| Description |
Kushtdepdi rite of singing and dancing is a performing art combining the genres of creative poetizing focused on good feelings and wishes, its singing with vocal improvisation and dancing with movements of hands, gestures and footsteps in accordance with the tune of the song. The element serves as a tool and a medium for conveying good wishes for happiness, mutual respect, solidarity, social cohesion to the wide public and youth. The element is considered as an inseparable part of child birth ceremonies, wedding ceremonies and national celebrations.
Its introductory part starts with singing poetic words of best wishes for well-being, happiness and sermon for the youth to keep close ties with elders that is performed by a seated group of respected women dressed in traditional costumes.
Its next stage continues with inviting performers to start the rite and then the performance is led by singing of a couple of poetry singers (traditionally a woman and a man) with dances to the accompaniment of songs in a semi-closed or closed circles. Dancing movements start with three steps on right foot and then simultaneously tramping and clapping which are intended to drive maleficence and misfortune away from the future life.
The element is performed at the end of events concluding in a positive note as a prayer to the nature for fertility, procreation, solidarity and peace. |
| Social and cultural significance |
The element serves as a media for conveying well-wishes each other and wide public for happiness, fertility, procreation, tolerance which promote peace and solidarity, social cohesion and unity among the community members. The element also serves as a bridge between elders and younger generation based on its common spiritual and cultural values. Therefore the element is the shared heritage of all members of the community giving them a sense of social identity and continuity bringing them close together and strengthening comminity's ties that transcend differences of age, gender, ethnicity, class or locality.
It is an inseparable cultural attribute of the community and consists of well-wishing tradition transmitted from generation to generation through combining of a creative poetizing, singing and dancing skills which develop friendly mutual contacts and relationships, cooperation between families and community members. Thus the element has a combined cultural attributes such as traditions and customs and traditional performing arts as well as traditional craftsmanship providing youngesters with a tool of enhancing their creative and artistic skills and abilities along with kinesthetic abilities. It allows to upbringing of younger generation in the spirit of benevolence, mutual respect, tolerance and friendliness ensuring them with a sence of cultural identity and respect of other cultures.
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| Transmission method |
Knowledge, techniques and skills related to singing, dancing and their combined performance are traditionally transmitted from master singer(or dancer) to amateurs through individual informal oral and practical training. Some additional information of the element is available in the published scientific sources and audio and video recordings of performances of recognized folklore groups.
Teaching and training of a prospective singer are combined by master's oral explanations and step by step performances of the full repertoire of songs, ethical norms of their performance and vocalics of the element. The apprentice listens and imitates the master disclosing of own abilities and polishing of vocal improvisation. The master dancer trains a prospective amateur by orally explaining of the content, concepts, moral and ethical norms of the dance and demonstrating practically movement skills, techniques and their sequence. Then the amateur reiterates dancing movements under his (her) supervision according to the tunes of songs accompanied.
Traditionally, individual informal teaching, training and transmission of the knowledge, techniques and skills from master to amateur are finally combined during public performances (wedding ceremonies, festivities, celebrations etc.) of recognized group(s) of practitioners through his (her) direct or indirect involving in all components of the element which are also open for interested people.
The State Institute of Culture, National Conservatory, specialized music schoools and Culture Centres in each province of Turkmenistan facilitate singing abilities and dancing skills of interested amateurs through formal training before their initiation in practical training of the element. |
| Community |
Groups and individuals concerned with the element consist of representatives from various strata of the turkmen society without gender, age or professional restrictions including school children, farmers, fishermen, industrial workers, researchers, scholars, artistic instructors as well as craft persons who make traditional dresses comprising of the Kushtdepdi rite's tutors and amateurs, members of folklore ensembles. The community concerned with the element mainly represented by folklore ensembles gathering more than 350 practitioners of the element in Turkmenistan. Some representative groups are "Esenguly owazlary", "Akjayar", "Durmush yollary", "Dagdan", "Sumbar", "Bereket yaylasy", "Etrek nagmalary" as folklore ensembles and "Hazar nagmalary" as children's folklore group.
At present time bearers and tutors of the element are female performers Araztach Ylyasova, Orazbibi Durdiyeva, Amanbibi Garovowa, Azatgul Hojaberdiyeva, Bibinagyma Mammedova, Merjen Gurbanova, Amanbibi Mammedova, Sariya Karahanova as well as male performers Soyun Khudayberdiyev, Dowran Meredov, Khanguly Kutiyev, Myrat Meredov and Serdar Mammetorazov. |
| Type of UNESCO List |
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity |
| Incribed year in UNESCO List |
2017 |
