Bayawan

Bayawan is the folk muqam tradition of the Dolan Uyghurs of the Yarkand and Tarim river oases in south-western Xinjiang, China. Its own name means 'the desert and the wildland', and the music keeps that character: raw, hoarse-voiced singing over plucked lutes and frame drum, rougher and less courtly than the urban Twelve Muqam suites of Kashgar and Ili. Performed by hereditary village musicians and small county troupes at weddings, festivals and communal gatherings, its suites of songs and dances preserve local melodies and Dolan identity within the wider UNESCO-listed Uyghur muqam heritage.