Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

On March 17, an international scientific symposium titled “National-Spiritual Values in Ashug Art” started at the Central Scientific Library (CSL) of ANAS in connection with the 100th anniversary of Mikayıl Azaflı, a prominent representative of 20^th-century Azerbaijani ashug art.

The event was jointly organized by the Institute of Folklore of ANAS, the State Conservatory of Caucasus University (Kars), the Charity Society of Tovuz district, and several other organizations from Türkiye.  

At the beginning, the participants of the event, laid flowers at the bust of National Leader Heydar Aliyev in the foyer of the CSL and paid tribute to his memory.

The symposium was opened with an introductory speech by the President of ANAS, Academician Isa Habibbeyli, who spoke about the life and creativity of the great master of words Mikayıl Azaflı and his invaluable contributions to the recognition and development of saz art of Azerbaijan. He also underlined that the event held in the “Year of Constitution and Sovereignty” is of great importance in terms of re-studying Mikayıl Azaflı’s art and more deeply researching his legacy, in the condition of full sovereignty of Azerbaijan and during the period of independence.  

Mentioning that Azerbaijani ashug art has an ancient history and rich traditions, Academician Isa Habibbeyli said that starting from one of the great personalities of the Turkic world, Dede Gorgud, ashug literature in Azerbaijan has developed parallel to written literature up until today and has nurtured its great figures.  

The academician also said that Ashug art in the Turkic world is built on a strong foundation and is proof of the rich culture of the Turkic people, with Dede Gorgud recognized as the founder of ashug literature in the Turkic world. The epic “Kitabi-Dede Gorgud” represents our shared culture and literature, preserving the unity of the Turkic world throughout history.

Academician Isa Habibbeyli noted that among the countries of the Turkic world, Azerbaijan holds a leading position in the development of ashug literature. From ancient times to the present day, the Azerbaijani people have nurtured such prominent figures of ashug art as Dede Gorgud, Ashug Gurbani, Khasta Gasim, Ashug Abbas Tufarganli, Ashug Peri, Ashug Alesker, and many others. Through his work, which represents the pinnacle of ashug art, Ashug Alesker continued and further developed its great traditions.

The head of ANAS said that the ashug literature developed also during the Soviet era, and during that time, the Union of Ashugs of Azerbaijan was established. He noted that masters of ashug art, Ashug Shamshir and Mikayil Azafli, further enriched ashug art. Even during the Soviet era, Mikayil Azafli’s work was dedicated to promoting the national and spiritual values of the Azerbaijani people.

In conclusion, the academician emphasized the relevance of the event in terms of lightning on Mikayil Azafli’s work and re-evaluating ashug poetry through his creative legacy. He also wished success to the work of symposium.  

Then, the reports of Professor Gazanfar Pashayev from the Nizami Ganjavi Institute of Literature of ANAS, Professor Ali Kafkasyalı from Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University, and the researcher Ashug Ozan Shiar Agdashan from Germany were listened to. 

The presentations discussed the significance of Mikayıl Azaflı’s creative work for Azerbaijani culture and his contributions to the art of ashug.

It was noted that the main theme of Mikayıl Azaflı’s work consisted of philosophical ideas. His poetry clearly reflected life philosophy.

Next, the Director of the Institute of Folklore, PhD in Philology, Associate Professor Hikmat Guliyev gave a speech. He reviewed the work of Mikayıl Azaflı, one of the prominent figures of 20th-century Azerbaijani Ashug art, and mentioned that the master of words made great contributions to the promotion of our folklore and musical culture, as well as to the preservation of the purity, and clarity of our language.

Hikmat Guliyev noted that Mikayıl Azaflı enriched Azerbaijani Ashug poetry with beautiful poetic examples and melodies, playing a role as a bridge in bringing classical traditions to the modern era. He also underlined that the Ashug’s troubled fate, his life in hiding and imprisonment, influenced his creativity and led to the emergence of poetry with social content, reflecting complaints about his time and era.

Associate Professor Hikmat Guliyev emphasized the importance of the international scientific symposium in terms of popularizing Mikayıl Azaflı’s work in the context of the opportunities of the modern era, delivering his legacy to future generations, as well as studying it in depth based on scientific approaches and methods.

The international scientific symposium continued its work in 8 sectional meetings.

At the conclusion of the event, a concert program dedicated to the creativity of Ashug Mikayıl Azaflı was presented.

It should be noted that more than 50 scholars and researchers from Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Germany, and other countries participated in the symposium, which was held in a hybrid format.

Reyhan Majidli, Public Relations, Press and Information Department of the Presidium Administration of ANAS

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