Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

An international scientific conference entitled “Ashiq Art: Formation, Stages of Development, and Modern Trends,” dedicated to the 110th anniversary of Honored Cultural Worker and master ashig Huseyn Sarajli, is being held at the Central Scientific Library of ANAS. The conference is jointly supported by the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Institute of Literature named after Nizami Ganjavi of ANAS, the Institute of Linguistics named after Nasimi of ANAS, the Institute of Folklore of ANAS, and the Azerbaijan Ashiqs Union.

Alongside Azerbaijani scholars, the conference is attended by researchers from the Shota Rustaveli Institute of Georgian Literature in Georgia, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University, Bursa Uludağ University, and Ardahan University in Türkiye, as well as scholars from Germany, Bulgaria, the Central Asian republics, and other countries.

The conference was opened by Academician Isa Habibbeyli, President of ANAS and Director of the Institute of Literature named after Nizami Ganjavi. In his opening remarks, he stated that the Academy was conducting extensive work in the humanities to promote the in-depth study of national and spiritual values, literature, culture, and the Azerbaijani language based on the ideology of Azerbaijanism, and to pass this heritage on to future generations.

Academician Isa Habibbeyli noted that ANAS had implemented a number of projects in recent years to provide academic support for the development of folk art. Alongside classical folklore traditions, these projects place particular emphasis on studying the lives and creative legacies of artists who lived in the 20th century and established their own artistic schools.

The President of ANAS emphasized that the purpose of scholarly research was not limited to studying, publishing, and compiling folklore materials into books. One of its principal objectives was also to provide academic support for the preservation and development of the art forms under study and their transmission to future generations.

Academician Isa Habibbeyli stated that one of the conference’s main objectives was to study ashig art in accordance with the requirements of contemporary folklore studies and introduce its findings into scholarly circulation. He also highlighted the fact that the Borchali ashig tradition represented a shared cultural value for Azerbaijan and Georgia. Noting its special place in Azerbaijani-Georgian cultural relations, he emphasized that Azerbaijani ashig art had influenced the formation of Georgian ashig art.

Noting that the participation of scholars from several foreign countries demonstrated the conference’s broad geographical reach, Academician Isa Habibbeyli stated that examining the common features of the Azerbaijani, Georgian, and Anatolian ashig schools would further demonstrate the unity of this art form and the links between these traditions. He wished the conference every success.

Speaking at the conference, Academician Nizami Jafarov, Director of the Azerbaijan Atatürk Center, stated that the creative legacy of Ashiq Huseyn Sarajli held a special place in the history of Azerbaijani ashig art. He noted that holding such an event was, first and foremost, an expression of respect for the master artist and the broader tradition of ashig art to which he belonged.

Academician Nizami Jafarov emphasized that Ashiq Huseyn Sarajli was distinguished by his distinctive outlook and expressive style. Noting that the artist presented dastans in a lively, epic narrative style enriched with humor, he stressed the importance of studying these artistic features separately.

The Director of the Center stated that ashig art played an important role not only in preserving folklore heritage but also in the development and renewal of the Azerbaijani literary language. He noted that ashigs made a significant contribution to enriching and renewing the literary language by bringing the people's living language, expressive resources, and way of thinking into literary and cultural circulation.

Concluding his speech, he stated that studying the creative legacy of Ashiq Huseyn Sarajli was important not only for understanding the heritage of an individual artist but also for identifying the development patterns of 20th-century Azerbaijani ashig art and its links with the vernacular and literary and cultural processes.

A video presentation dedicated to the life and creative legacy of Ashiq Huseyn Sarajli was then screened.

The conference also featured speeches by prominent statesman and Doctor of Historical Sciences Hasan Hasanov; Chairman of the Azerbaijan Ashiqs Union, Doctor of Philological Sciences and Professor Maharram Gasimli; Professor Ömer Solak and Associate Professor Samet Doykun of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University in Türkiye; Ketevan Sikharulidze, Head of the Folklore Department at the Shota Rustaveli Institute of Georgian Literature; Misir Mardanov, Head of Department at Baku State University and Corresponding Member of ANAS; and Hikmat Guliyev, Director of the Institute of Folklore and Doctor of Philological Sciences.

The speakers discussed the significance of ashig art in the cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people, its formation and stages of development, the creative legacies of prominent artists, and issues related to preserving and developing ashig traditions in the modern era.

As part of the event, the book Ashiq Huseyn Sarajli and His Yaylag Journey (Fifth Edition) by Mushfig Borchali, Doctor of Philosophy in Philology and the conference’s executive secretary, was presented. It was noted that the book, first published in 2011, provides detailed information about the life and creative legacy of the prominent master of the saz and word, Ashiq Huseyn Sarajli.

The book was published in an elegantly designed edition by the Institute of Literature named after Nizami Ganjavi of ANAS. Academician Isa Habibbeyli served as its academic consultant, while Ismayil Omarov, Honored Art Worker and Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science, was its editor.

The conference is continuing its work through sessions held in eight sections.

More than 100 presentations are scheduled to be delivered at the international scientific conference.

Translation by Gulhane Aghayeva, Department of Public Relations, Press, and Information, Presidium of ANAS.

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