GAFFAR VALAMZADE
Tajikistan is located in the heart of Asia, among the highest mountains on earth. Having its origins in the ancient Persian cultures, Tajikistan gained its independence only three decades after the fall of the Soviet Union. Almost the entire territory is covered by mountains. There remains a largely unknown place on the world map.
The national folk ensemble «Gaffar Valamzade» will make you discover it. It was created in 2001 to present the arts and traditions of the Tajik people to the world. The Tajiks, Persian speakers of Central Asia, have been for more than a thousand years the main guardians of Islamic culture in this region located at the crossroads of the West and the East. Their ancestors, the Sogdians and Bactrians, played a prominent role in the spread and transformation of Buddhism, Manichaeism and Christianity along the Silk Road. The popular culture of this country is a testament to this syncretism. The Tajiks were the heirs and propagators of this sedentary culture of central Asia which, since prehistoric times, spread from the Iranian plateau to the Caspian Sea and the far reaches of China.
Unlike its neighbours, where Turkish-Mongolian traits and cultures predominate, Tajikistan is of Persian culture and language. The official languages are Tajik (a variety of Persian, written with the Cyrillic alphabet plus a few letters) and Russian. Each ethnic group also has its own language or dialect. In southwestern Tajikistan, where the majestic mountains of the Pamir reach heights just below those of the Himalayas, local traditions of religious singing, mystical music and dance have flourished among the Pamiri, Mountain peoples, many of whom are Shia Ismaili Muslims. Like the other communities of Muslim Pamiri, those of the Ismaili, whose hereditary spiritual leader is his highness the Aga Khan, have maintained cultural practices of their own. In addition to the rugged geography of Badakhshan, these practices have nurtured the preservation of many aspects of traditional culture that are found in the show of «Gaffar Valamzade».
We will observe the magnificent costumes of the group. The art of “chakan” embroidery consists in embroidering ornaments, flowers and symbolic motifs with bright coloured threads on cotton or silk fabrics. The tradition is widespread among women and girls in Tajikistan. This embroidery is used to decorate the show and ceremonial clothes (blouses, scarves, dresses of show). The embroidery reproduces symbolic and mythological images in relation to the surrounding nature and the cosmos, and expresses the wishes and hopes of the population.
The ballet offers us a complete journey into the rich Tajik traditions. He invites us to a trip to the "land of the golden rivers," as Tajikistan is called. In this mysterious country, it is said that the songs and dances are «those of the intimate». Vocality is sublime, the universe of the bards «hofizs» is fascinating. We let you discover the national folk ensemble «Gaffar Valamzade» and this fabulous country
