KURDISH FOLK DANCE (kurdish: govend | halperkê) is a traditional hand-holding circle/line dance similar to those of the balkans, the levant (dabke), and of the caucasus. for kurds, both men and women dance in the same line, even holding hands, which is what separates kurds from the traditional gender-separated muslim world.
it’s believed this dance is at least 3,000 years old.
kurdish dance reflects samples of kurdish life over a span of thousands of years. rhythmic and elegant movements have originated from the kurdish way of life, beliefs, work and struggle, war and quarrel. if you look closely, some dances imitate the movements of animals, such as rams and bulls.
a common theme of this dance is unity. it’s achieved through close contact with other dancers and all movements must be performed simultaneously and synchronously.
the different ways the dancers are kept together are:
tilîya biçûk: dancers hold each others pinkies - most seen in the western portions of kurdistan [kurmancî speakers]
kelepçe: dancers are holding hands - most seen in the eastern portions of kurdistan [soranî speakers]
kêmber: dancers lock arms (one’s left & one’s right), the left hand is always put behind the dancer’s back and tucked into his piştwênd (scarf belt) - mostly seen in eastern kurdistan [hewramî and some soranî speakers]
mil: dancers hold each other by the shoulders (mil means ‘neck’ in kurdish). similar to this greek dance.
serbest: no contact between dancers, individual dancing (right here too)- least common in greater kurdistan area but is widely done in khorasan.
the dance line is led by the [kur:] sergovendu or the [sor:] serçopî (line leader and pacemaker) who carries the serçopî, a piece of cloth that is twirled in the air by the first and last dancers of the line. the rest of the dancers are called gawanî. the last dancer is called that as well in soranî but in kurmancî s/he is called the bingovendu.
it is considered impolite to take the place of the sergovendu/serçopî before one full circle is danced or until s/he gives it up. the line leader has free mobility to dance separately in front of the gawanî, as shown in this video. s/he also dictates which dance they will dance and at which speed.
the folk dance comes in many forms, depending on geographical location and tribe. dances from the cities of wan and bidlîs (this one is rly good) in northern kurdistan are the hardest to perform; they require speed and energy while performing a variety of movements. the easiest to perform but hardest to pick up is the dance from mêrdîn; while its moves are simple, it requires a developed sense of rhythm.
**if this post is updated, i will reblog it. click ‘keep reading’ to view some examples of each dance.
it may seem like many of them are the same, but they’re not as each has its own distinct movement and its own distinct history. the west [bakûr, rojava] has many more styles that i can identify as the east [başûr, rojhelat] usually just calls all dance hałperkê or şâyî. most dances are specific to one city but most, if not all, kurds will dance any type.
this is by no means official!! there are mistakes, specifically on the city of origin, because i’m not fully an expert! but most of them are correct!!
also: because some groups in the northern “kurdistan” area are actually kurdified assyrians, it is safe to say that some of these dances are/can also be assyrian dances as well -- also because we have lived among each other for so long we have the same dances.
styles of govend/halperke:
agir - 1 | 2 | [el, northern kurdistan
bablêkan - 1 | 2 [bitlis]
bojnoordi - 1 | 2 | [khorasan]
cidda - 1 | 2 |
ciwânro - 1 |
côlana - 1 | [silêmanî] -- just like ciwânro but the distinct swinging motion is what makes it silêmanî in origin.
çêlêbê - 1 | 2 | 3 |
çêpik - 1 | 2 | 3 (çepike serbest) | 4
çêpkî - 1 | 2 | 3
çopî - 1 | 2 | 3
delîlo - 1 | 2 |
karaçolê dersim - 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 [dersim, northern kurdistan]
dizo - 1 | 2 |
ekmeli - 1 | 2 | [urmiye, eastern kurdistan]
geryan - 1 | 2 [sinê]
giranî - 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | [agîrî]
[yarım] goranî - 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 [mûş]
hijrok - 1 | 2 | [barzan, southern kurdistan]
karaçol - 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
kêmênçê - 1 | 2 | 3 | [mêrdîn] -- this is called kêmênçê because it is usually danced to the kemenche, instrument
keç keçiki - 1 | 2 | 3 | [mûş]
koçerî - 1 | 2 | 3 |
koçgirî - 1 | 2 |
kurmanj - 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | [khorasan]
marîwanî - 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 [marîwan, eastern kurdistan]
ovacık - 1 | [dersim]
şerizdin - 1 | 2 | 3 |
şêwko - 1 | 2 | [riha, northern kurdistan]
şexanî - 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (dîlana)
şexanî dîlana - 1 | 2 [barzan/barwan, southern kurdistan]
şimşal - 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 [marîwan, eastern kurdistan]
sincanê - 1 |
xerzanê - 1 | 2 | 3 [bakûr]
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Iraans film festival:
"Four women from Torgheh, a poverty-stricken tribal village in the north eastern part of Iran, haven’t really got things going for them. Three out of four of their husbands have simply deceived them or taken a second, younger wife without consulting with them first. But instead of complaining, the four women take up their tars, a traditional lute-like instrument, and sing about eternal love and the past glories of their youth. Even when their instruments are confiscated and burnt after a public performance, the women still continue to play, in the intimacy of their own houses, for their children, or in the open fields when herding the sheep. The documentary does show us the stark differences between public and private life, but the women bravely overcome this gap by making clear that no man nor a government can ever take away their music from them."
smediaint.com:
Four Iranian country women from northern Khorasan, who play doetar and sing, encounter life's challenges. Although they face several social problems they have a common passion, to release their pain through music. Even though they suffer many social prejudice and segregation on a daily basis the film depicts how music soothes them.
"طرقه" مستندی جسورانه است که شرایط بخشی از زنان روستاهای شمال خراسان را به تصویرمی کشد. در طرقه داستان زنانی را میبینیم و میشنویم که با ساز دوتارشان زخمه بر ساز میزنند و هر زخمه بر دوتار آرامشی آنی به آنها میبخشد. زنانی که در طرقه دوتار
میزنند کمتر فرصت حضور اجتماعی دارند و بیشتر شوهرانشان یا آنها را رها کردهاند و یا بر سرشان هوو آوردهاند.
در این شرایط سخت و در جامعهای با روحیه مرد سالارانه که نسل به نسل از پدر به پسر رسیده این زنان و دختران جوان نوازندگان و خوانندگان ماهری شدهاند که محمد حسن دامنزن زندگی این زنان را ثبت کرده است
با ایفای نقش خان گل،زیباصنم،گل نبات و یلدا عباسی
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