A Yorkshire Kurd in Alagyaz
Alagyaz, Aragatsotn Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2006
As I’ve already mentioned, the main purpose for our visit to Alagyaz was to document the work of ethno-musicologist Nahro Zagros as he conducted his research into the musical traditions of the Yezidi minority in Armenia. Although I’ve mentioned this before, it’s worth pointing you all again to a recent article on Nahro in the UK’s Guardian newspaper.
A long, painful journey brought Nahro Zagros from classically trained violinist and lecturer in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq to playing gigs in Hull with a band called Yorkshire Kurd.
Soon he is off on another journey to Armenia to study the music and culture of the semi-nomadic Yezidis. For, with help from the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics (Cara), Zagros is doing a masters degree in ethnomusicology at York University, researching how music can display cultural identity.
There will l be more on that later in the day, but for now a pic of one old Yezidi guy who we visited with Nahro. I’ve also stuck a very small excerpt from one of the songs this guy sang to us yesterday afternoon online here. Hasmik will also be writing an article on Nahro for Hetq Online, but for now it can only be said that we had a fantastic time working on it.
Nahro Zagros, Alagyaz, Aragatsotn Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2006
