Tamzara

Tamzara (Armenian: Թամզարա; Azerbaijani: Tənzərə; Greek: Τάμσαρα or Τάμζαρα; Turkish: Tamzara) is an Armenian, Assyrian, Azerbaijani (regions of Sharur and Nakhchivan),[1][2] and Greek [3] folk dance native to Anatolia.[4][5][6] The name is derived from a former Armenian village located in the region of Şebinkarahisar. This dance was especially popular in the 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 Anatolia.

History and description

Legend has it that the dance was brought to Anatolia by the ancient Assyrians during there conquest of the region in the Assyrian empire[7][8] 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 Sharur region, is “Gizili tanbatan” (Half golden) in word by word translation and today Tamzara is included to the repertoire of the folklore dancing collectives respectively. The women dancing used to put on all kinds of golden things, dressed luxuriously–including rings, ear-rings, bracelets, chains etc. and those women resembled beauty and sparkling.

Style

All Tamzaras have the unique 9
8 Evfer 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 Anatolian folk dances, 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.[9]

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. ↑ http://www.newsfinder.org/site/more/pontic_music_and_dance/
  4. ↑ Tamzara, Folk Dance Federation of California
  5. ↑ VitriFolk Belgian Dance Community
  6. ↑ Stockton Folk Dance Camp
  7. ↑ Armenian Tamzara
  8. ↑ Thirty Assyrian Folk Dances
  9. ↑ Tamzara, Folk Dance Federation of California
External video
Darulelhan Heyeti Tarafından - Sivas Tamzarasi (Taş Plak Arşivi)
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