Haj Mohammad Iri
Also known as Mokhi Jan. A Turkman musician, performing artist, and keeper of folk tales. He is one of the only people left who knows how to play unique instruments and perform the moves. He knows the melodies and techniques.He performs the legacy and keeps it alive by teaching and guiding the young generation.
Haj Mohammad Iri
He teaches and performs traditional dances like ZEKRE KHANJAR; the most famous and noble dance among the Turkmen’s dances and songs with a philosophical root in the ethnic beliefs, culture, and religion of the people in this region remained from the past. Zekre Khanjar is a conceptual and spiritual ritual. He plays the DOTĀR, a long-necked lute of the tanbūr family, usually with two strings (do tār). Several different types are currently in the area between Turkey and Central Asia, sometimes with other names (generally derived from the word tanbūr). The principal feature is the pear-shaped sound box attached to a neck that is longer than the box and faced with a wooden soundboard. Dotārs can be classified into several different types. He is one of the only people left who knows how to play unique instruments, melodies, and techniques.
Berkeh Bazri: “We are here with a lot of young actors in our performing arts group not having a clue what we are going to see here. Mokhi Jan plays theater, dances and teaches the Turkmen dance. When he told us that he prefers to bring his teenage group for the recording because they have their own special costumes we must have guessed. For everyone who was there, it was like we had shared an eternal secret mission our whole life and this was the moment we all worked for. Nothing could go wrong. The mission was to record “Zekre Khanjar” ritual dance. And the final line of this secret mission was actually the first official record of the Heirs of saffron and salt. After everything went so perfectly with the dance, Mokhi Jan turns into a kind, caring father from a serious master. He sits in front of Ali Ettehad’s camera and answers our questions, from music to theater. I kinda sealed the deal of the day in my head when he agreed to teach me, Giz, and Pouya the steps of the Turkmen dance.”
