29 – Maqam (Tarz) Jem Nian Dusan Avyana (“In That Place Where the Companions Gathered and the Assembly Was Held”)

Range: C, D, E (and E♭), F, G, A.

Variable notes: E.

Time signatures in the metric sections: 4/4.

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), with a fixed 4-beat meter, and its refrain (sarband) is the first couplet:

Jem nian dusan avyana

Haghan shaman, kholam parvana

In that place where the Companions gathered and the assembly was held, the Truth, like a candle, holds the center of the circle,

and the disciples, like moths, circle around it.

This maqam can be regarded as the maqam of Mansur Hallaj, since it is entirely in his praise. The words of this maqam are by Sheykh Amir, who was discussed earlier.