Tamzara ( hy, Թամզարա, translit=T'amzara; aii, ܬܢܙܪܐ, translit=Tanzara; az, Tənzərə; el, Τάμσαρα, translit=Támsara; tr, Tamzara) is a folk dance native to
Armenian Highlands. It is today performed by
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...
,
Assyrians,
Azerbaijanis (in the regions of
Sharur,
Nakhchivan and parts of
Iranian Azerbaijan), and
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
.
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.
This dance was also especially popular in the formerly Armenian-populated regions of
Erzincan
Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա), is the capital of Erzincan Province in Eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The ...
,
Erzurum
Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010.
The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...
,
Kigi,
Arapgir,
Harput
Harpoot ( tr, Harput) or Kharberd ( hy, Խարբերդ, translit=Kharberd) is an ancient town located in the Elazığ Province of Turkey. It now forms a small district of the city of Elazığ. p. 1. In the late Ottoman period, it fell under the ...
, and
Malatya
Malatya ( hy, Մալաթիա, translit=Malat'ya; Syro-Aramaic ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ku, Meletî; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a large city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city h ...
. 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
Assyrian may refer to:
* Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia.
* Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire.
** Early Assyrian Period
** Old Assyrian Period
** Middle Assyrian Empire
** Neo-Assyrian Empire
* Assyr ...
in commemoration to the god of food and vegetation
Tammuz
Dumuzid or Tammuz ( sux, , ''Dumuzid''; akk, Duʾūzu, Dûzu; he, תַּמּוּז, Tammûz),; ar, تمّوز ' known to the Sumerians as Dumuzid the Shepherd ( sux, , ''Dumuzid sipad''), is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with shep ...
.
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-ring
An earring is a piece of jewelry attached to the ear via a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear (except in the case of clip earrings, which clip onto the lobe). Earrings have been worn by people in different civilizations an ...
s,
bracelets
A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, suc ...
, chains and others.
In 2018, Azerbaijani-style Tamzara, along with
Yalli
Halay is the national dance of Turkey and a regional category of folk dance styles in central, southern, eastern, and southeastern regions of the country. It is mainly performed by Turks, Arabs, and Kurds in Turkey. Halay and similar dances are ...
and
Kochari
Kochari (, , , , ) is a folk dance originating in the Armenian Highlands. It is performed today by Armenians, while variants are performed by Assyrians, Azerbaijanis (yalli, uchayag, and tello), Kurds (dilan, delîlo, and sêxanî), and Pontic ...
, was inscribed into the
UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent safeguarding.
Style
All Tamzaras have the unique 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
A line dance is a choreographed dance in which a group of people dance along to a repeating sequence of steps while arranged in one or more lines or rows. These lines usually face all in the same direction, or less commonly face each other.Knight, ...
or
circle dance
Circle dance, or chain dance, is a style of social dance done in a circle, semicircle or a curved line to musical accompaniment, such as rhythm instruments and singing, and is a type of dance where anyone can join in without the need of par ...
, 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.
Tamzara, Folk Dance Federation of California
/ref>
See also
*An Dro
An dro or ''en dro'' ( Breton: "The Turn") is a Breton folk dance in . It is a form of a circle dance.
Technique
The dancers link little fingers in a long line, swinging their arms, and moving to their left by taking longer steps in that direc ...
*Faroese dance
The Faroese chain dance ( fo, Føroyskur dansur, da, Kædedans) is the national circle dance of the Faroe Islands, accompanied by kvæði, the Faroese ballads.
The dance is a typical mediaeval ring dance. The dance is danced traditionally in a ...
*Kalamatianos
The Kalamatianós ( el, Καλαματιανός) is one of the best known dances of Greece. It is a popular Greek folkdance throughout Greece, Cyprus and internationally and is often performed at many social gatherings worldwide. As is the ca ...
* Khigga
*Syrtos
Syrtos ( el, συρτός, ''syrtos'' (also ''sirtos''); plural , ''syrtoi'' (also ''sirtoi''); sometimes called in English using the Greek accusative forms ''syrto'' (also ''sirto''); from the el, links=no, σύρω, ''syro'' (also ''siro''), ...
*Yalli
Halay is the national dance of Turkey and a regional category of folk dance styles in central, southern, eastern, and southeastern regions of the country. It is mainly performed by Turks, Arabs, and Kurds in Turkey. Halay and similar dances are ...
References
External links
Armenian Tamzara by Karin Folk EnsembleAuthentic Tamzara from Historical Armenia performed by Armenian Folk Dance Society. The Armenian Folk Dance Society performed at the 1939 and 1964 World's Fair in New York.
Greek Tamsara, Tamzara
Armenian Davul-Zurna Tamzara (2) sample
Armenian Tamzara
by Richard Hagopian, Fresno California
{{Intangible Heritage Azerbaijan
Assyrian dances
Greek dances
Armenian dances
Azerbaijani dances
Circle dances