Baba Gammar
Turkmen · numen · Turkmen traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Baba Gammar is the Turkmen patron of music and of the dutar, the nation's emblematic two-stringed lute. Identified with Qanbar, the groom of Caliph ʿAli's horse Duldul, he is remembered in Turkmen legend as the maker of the first dutar: having fixed a nut upon its neck and stretched the strings, he brought forth a heavenly sound. Bagshy and aspiring musicians venerate him as a nurturing patron of their art, naming him together with Gorkut Ata and Ashyk Aýdyň Pir as the founding saints of Turkmen musicianship.
Domains
- music
Powers
- fashion the first dutar
Epithets
- dutaryň piri — the patron of the dutarGovernment of Turkmenistan, 'Babagammar – the patron of dutar', turkmenistan.gov.tm, post 59160. (secondary)
Sources
- Baba Gammar is revered by Turkmen musicians as the maker of the first dutar and the patron of the musical art; aspiring bagshy pay homage to him alongside Gorkut Ata and Ashyk Aýdyň.: Zeranska-Kominek, S. and A. Lebeuf. The Tale of Crazy Harman. Warsaw: DiG, 1997. (secondary); Government of Turkmenistan, 'Babagammar – the patron of dutar', turkmenistan.gov.tm, post 59160. (secondary)