Ghobad Ghobadi

Expert in the kalams (the sacred hymns of the Yarsan), singer of the maqams (the traditional melodic pieces/modes of the tanbur), tanbur player and tanbur maker.

Ghobad Ghobadi was born in 1359 SH (1980/81) in the Dalahu region, into the valiant Qalkhani tribe. He was still young when an inner passion and longing, together with the encouragement of a learned father, set his destiny on a new path: at the age of 11 he became a student of the eminent master, the late Darvish Alimir Darvishi, in order to learn the tanbur and the Yari maqams and to study the daftars of Truth (the daftars being the Yarsan sacred books). This dedication enabled him, by the age of twenty, to master the authentic Yari maqams to perfection.

He had now become a gushing spring himself, and the time had come for him to quench the thirst of seekers, sip by sip, from his own store of knowledge. Thus jamkhanehs (Yarsan ritual gathering houses), gatherings for reading the daftars, and tanbur classes became settings for advancing teaching and for passing on what he had learned from his master.

After moving to and settling in Kerend-e Gharb county in 1383 SH (2004/05), and following the will and counsel of his teacher Darvish Alimir Darvishi, Ghobad Ghobadi devoted himself in 1384 SH (2005/06) to copying out the true Yari daftars, seeking the help of Heydar, Lord of the Jam (the Yarsan ritual gathering), and with the permission of the leader of the Yarsan.

The turning point of Ghobad Ghobadi's life may well have been his entry into the making of the Yarsan tanbur. The help of his dear friend Mr Rahmati, the guidance of eminent masters of this craft such as Shahveysi, Kamali and Farmani, and the teachings of the distinguished master Taher Yarveysi played a major part in his success. His experience and knowledge as a player and his command of the authentic Yari maqams, together with what he learned of the techniques of tanbur making, soon made the instrument bearing the name of Ghobad Ghobadi one of the best-known Yarsan tanburs, so that many masters and players count his instruments among the highest-quality tanburs in use.

Ghobadi has always considered himself bound to study with the eminent masters of the Yari kalams in order to understand the meaning of the kalams more deeply, and he serves those who are learned in this noble art.

Ghobad Ghobadi is also active as a performer. The Barbat Festival, the Festival of the Music of the Zagros Peoples, the Kurdish Music Festival and others have been stages for the music of Ghobadi and his artistically gifted children. The accompaniment and collaboration of his wife, his children's joint performances at these festivals, and the founding of the group “Kordeh Mal” show the depth and richness of the culture of authentic Yari music in the Ghobadi family.

Today, too, Ghobadi devotes much of his time to teaching the doctrines of the kalams and the Yari maqams to young Ahl-e Haqq (Yarsan) believers in the Qalkhani area, in Kerend-e Gharb and in Kermanshah. Devotion to the illustrious Heydari family and love for the tekyeh (gathering place) of the Yaran, the Yarsan faithful, at Dol Dalan are the fruit of his 36 years of life. Ghobad Ghobadi now lives in Kermanshah, where in his tanbur workshop, with simple tools, he breathes love into the heart of dry wood, so that a lover, in a gathering of kindred spirits, may set ablaze the hearts of those already burning with love.

Source: Telegram channel “Navaye Tanbur”, 1 December 2016; quoting the channel “Dalahu Yar”; with thanks to Mr Dariush Sohrabi.