The decribed collection consists of a representative quantity of songs and poems recorded in Badakhshan. The abbreviations used are the following: G for ghazal, Q for quatrain, F for folksongs, D for dargilik, H for hikayat (narrative), Qas for qasida (praise poem), M for muxammas (stanzaic poem) and Mun for munajat and du`a (prayer poems). In the descriptions of genres underneath, the genres are treated as specific to the Badakhshan region and might thus show some differences when compared to the use of the same terminology in classical Persian poetry.
Madâh can be considered as the most important performance‑genre of Badakhshanian poetry, because of its close relationship to the Ismâ‘îlî religion in Badakhshan. In madâh, many genres of poetry are strung together: ghazals and quatrains, and a number of other genres, which are scarcely present in other performance‑genres than madâh. These specific madâh‑genres are hikâyat, qasîda, muxammas, and prayer-poems, subdivided as munâjât and du‘â. Additionally some of the music is purely instrumental.
poetry-genres
Ghazal
Quatrain
Dargilik
Folksong