Askiya, the art of wit

A duel of quick wits

Askiya (from the Arabic zakiy, ‘sharp-witted’) is a performance genre of Uzbek oral folk art that took shape in the Fergana Valley and Tashkent region. At a fair, wedding or holiday, two or more askiyachi duel in words around a set theme, the payrov: each reply must be short, meaningful, funny and to the point. Whoever strays from the theme or turns coarse loses, and the audience keeps score with laughter and shouts.

Traditional payrovs include ‘I compared’, ‘Will you be…’, ‘Are you a flower or basil?’, ‘Quail’, ‘Rhyme’ and ‘Nickname’, alongside modern topics such as family, cinema and football. UNESCO counts more than thirty forms of askiya.

Heritage, and where to hear it

Sources say askiya was widespread in the 15th–17th centuries, and both Alisher Navoi and Babur wrote about it. ‘Askiya, the art of wit’ was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List in 2014. Long a men’s genre, it now features women too. You can catch askiyachi at weddings, fairs, on television and at comedy concerts — though without good Uzbek the wordplay is hard to follow, so bring a translator.