DUTAR IS THE SOUL OF THE TURKMEN PEOPLE: ART MEETING "SOUNDS OF THE DUTAR" AT THE LIBRARY NAMED AFTER MAGTYMGULY IN KYIV

The cultural program on the eve of the anniversary of our country's independence began in the Ukrainian capital. On September 18, 2025 the Library named after Magtymguly in Kyiv hosted an art meeting, "Sounds of the Dutar," dedicated to the art of song and music, focusing on national Turkmen instruments, the art of the bagshi, and our musical culture.

The event was attended by teachers and students from cultural and educational institutions of the Svyatoshynsky district, music schools, representatives of the Svyatoshynsky district administration and the library system, and Turkmen youth.

The director of the Library named after Magtymguly, who hosted the art meeting as usual, spoke about the history of the library's founding and the cultural and educational activities of the Magtymguly Library Museum.

A diplomat from the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Ukraine spoke to the event participants about the unique musical culture, the origins and development of the Turkmen school of composition, traditional national musical instruments, the art of the bagshi, and the culture of mentorship. He devoted special attention to the preservation and development of folk and national musical heritage, in which the art of the mentorship represents an invaluable layer of Turkmen culture, and the dutar and gijak are integral parts of Turkmen life. Recognition of the bagshi's invaluable contribution to world culture has resulted in the inscription of the craft of dutar making, dutar performance, and the art of the bagshi on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the diplomat emphasized.

In one of his speeches, the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, referring to the book by the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Hero Arkadag, “Bagshi – Harbingers of National Happiness”  wisely noted: "There is a saying among Turkmens that a nation that has bagshis is truly happy: at all times, they have been perceived as harbingers of good news, a joyful and peaceful life."

Speaking about the dutar, he again returned to the words of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov: “The wonderful music of the Turkmen dutar has become a unique anthem of the sacred independence and permanent neutrality of our sovereign state, a melody of peacefulness, nobility, friendship, and brotherhood.”

The diplomat emphasized that the event is taking place on the eve of Independence Day, as well as International Music Day.

The cultural event will focus on the virtuoso performance of dutarist Serdar Derekov, a representative of the Turkmen diaspora in Ukraine, who will perform folk melodies on the dutar.

Students and teachers from local music schools performed concert numbers as a piano duet, a guitar trio, and played the national Ukrainian instrument, the bandura.

Throughout the event, art meeting participants were shown thematic videos and a photo exhibition, as well as a tour of the Magtymguly Museum, which houses exhibits of Turkmen folk art and national instruments donated by the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan in the year of the celebration of Magtymguly Fragi's 300th anniversary.

Participants in the event, on the eve of Turkmenistan's Independence Day, celebrated during the International Year of Peace and Trust, expressed a sincere interest in the culture and art of the Turkmen people, noting the importance of studying and promoting the art of song and music, culture, and the need to strengthen friendship between peoples.