32 – Maqam (Tarz) Baliha (“Yes”)

Range: C, D, E (and E♭), F, G, A, B♭, C.

Variable notes: E.

Tuning: Haft Dastan or Barz (C, C, G)

It is one of the kalam maqams (sacred melodic-modal pieces in the tanbur repertoire of the Yarsan, or Ahl-e Haqq); the main feature of its refrain (sarband) is the word baliha, which is, in a sense, an answer to the call of the Truth. According to Ali Akbar Moradi, this maqam was composed in praise of two sacred springs: “Ghaslan” in Dalahu, near the tomb of Baba Yadegar, and “Teshar” in Hawraman, near the tomb of Soltan Sahak. According to one account, Baba Yadegar poured water that he had brought from the sacred Teshar spring at the foot of a rock, and the Ghaslan spring came into being. This spring is in fact one of Baba Yadegar’s miracles. The poem of this maqam is transmitted from Darvish Nowruz Sourani.