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Songs to Heal: Yazidi Refugees Revive 7,000-Year-Old Musical Culture

Henry Ridgwell

   LONDON - When the Islamic State terror group swept across northern Iraq
   in 2014, they tried to wipe out the Yazidi people, a minority ethnic
   group that had lived in the mountains for millennia. Thousands of men
   were killed, and women and girls were forcibly enslaved. The ancient
   Yazidi culture was at risk of being eradicated.

   But a [1]new project, led by the [2]AMAR foundation and supported by
   the British government, aims to teach young Yazidis the ancient music
   of their ancestors and create a permanent record of the culture.

   The Yazidi music is estimated to be between 5,000 and 7,000 years old.
   However, it has never been formally written down or recorded. Yazidi
   tradition dictates that the songs are handed down from one generation
   to the next, with musicians memorizing upward of 500 pieces.

   The music is divided into three different genres: folk music, which is
   often linked to the seasonality of agricultural traditions; ceremonial
   music and religious pieces.

References

   1. https://www.amarfoundation.org/our-work/music-project/
   2. https://www.amarfoundation.org/

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