Tamzara

Tamzara (Armenian: Թամզարա, romanized: T'amzara; Aramaic: ܬܐܢܙܐܪܐ, romanized: Tanzara; Azerbaijani: Tənzərə; Greek: Τάμσαρα, romanized: Támsara; Turkish: Tamzara) is a folk dance native to Armenian Highlands. It is today performed by Armenians, Assyrians, Azerbaijanis (in the regions of Sharur, Nakhchivan and parts of Iranian Azerbaijan),[1][2] and Greeks.[3][4][5][6]

Yalli (Kochari, Tenzere), traditional group dances of Nakhchivan
Tenzere dance notes (Azerbaijani Ordubad variant)
CountryAzerbaijan
DomainsFolk dance
Reference1190
RegionEurope and North America
Inscription history
Inscription2018 (13th session)

The word Tamzara means "half gilt" or "half decoration". The women dancing used to wear golden items including necklaces, beads, rings, ear-rings and other jewelry and those women expressed beauty and brightness, to which the name alludes.[7]

This dance was also especially popular in the formerly Armenian-populated regions of Erzincan, Erzurum, Kigi, Arapgir, Harput, and Malatya. There are many versions of Tamzara, with slightly different music and steps, coming from the various regions and old villages in the Armenian Highlands.

History and description

Legend has it that the dance was brought to Armenia by the ancient Assyrians during their conquest of the region in the Assyrian Empire[8][9] in commemoration to the god of food and vegetation Tammuz.

The meaning of this dance, which is famous in the villages of Charchibogan, Chomakhtur and other villages of Nakhchivan's Sharur region, is "Gizili tanbatan" (half golden) in word-by-word translation. Tamzara is included to the repertoire of the folklore dancing collectives respectively. The women dancing used to dress luxuriously and adorn themselves with golden accessories, including rings, ear-rings, bracelets, chains and others.

In 2018, Azerbaijani-style Tamzara, along with Yalli and Kochari, was inscribed into the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent safeguarding.[10]

Style

All Tamzaras have the unique 9
8 rhythm, with the two accented beats at the end of each measure. In addition, the melody to most Tamzaras is very similar, though there are exceptions. Like most folk dances of the Armenian Highlands, Tamzara is done as a line dance or circle dance, with a large group of people with interlocked pinkies. However one version of the Tamzara is done by a man with one or two women standing shoulder to shoulder facing the same direction with their arms around each other's waists.

Tamzara is one of the most popular Armenian folk dances to have been preserved in the United States by the Armenian-American community.[11]

See also

References
  1. (in Azerbaijani) Irada Sariyeva. Yalli Dances of Nakhchivan. Baki Khabar. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  2. Recep Albayrak Hacaloğlu. Azeri Türkçesi dil kilavuzu. Hacaloğlu, 1992; p. 272.
  3. "Pontic Music and Dance presented in Culture section". www.newsfinder.org. Archived from the original on 2007-10-10.
  4. Tamzara, Folk Dance Federation of California
  5. VitriFolk Belgian Dance Community
  6. Stockton Folk Dance Camp
  7. THE NATIONAL DANCINGS
  8. Armenian Tamzara
  9. Thirty Assyrian Folk Dances
  10. Yalli (Kochari, Tenzere), traditional group dances of Nakhchivan. UNESCO.
  11. Tamzara, Folk Dance Federation of California
External video
Darulelhan Heyeti Tarafından - Sivas Tamzarasi (Taş Plak Arşivi)
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