of their time in such disciplines as science, history, philosophy, astronomy, music, literature,
rhetoric, stylistics, logic, mathematics, and medicine.
A special place was given to the art of music, and representatives of the secular
"Farkhangiston" and religious "Dabiriston" schools freely played the chan, vin, barbat, tanbur
and wind instruments, and sang songs on religious and heroic themes. In the context of palace
music, religious-ceremonial songs such as "Yazdon Ofarid", "Dodofarid", "Oini Jamshed",
"Khurushi Mug'on", lyrical songs such as "Bog'i Shirin", "Romishi Jon", "Mashkuya", which
arose as a result of the desire to feel the harmony of living nature with man, and songs on
heroic themes such as "Surudi Pahlavon", "Surudi Mozandaron", "Khurosoni" were reflected
in the choral performance system. [2.8.44-47] In the context of the songs of the peoples living
between the two rivers, in response to natural phenomena and seasonal changes, "Oroishi
Khurshed" (Sun Beauty), "Farrukhro'z" (Beautiful Day), "Sabzai Bahor" (Spring Spring),
"Guljam" have enjoyed a high status in solo and choral performances. Ancient holidays also
played an important role in the emergence of various musical genres and forms. The first day
of the creation of the world by Ahura Mazda, as well as the days of the enthronement of the
legendary horned Jamshid, are reflected in the celebration of the Navruz holiday by
Zoroastrians. Songs such as "Nozi Navruz", "Navru'zi Buzurg", "Navru'zi Kayqubad", "Navru'zi
Khoro" are inextricably linked with the Navruz holiday and are among the songs that have
been loved and sung by our people for centuries.
Conclusion
. It is clear that the oldest folklore samples appeared long before the
emergence of writing and made a significant contribution to the formation of written
literature. They have not reached us in their original form, or those that have reached us have
been creatively worked out in the process of being passed down from mouth to mouth, from
generation to generation.
Professional folklore styles and other types of educational directions that existed from
the Avesta to the time of the Great Kushan Empire have reached our time, but they have now
taken root in Tajikistan, India and China, Georgia and the mountainous regions, even some
European countries, and have taken their place in their literary languages, having changed
their style. But there is little scientific evidence that the oldest of their ancestral art has
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survived to us. The period of the First and Second Renaissance of Uzbekistan in the Muslim
world - the East, in addition to becoming a center of world science and enlightenment, and the
fact that countries other than ours studied and mastered the multifaceted methods of science
and enlightenment, culture and education, and art in their own unique way - is also of global
importance.
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