Tovlama is an
Azerbaijani and
Assyrian folk dance
A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, Ritual, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances. Ritual dances ...
from
West Azerbaijan
West Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, provinces of Iran, whose capital and largest city is Urmia.
It is in the Azerbaijan (Iran), northwest of the country, bordered by Turkey (Ağrı Province, Ağrı, Hakkâri Pr ...
in northwestern
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. It is specifically attributed to the
Karapapakhs
The Karapapakhs (; ), or Terekeme (; ), are a Turkic people, who originally spoke the Karapapakh language, a western Oghuz language closely related to Azerbaijani and Turkish. Nowadays, the Karapapakh language has been largely supplanted by ...
of
Sulduz and
Urmia
Urmia (; ) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. In the Central District of Urmia County, it is capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is situated near the borders of Iran with Turkey and Iraq.
...
among the
Azerbaijanis
Azerbaijanis (; , ), Azeris (, ), or Azerbaijani Turks (, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. They are predomin ...
and categorized as a ''yallı'' in Azerbaijani folklore with its
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 ...
nature. There are several versions of Assyrian Toulama, the regular Toulama and Two Legged Toulama.
Etymology
Tovlama derives from the
Azerbaijani verb ''tovlamaq'', which means ''to move'' or ''to wiggle''.
Choreography
While dancing regular Assyrian Toulama, dancers initially hold hands in a "W" position, face the center of the group, slightly turned to the right, with weight on left, and cross their right feet on the left. Then, they leap to right and hop on right and then leap to left and hop on left. Later, the dancers sway their left legs back and forth in each step as they leap to and hop on right for three times each. They leap and hop on left, while swaying their left leg, once again hop on left, while crossing right foot over left, and lastly hop on left.
In Assyrian Two Legged Toulama, dancers hold hands in a "W" position, face the center of the group, slightly turned to the right, with weight on left. They start the dance with a side step with right leg, crossing with left, jumping on both feet, keeping weight on the right. After a pause, dancers start hopping to the right while swaying their left legs to front, back, and front. They leap on left and bring their right foot back, hop on left and kick right foot forward, hop on left and cross right foot over left foot.
Music
In regular Assyrian Toulama, the meter is ; the period is 7; the tempo is 120 to 150 beats per second. In Two Legged Toulama, the meter is ; the period is 5; the tempo is 120 to 130 beats per second.
Notes
References
{{Reflist
Azerbaijani dances
Assyrian dances