I regret that, only until now, I never knew they existed.
Likōs are Balloochi songs, native of members of the Ballooch tribe, in a region in Iran called Baloochestān. We especially know Balloochi men, dark-skinned, brash people, by their special costumes, white loose dresses with a (usually black) vest, turbaned. Their setārs are other distinguishing marks, accompanying their songs in their own dialect, whose words are perhaps unknown to the Persian ears; their sounds are, nevertheless, pleasing.
The information below is from “Sad Liko: Soroodehaye Balloochi” compiled and translated by Mr. Mansoor Mo’meni.
In the introduction to the book we read, “likōs are couplets with syllabic meter, sung, accompanied by the instrument … (=Gheichak). They are unwritten poetry conveyed generation down to generation among members of the Ballooch tribe. Likōs’ diction is not literary; their words are those used in everyday speech” (13), and that (with adaptations) “love is the main motif in likōs,” and (still with adaptations) “their attributes to love are so explicit” (15). These characteristics are vivid in this example (the English translations are by me):
Likōs are Balloochi songs, native of members of the Ballooch tribe, in a region in Iran called Baloochestān. We especially know Balloochi men, dark-skinned, brash people, by their special costumes, white loose dresses with a (usually black) vest, turbaned. Their setārs are other distinguishing marks, accompanying their songs in their own dialect, whose words are perhaps unknown to the Persian ears; their sounds are, nevertheless, pleasing.
The information below is from “Sad Liko: Soroodehaye Balloochi” compiled and translated by Mr. Mansoor Mo’meni.
In the introduction to the book we read, “likōs are couplets with syllabic meter, sung, accompanied by the instrument … (=Gheichak). They are unwritten poetry conveyed generation down to generation among members of the Ballooch tribe. Likōs’ diction is not literary; their words are those used in everyday speech” (13), and that (with adaptations) “love is the main motif in likōs,” and (still with adaptations) “their attributes to love are so explicit” (15). These characteristics are vivid in this example (the English translations are by me):
جمعه
هر جمعه می آیم
نیست مادرت.
آدامس لبان ات را پیش آر
جست و جو کن مرا.
هر جمعه می آیم
نیست مادرت.
آدامس لبان ات را پیش آر
جست و جو کن مرا.
On Fridays,
Every Friday, I come,
Absent is your mom.
Draw close the chewing gum
Of your lips
Look for me. (likō 15)
The likōs in original Balloochi dialect are rhymed, too. Other examples (my favorites) are:
Every Friday, I come,
Absent is your mom.
Draw close the chewing gum
Of your lips
Look for me. (likō 15)
The likōs in original Balloochi dialect are rhymed, too. Other examples (my favorites) are:
به کوهستان شده بر قله ای می نشینم
برگ نخلی کنده و
فالی می گیرم.
برگ نخلی کنده و
فالی می گیرم.
I go to the mountains and sit on a peak
A leaf from a palm tree I pick
And resort to divination. (likō 6)
And:
A leaf from a palm tree I pick
And resort to divination. (likō 6)
And:
دخترک نشسته
برابر انبوه لحاف هاش
که می نهد بر هم.
رها شده چادرش
از دریچه می پایدم.
برابر انبوه لحاف هاش
که می نهد بر هم.
رها شده چادرش
از دریچه می پایدم.
The damsel’s sitting
By the mass of sheets
She is piling each on each.
Her chador is hanging loose
She’s keeping an eye on me
By the mass of sheets
She is piling each on each.
Her chador is hanging loose
She’s keeping an eye on me
Through the opening. (likō 19)
I have noticed that likōs, originally Iranian, are thematically very similar to haikus, originally Japanese. They are only different in rhythmic patterns and structure. Their names sound identical, too. I have no idea if they are in any way connected. Isn’t it probable?! It requires a bit of research.
I have noticed that likōs, originally Iranian, are thematically very similar to haikus, originally Japanese. They are only different in rhythmic patterns and structure. Their names sound identical, too. I have no idea if they are in any way connected. Isn’t it probable?! It requires a bit of research.
[Reference: Mo’meni, Mansoor. Sad Liko: Soroodehaye Balloochi. Tehran: Meshki, 1384. (One interesting thing about the book is that [except for its cover] it is published on kraft paper!)]
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