OUR MAHNIS (SONGS) IN TURKISH FOLKLORE
Folk music and folk dance, which have an
important place in Turkish folklore, have a very rich
structure. Like folk songs, folk dances and instruments in
this rich world have an essential value as well.
In folk literature, the art form which
reflects and keeps alive the inner world of the society,
incorporating its whole existence from the very beginning
till the end, are the “mahnis”. Apart from their strong
social and national aspects, one other aspect of the mahnis
is their melodies. In fact, it is not right to consider the
folk literature form separate from music. Azeri literature
and music have developed together and co-existed since the
ancient times. Especially religious and other kinds of
ceremonies have always been performed with the accompaniment
of music and poetry. One cannot think of a day, for example
when Ashura ceremonies are celebrated without music. This
co-existence of Azeri literature and music has survived
until today as an unchanging tradition for thousands of
years.
The ashiks (lovers) which we call as folk
poets have recited their poems with a stringed instrument
known as the “saz”. Heroes of Turkish folk stories have
always been these ashik poets. This is the reason behind the
connection of folk stories and music. Azeri music is created
with the accumulation of the exclusive cultural values of
all societies and civilizations that have populated this
sacred land from ancient times until today with the
embodiment of cultural differences which vary from region to
region and as a result has a unique structure in the world
with its richness and diversity. Azeri music is comprised of
both verbal and non-verbal melodies which embellish and
deliver the emotions, thoughts and tastes of social life.
Azeri music is like a living being like in other Turkish
societies. It is born, has a long or short life span and is
forgotten afterwards…The living power of some works derives
from several aspects. Either their theme deeply interests
the people or they have a touching melody or a high artistic
structure. Nevertheless, these works change to various
extents in time. This change is observed not only in their
lyrics but also in their melodies. Those works that undergo
slight changes and have a continuous existence are heroic
deeds, legendary passions or disasters. Some valuable works
of Azeri music have continued to exist in our culture in the
form of folkloric dance music. The works that are known by
everyone and which have surpassed all these years are the
songs. These songs have powerful melodies and lyrics which
stimulates peoples’ desires and emotions.
The mahnis have a wide variety when
classified by their themes in the Azeri folk music…
Lullabies; songs on children, nature, shepherds, love,
celebrations, seasons and heroisms; laments, songs of ashiks
and game songs… It is quite difficult to say that this is a
precise classification because a heroic song could also be a
folkloric dance and a nature song could also be a love song.
It is possible to group Azeri mahnis under
two subjects depending on their causes of origin. These are
occasional mahnis and emotional mahnis. The occasional
mahnis are based on occasions which are closely connected
with the individual or the society. We can name wars, raids
as well as heroic and love stories as examples to these
kinds of mahnis.
The mahnis which fall under the emotional
category deal with subjects like love, yearning, pain, joy
and death. The basic element in these mahnis is
emotionality. Therefore, the lyrical aspect of such mahnis
is strong. As the emotional mahnis have a national character
and include social values, they constitute the majority of
these mahnis. The life span of such mahnis is short. New
mahnis are born in place of the forgotten ones. People of
all ages can find a part of themselves to various degrees
since they live through such a process. Our mahnis are the
best examples of oral literature that has been surpassed
through oral tradition and passed on from generation to
generation… Mahnis are a type of poetry in the genre of
general literature… They are composed of rhymed and measured
verses.
The mahnis are created by people. As they
spread, however, they are attributed to the society. When
they are first created, they belong to their creator. If
their subject matter concerns the society emotionally and
intellectually, then they are disseminated verbally. Their
creator becomes anonymous from that point on. Traces of
their initial creators’ identity fades away and after having
been repeated so much they become subject to change in time
and thus become the work of the society. Generally these
mahnis come into being through an occasion or an emotional
state of mind. Such occasions could be real or there could
be mahnis full of yearning for the family and our country.
Everyday occurrences of a lifetime from the beginning until
the end could be inspirations for a mahni.
In order to understand how mahnis become
widespread, one should first look into the past. As today’s
media did not exist in the past, the dissemination of the
mahnis are continuous but slow. Merchant caravans have an
important place in the spreading of these mahnis. Those who
traveled to every place in our country with merchant
caravans also carried these mahnis along with the many
merchandise. Emigrational movements also contributed to the
dissemination of the mahnis. Not only just the mahnis, but
also the culture of the migrant people also became
intermingled with and were affected by the arts and culture
of the new places. Mahnis spread this way for centuries. In
terms of music and arts, while the people brought the mahnis
to big centers, others took them to smaller areas and even
to the villages.
