Bakhshi art: how to listen to Uzbekistan’s epic storytellers
UNESCO’s recording presents the bakhshi, who sing long epic poems from memory to a stringed instrument. What the art is and what to listen for.
The recording on this page is titled Bakhshi art. UNESCO published it on its official YouTube channel. The tradition it presents is inscribed, for Uzbekistan, on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
A bakhshi is a storyteller who sings. The word names both the performer and the art, which is the performance of long epic poems to the sound of an instrument. This guide explains the tradition in plain terms and suggests how to listen to it.
What a bakhshi does
The poems are called dostons. UNESCO describes them as old, traditional works that draw on myths, legends and folk tales, and says epic poetry holds a central place in the musical and poetic heritage of the Uzbek and Karakalpak people. Their themes are ones any listener will recognise: love of one’s homeland, loyalty, love, friendship and solidarity.
The bakhshi performs from memory, to the accompaniment of an instrument. UNESCO names two: the dombra, which is a stringed instrument, and the kobuz, which is played with a bow. Besides the old epics, bakhshis also perform pieces of their own.
Memory alone is not enough. According to UNESCO, a good bakhshi has to hold listeners with melody and tell the story in a fresh and engaging way, playing with language, proverbs and turns of phrase. The art is passed on within families and in bakhshi schools, and although it was traditionally a male calling, women perform it too.
How to listen
Listen to how the voice and the instrument share the work. Notice when the instrument plays alone, when it supports the voice, and when the performer moves from telling to singing. You do not need to follow the plot to hear where an episode gathers pace and where it comes to rest.
Remember where this art belongs. UNESCO notes that bakhshis are welcome guests at family ceremonies, public holidays and local festivities, so a doston is meant for a room full of listeners, not for silence. A recording gives you the sound; the gathering around it is left for you to imagine.
