Kurdish dances (; , , , , ) are a group of traditional

dances Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

among

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

. It is a form of a

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 Partne ...

, with a single or a couple of figure dancers often added to the geometrical center of the dancing circle. At times musicians playing on a drum or a double reed

wind instrument A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitch ...

known as a

zurna The zurna is a double reed wind instrument played in Central Asia, West Asia, the Caucasus, Southeast Europe and parts of North Africa. It is also used in Sri Lanka. It is usually accompanied by a davul (bass drum) in Armenian, Anatolian and Ass ...

, accompany the dancers. Often there are dancers twirling handkerchiefs who lead the half-circled group of dancers. The dancers, generally women, but also, on occasions, men, wear traditional

Kurdish clothes Kurdish traditional clothing, also known as Kurdish dress (, ), refers to the folk costumes of the Kurdish people. The traditions typically vary across different regions and tribes of Kurdistan, but it has some common elements. Historically, Kurd ...

. The Kurds dance on several occasions such as Kurdish festivals,

birthday A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage. Many religion ...

s, New Years,

Newroz Newroz () is the Kurdish celebration of Nowruz; the arrival of spring and new year in Kurdish culture. The lighting of the fires at the beginning of the evening of March 20 is the main symbol of Newroz among the Kurds. In Zoroastrianism, fire i ...

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

and other ceremonies and the dances have several names which often relate to local names and traditions. Its noteworthy that these

folkloric Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as tales, myths, legends, proverbs, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also includes material ...

dances are mixed-gender which distinguishes the Kurds from other neighbouring

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

populations. On March 3, 2023, Iranian police shut down a sports centre over mixed-gender Kurdish dances.

References

{{Kurdish culture Kurdish culture Kurdish folklore Asian folk dances

See also

References