Takam ( Azerbaijani: تکم for "my billy goat") is the name of the king of goats, a male goat, in the

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

Azarbaijan Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan ( fa, آذربایجان, ''Āzarbāijān'' ; az-Arab, آذربایجان, ''Āzerbāyjān'' ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq, Turkey, the Nakhchivan ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. ''Takam's'' effigies are made out of wood and ornamented with coloured glass beads and cock's tail feathers. A pole affixed to a ''Takam'' is passed through a hole in a plank which is held horizontally, from below which the ''Takam'' is moved as though it is dancing on the surface of the plank. While doing so, the person playing the ''Takam'', who is referred to as ''

Takam-Chi Takam-Chi ( Azerbaijani: تکم چی), or Takam Gardān (meaning, the one who turns around the ''Takam''), is the person who plays the ''Takam''. Both ''Takam'' and ''Takam-Chi'' are Turkic-Azari words. ''Takam-Chi'' is also the name of a recent I ...

'' (تکم چی), or ''Takam Gardān'' (meaning, the one who turns around the ''Takam''), chants special poetry which in Azari is called '' Sāyā'' (سایا). The tradition of playing the ''Takam'' is millennia old and invariably in all ''Sāyā''s reference is made to natural landscapes,Photographs showing some of Azarbaijan's beautiful landscapes:
''Ardebil''''Ardebil''''Azarbaijan''''The Sahand Mountain''''The Sahand Mountain''''The Sabalan Mountain''
(see

Sahand Sahand ( fa, سهند), is a massive, heavily eroded stratovolcano in East Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran. At , it is the highest mountain in the province of East Azarbaijan. Sahand is one of the highest mountains in Iranian Azerbaijan, ...

and

Sabalan Sabalan (Persian: سبلان ) is an inactive stratovolcano in Ardabil Province of northwestern Iran. At in elevation, it is the third-highest mountain in Iran. It has a permanent crater lake formed at its summit. On one of its slopes around ...

). pastures and the native domestic animals. At present, the tradition of playing the ''Takam'' is strongest in

Ardebil Ardabil (, fa, اردبیل, Ardabīl or ''Ardebīl'') is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of Ardabil Province. As of the 2022 census, Ardabil's population was 588,000. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic Iranian Azerbaija ...

. ''Takam''s were originally played as messengers bearing the tiding of the arrival of the

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

. In modern times, ''Takam''s are also played in connection with a variety of other special festive events. It is conceivable that ''Takam'' and Pan, the

Greek god The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion. Immortals The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the ...

of shepherds and flocks, may have a common historical origin.

Notes

References

* The Anthropological Museum of the Tribes of Azarbaijan, Sarāb
English

External links

Teke and its meanings
{{Portalbar, Iran Iranian folklore Mythological caprids Azerbaijani folklore Iranian legendary creatures Turkic legendary creatures Nowruz