Roots

History

From the courtyards of pre-revolutionary Baku, through the Soviet ban — to a new flowering.

Roots

Born on Absheron

The very word 'meykhana' comes from the Persian 'meykhane' — a 'house of wine', a tavern where people gathered to hear verse and music. The genre took shape in Baku and on the Absheron Peninsula even before the revolution: young people competed in sharp improvised verses to a beat.

Meykhana grew out of the folk world — courtyards, bazaars, feasts — and was always an art of the living, of-the-moment word. Its strength is that it is born here and now, in response to what is happening.

Milestones

Through the eras

19th – early 20th c.

Pre-revolutionary Baku

Meykhana takes shape in the courtyards of Baku and on Absheron; young poets compete in improvisation to a beat.

1920s–30s

Flowering and satire

The genre is popular and sharp-tongued; meykhana is performed and published, responding to the issues of the day.

1940–1991

Under ban

In the Soviet era meykhana is officially banned. It survives semi-legally — including through the verses of Aliagha Vahid, which sounded like living meykhana.

1991

Revival

With the collapse of the USSR meykhana returns to the stage. The pioneers are Aghasalim Childagh, Mashadibaba Aydamirov, Nizami Ramzi.

2000s

The television era

The show 'De, Gəlsin!' on ANS TV makes meykhana truly popular; stars and fans appear.

Today

Beat and internet

Meykhana absorbs the electronic beat and synthesizers, lives at weddings, in videos and on social media, and influences Azerbaijani rap.

The genre's memory

A word that cannot be banned

The history of meykhana is the history of the resilience of the folk word. Even under the ban it did not vanish but withdrew into courtyards and verses, to return the moment it became possible.

Today meykhana is a recognised part of Azerbaijani culture, a bridge between the old oral tradition and the new street music.