Ashughs & Gusans
Ashughs & Gusans - Cultural mentors
Armenian ashughic tradition flourished during New Age, from 17th to 19th centuries AD. It was shared by other nations of the Middle East, including the Persians, Turks, and Arabs (etymologically, ashugh means «being in love» in Arabic), who similarly used the established models of versification in order to elaborate complex rhymes and traditional improvisatory motifs. Armenian ashughic tradition carried some influence from the Arabic and Persian folk music because of the overall strong cultiral influence of these nations in that period.
Before the rise of ashughic culture, the role of singing troubadours in Armenia was played by the gusans whose compositions had lesser middle eastern influence. Gusans were creative artists and performers of various genres - singers, instrumentalists, dancers, storytellers, as well as professional and folk actors in the public theaters of medieval Armenia. The word gusan is mentioned already in the Armenian early medieval texts of V c., e.g. by Faustus of Byzantium, Moses of Chorene, etc. According to scholars the word is derived from an Armenian գովասան [govasan] word meaning a “praiser”. In the early Middle Ages, the word gusan was used as an Armenian equivalent of the Classic Greek mimos (“mime”).
In early medieval era, there were 2 social strata of Armenian gusans:
- first were the representatives of aristocratic feudal lord dynasties who performed as professional musicians
- second were comprised of popular, but illiterate folk gusans.
Later on, during the Middle Ages, gusans were sometimes criticized, sometimes praised, because the adoption of Christianity in Armenia put an influence on the Armenian minstrelsy and gradually altered its ethical and ideological vectors. The medieval center of Armenian gusanic art used to be Goghtn, region in Vaspurakan Province of Armenia Major, bordering with Syunik Province.
Taking into account the above mentioned, we can conclude that the gusanic tradition of Armenia was dated to earlier period than the ashughic tradition.
Later on, in the modern era, both traditions became perceived as the same, while both gusan and ashugh words became used interchangeably for denomination of any folk performer.
To the beginning of XX century, there were several distinct ashughic/gusanic schools developed in the Armenians of Ottoman Empire, Persian Empire, and Georgia (Armenians dominated demographically in Tiflis-Tbilisi, Georgia, since the Middle Ages), as well as in Vagharshapat (Ejmiadzin) and Alexandropol (Gyumri) cities of Armenia. These folk musicians competed in the official competitions and compilated their original compositions into songbooks that are still used till our days.
The most famous Armenian ashugh was Sayat Nova (Harutyun Sayadian, 1717–1795) born in Aleppo and lived in Tiflis (Tbilisi). He composed and performed in many languages, including Armenian, Osmanli, Georgian, and Azerbaijani. He was a singer and musician in the courts of the Persian shah Nadir and the Georgian king Iraklii II, and he spent his final years in the important northern Armenian monastery of Sanahin.
Sayat Nova was a virtuoso player of kamancha (regional musical instrument) and claimed that kamancha can «console the broken-hearted people, mitigate the sufferings of ill people, and be really appreciated by a true artist only».
https://sarogps.wordpress.com/2017/08/18/about-armenian-ashugh-tradition/