The Holiday of Turkmen Bakhshi

The Holiday of Turkmen Bakhshi is celebrated on the second Sunday of September. Bakhshi are turkmen folk singers. They play a great role in the cultural life of Turkmen people. Bakhshi sing when they play on such national musical instruments as dutar, gidjak and gopuz. They sing folk legends, popular poems, or their own songs. There are also other Turkmen national instruments as garry-tuyduk (made from reed, like flute), dilli-tuyduk (made from bulrush), gopuz (musical instrument that girls usually play with their lips). But the most popular national instrument is dutar, which can be used by one person or whole band.

The most popular Turkmen bakhshi are: A. Charyev, O. Ilyasov, T. Amanov, G. Aliev and others.