Circassian folk performance tells a people’s history in music and dance - By Hana Namrouqa
Saturday, 03 April 2010 11:16
| April 2, The Jordan Times, AMMAN -- A Circassian troupe on Wednesday revived the ancestral traditions of their civilisation in a nostalgic performance replete with thematic decorations, colourful costumes and elaborate dance moves.
Performing before a packed house at the theatre of the Applied Science University, the troupe “told the audience the story of Circassians, who were forced to leave their homeland in the Caucasus more than a century ago but sought to keep their traditions alive”. Established in 1950, Al Jeel Al Jadeed (the new generation) Club was one of the first cultural clubs in the Kingdom. Over the past six decades, it has served as an academy teaching thousands of young Circassians about their roots and traditions, according to organisers of the concert. |
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Minister of Culture Nabih Shuqum attended the concert deputising for HRH Prince Ali, the club’s honorary president, as well as Their Royal Highnesses Princess Alia and Princess Sanaa Asem.
In 12 dances, songs and music played by traditional musical instruments, including bshenah (accordion), baraban (Circassian drums), and bkhashatsh (a wooden instrument that produces soft sounds when shaken), the troupe put Circassian traditions and values on display.
Men danced on tiptoe, displaying chivalric and military moves, while young women were spun around at the hands of their partners.
According to organisers, the dances conveyed messages such as Yeslameh, which depicts a love story between a princess and a commoner, and Qafa, a royal dance celebrating life and liberty, characterised by fast-paced movements in harmony with quick, lively music.
Abkhaz is another dance, during which boys and girls challenge each other’s dancing skills, while Thaparefa narrates how knights - both men and women - defended their land.
The concert concluded with “Journey of a Generation”, a mix of different dance styles.
Circassians, who call themselves Adyghe, are an indigenous people of the northwest Caucasus region. Today, only a minority live in their divided ancestral homeland, mainly in the three republics of the Russian Federation: Kabardino Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia and Adygheya. The majority were forced to emigrate to the Ottoman Empire following the 19th century Russian-Circassian war, according to www.circassianworld.com
The first group of Circassian immigrants from the Shapsugh tribe arrived in Amman in 1868. Other Circassian tribes such as the Kabardia, Abzakh, and Bazadoch, soon followed.
Unofficial figures quoted by various members of the community place the Circassian population in Jordan at between 80,000 and 100,000.
Al Jeel Al Jadeed Circassian Dance Troupe, which regularly participated in the Jerash Festival for nearly three decades, has also performed in several international festivals in Cyprus, France, Russia, Tunisia, Turkey, the UAE and the US.
All those involved in the production, including over 100 performers, trainers, administrative staff and sound and lighting technicians, are volunteers, Al Jeel Al Jadeed Club President Hisham Varouqa said at a press conference on Monday to announce the event.
Tickets for the concert, which ends on April 3, are available at the club’s office near the Seventh Circle.
Hana Namrouqa
April 2, 2010
Source: The Jordan Times