Reciprocal Relationships of Afghanistan Music and Central Asian Countries

Afghanistan has always been a major crossroad between east and west, and from the earliest periods of history, its relationships with other cultures have existed in many fields such as politics, commerce, arts, culture and so on. Today, also as a land which has linguistic and cultural relationships with other neighbors, Afghanistan as a crossroad between Asian countries can play a significant role and its cultural and artistic activities can be important in the development of relationships. Afghanistan on its north and northwest sides has good relationships with central Asian countries, in that their language, religion, ethnicity and race are the same. There are even similarities between their musical melodies and musical instruments. Pamiri Falak, Uzbek Qushiqs, Goroghli singing, Nawayee singing, Turkmen Idiyams, Moqams, songs, dances, musical instruments and more show the musical similarities between them. Bakhshis and Shamans work to maintain the Afghan Uzbeks and Turkomans musical antiquity and genuineness as a musical symbol of the commonalities between Afghanistan and the Central Asian countries. Poets like Amir Sher Ali Nawayee and Makhdoom Quli, as well known in Central Asian countries, are popular among Afghan Uzbeks and Turkomans ethnicities also. Music learning and transmission among the tribes is based on traditional system, orally from ancient time until the present. The results also show that the music of northern side of Afghanistan and the Central Asian countries have a lot of similarities and it represents the common culture between them.