Charm songs: Turkmen “Huvdi” in the animated series “Lullabies of the World”
Lullabies are one of the oldest genres of musical folklore. They emerged at a time when the spoken word was endowed with such power that it was akin to magic. Simple couplets, lulling the baby, magically influenced the mind of the child. And the sacred meaning of lullabies was primarily to protect the child from harm and misfortune.
Ancient people believed that evil spirits gained special power over the baby during the sleep, therefore the lullaby served as a kind of protective charm guarding a sleeping child. In addition, the baby, still unable to speak, listened to the native speech, absorbing the encrypted “codes” of ethnic mentality. In the Turkmen “Huvdi” (“Alla”) lullabies, the parents of the child sang about their love and tenderness.
“Huvva-huv” or “Alla-huv”, sounding after each verse, has the same meaning as “bayu-by” in Russian lullabies - a repeated charm. However, the Slavic tune, associated with the image of Babai, is translated from Turkic as “old man”, hence the derivative: “Bayu-by, bayu-by!”. An old Babai with a bag can put a baby who does not want to sleep in it: “Luli-luli-luli by, Babai is standing under the window, shouting: “Give me Vanechka! ”
To familiarize the audience with lullabies of different nations, Metronomfilm and Snegiri Studio created the project “Lullabies of the World”. Short animated films are accompanied by songs performed in the native language of the represented country.
https://cdn.orient.tm/storage/app/media/ru/2020/04/prezentaciya.mp4
There are 60 animated films in the collection of the project, including the touching Turkmen lullaby “Huvdi”. Its texts often include the individual improvisation of the mother, lulling the baby:
Toýda tymar bagym sen,
Günde gülüstanym sen.
You are my amulet during the holidays,
You are my flower every day.
The animated plot of the Turkmen lullaby tells the story of the “heavenly” Akhalteke horses. A small winged foal is born in the middle of endless cotton fields. But it’s night and it’s time for everyone to sleep.
Painter of the animated film Gleb Korzhov with amazing accuracy conveys the life of the Turkmens and the bright identity of the people. Films from the “Lullabies of the World” series are made for everyone, but above all for children.
It is the children in the presentation part of the cartoons who talk about their so different countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Turkmenistan, etc: who lives there, what interesting features exist in this or that country, and, of course, and what is the musical heritage of these peoples.
Lullaby is not just a song for the night, but it is, above all, the emotional and sound contact between parents and the child. The kid understands the words through the intonation of the mother, feeling their love and care.
Scientists have proved that children who were sung at night in childhood grow up more successful and confident. And what lullaby do you sing to your child?
https://cdn.orient.tm/storage/app/media/ru/2020/04/zastavka-video.mp4
