06 – Maqam (Tarz) Hagh Hagh-u Hu (“He Is Truth and Reality”)

Range: D, E, F, G, A (and A♭), B♭.

Variable notes: A.

Time signatures in the metric sections: 6/4.

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

According to Heydar Kaki, “It is one of the kalam maqams (the sacred melodic-modal pieces of the tanbur repertoire), performed in the ‘jam ceremony’, and one of the metered maqams, with a 6-beat meter; the core of this maqam is formed by chromatic semitones.” Jam means gathering at an agreed place to hold the rites of the assemblies of the Yarsan faith (the religion of the Ahl-e Haqq), in which music and tanbur playing are among the principal pillars. The refrain of this maqam is likewise its first couplet:

Hagh hagh-u hu hu hay aghay Jafem

Ghunaray sar tafan, yar bi gazafem

Our noble lord, O true Friend, you who in purity and clarity are the loftiest of the roaring waves.

The reference to Emad al-Din Nasimi (a poet of the eighth century AH, i.e. the 14th century CE) in the text of the maqam shows that although he did not belong to the faith, his courage and his struggle against the Sufi, the ascetic and the mufti were held in respect by the Yarsan. The mortifications of Nasimi mentioned in the text of the maqam refer to the hardships he endured in the course of his struggle and to the manner of his death: he was hanged and his skin was stripped from his body. Regarding Nasimi’s connection with the Ahl-e Haqq, however, it should be said that, according to one account concerning Fazlollah Naimi Astarabadi, who was the leader of the Hurufis in the third century AH (9th century CE), he is said to have lived among the Ahl-e Haqq for a time and to have attained such a rank among them that some even credit him with a period of manifestation earlier than Baba Sarhang. Nasimi, too, although he lived in the eighth century AH, was a Hurufi, and perhaps some Yarsan count him, too, among the people of the Truth (Ahl-e Haqq), or regard Shah Fazl (Fazlollah Naimi Astarabadi) as dwelling in his jameh (garment, i.e. bodily incarnation).

Ali Akbar Moradi attributes the poem of this maqam to Abedin Jaf, born in the eighth century AH, who composed it in praise of his Pir (spiritual elder), Soltan Sahak. The book Saranjam (“The Conclusion”), also known as the Daftar-e Pardivari, has six parts, one of which goes back to the period of Abedin and contains Abedin Jaf’s devotional prayers in the Sorani language. Note that the name Jaf is also mentioned in the Kurdish text. Farzad Bazgir, too, refers to a written account in the Yarsan books concerning Abedin Jaf: “Abedin, who had heard of the name and renown of Soltan Sahak, was one day busy reading and writing when he noticed that all the pages had been adorned with the Soltan’s name. Although he opened and closed the book several times, the pages still remained as they were. After this event, Abedin went to Soltan Sahak and became his disciple.”