Mina B is a CD error when referring to the “Minab” artists featured on Regional Music of Iran, Vol. 5 (Hasht Behesht) Minab Folk Musicians The tracks credited simply to Minab on Vol. 5 (including “Ey Khodā,” “Wedding Ceremony I,” “Wedding Ceremony II” and “Khoshâ”) capture the living ceremonial and ritual music of… Read moreShow less
Mina B is a CD error when referring to the “Minab” artists featured on Regional Music of Iran, Vol. 5 (Hasht Behesht) Minab Folk Musicians The tracks credited simply to Minab on Vol. 5 (including “Ey Khodā,” “Wedding Ceremony I,” “Wedding Ceremony II” and “Khoshâ”) capture the living ceremonial and ritual music of Minab, a port city in Hormozgan Province on Iran’s southern coast. These performances were recorded in situ by ethnomusicologist and compiler Hoseyn Hamidi as representative examples of the zar and nobān healing ceremonies and wedding‑celebration chants practiced there. Though the individual singers and players remain unnamed on the CD, their artistry reflects generations of oral transmission: Vocal Style: Call‑and‑response invocations blending Arabic‑language religious refrains (“Ey Khodā,” “Allâh”) with local Persian and Bandari dialects. Instrumentation: Frame drums (dammām) and rattle‑like idiophones underpin the vocal lines, often in extended, trance‑inducing drones typical of southern Iranian ritual music. Ceremonial Context: “Wedding Ceremony” tracks document the musical patterns used in real-life marriage festivities, while “Khoshâ” (“Good Omens”) serves as an auspicious chant to invoke blessings on the couple. By crediting these tracks to “Minab,” Mahoor honors not a single virtuoso but the collective ritual musicians of that coastal region. Whose names may be unrecorded, but whose living tradition speaks powerfully through every chant and drumbeat.
