Baluchi Music: Echo of History and Emotion in the Southeastern Melodies of Iran

According to Sohreh-e Honar Iran, citing the IRNA News Agency, Baluchi local music is one of the most authentic branches of regional music in Iran, as well as parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. Like its culture, Baluchi music has been shaped and sustained by an inseparable bond with the region’s history and geography.

This music is a reflection of the life of Baluchi tribes across a vast expanse from mountains and deserts to coasts and seas; melodies that have been heard since ancient times in rituals, migrations, celebrations, and mournings, passed down from generation to generation.

The region’s proximity to Pakistan and Afghanistan has caused Baluchi music to be influenced more by Indian, Pakistani, and to some extent Afghan music through cultural exchanges. Prime examples of this are instruments such as the Banjo, Doneli, Harmonium, and Shidi (a type of large flute), which have entered the region’s music from India and Pakistan.

According to experts, Baluchi local music is culturally divided into two domains: “Sarhad” (Border) and “Makran,” each with unique characteristics in vocal and instrumental structure. In the Sarhad region, the music is largely based on the “Liko” mode, a mode that narrates themes of emotion and love, the grief of separation, and human suffering through simple yet passionate melodies. In contrast, in the Makran region, there exists a song called “Zahirouk,” meaning heartbreak or longing; for example, when a mother loses her child or is separated from them, she sings Zahirouk in their absence.

In terms of instrumental music, a remarkable diversity of native instruments is seen in Sistan and Baluchestan Province. From the “Doneli,” whose sound echoes through mountains and deserts, to the “Gheychak,” “Rabab,” “Banjo,” “Tanburak,” and percussion instruments such as “Dohlak,” “Tasht,” and “Koozeh” (clay pot). Each of these instruments is not merely a tool for music but a sign of the Baluchi people’s connection with nature and an expression of their cultural taste and creativity.

Figures such as Master Shir Mohammad Espandar, the renowned Doneli player and one of the most prominent bearers of Makran music, have played a key role in preserving and transmitting this heritage. Despite its simplicity, this music possesses unique emotional complexities and aesthetics, turning it into one of the living and valuable heritages of Iranian regional music.

Seyyed Mehdi Hosseini, a music expert from Sistan and Baluchestan, spoke with an IRNA reporter about the background, structure, and characteristics of Baluchi indigenous music. He elucidated the differences in melodies and musical modes in the two cultural regions of Sarhad and Makran and referred to the status of ancient instruments and songs of this land in Iran’s spiritual heritage.