24 – Maqam (Tarz) Shakhoshin or Shah Khoshini 1 (attributed to Shah Khoshin)

Range: C, D, E (and E♭), F, G, A.

Variable notes: E.

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

One noteworthy feature of the Shah Khoshini maqams (melodic-modal pieces of the tanbur repertoire) is that, like the Babanausi maqams, none of them has a refrain (sarband), and their poems are in Persian. The absence of the refrain, which is the most important characteristic of the kalam maqams (the sacred maqams of the Yarsan, or Ahl-e Haqq), raises the possibility that these maqams, too, are among the ancient maqams. In any case, however, it should be noted that, according to the book Musighi-ye Yarsan (“The Music of the Yarsan”), Heydar in this kalam does not refer to Ali; what is meant is Seyed Heydar, that is, Seyed Brakeh.

As for Ka Bashar Bazehuyi, from whose daftar (book of sacred verse) the text of the maqam is taken, it should be said that in 1314 (Iranian solar calendar; 1935/36 CE) he copied a very large anthology from the old Yarsan daftars and included it in his book. He attributes the first quatrain of this maqam to Torkeh, the second quatrain to Nasimi and the third quatrain to Mansur Hallaj. Ka Bashar Bazehuyi remained single until the end of his life and never married, and most of the time he wore a white robe. Torkaman, who is mentioned in the text of the maqam, was, according to Heydar Kaki, one of the prominent companions of Shah Khoshin. Shah Khoshin was the first person to set down in writing the tanbur and its ancient music together with the Yarsan faith. He was highly accomplished in the field of the tanbur, for it is written in Yarsan texts that he had groups of nine hundred people, and that these groups also included instruments such as the tanbur, robab, daf, kamancheh and others, but that the tanbur played the leading role. Since the explanations concerning Shah Khoshin are given in the commentary on the maqam (Hey Dayar Dayar), they are not repeated here.