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Articles
KHAGH LATZEL
“KHAGH LATZEL”- An Armenian practice of bringing one out of mourning
Shakeh Major Tchilingirian
Neue Kreise Ziehen, "Tanz und Musik" 2, Juli 2024
The body carries the memory of dance regardless of where the origin of the dance is from. In the Armenian tradition, even at the end of the year’s mourning for the departed person, the community is celebrated with a special circle dance in which the departed person becomes alive in the act of the dance.
There is a tradition of “breaking” (kotrel) the mourning period for the bereaved by solemn respectful singing and dancing known as khagh latzel. As the widow of a national hero recounted to me in personal conversation, a year after the loss of her husband, she and her daughter were invited to the paternal home of a well-known singer and close friend of the couple on the occasion of his marriage. At what was proving to be an emotionally challenging moment for her, she described how some 15-20 men close friends of her late husband approached her, gently holding her hands, leading her to the dance space. She stood frozen in the middle, crying and not knowing what to feel or do when they raised her arms with theirs as they continued singing, dancing, and crying-repeatedly, supported by the mystical powerful call of the Zurna. The men surrounding her, placed their arms on her head and shoulders, singing, crying and swaying with her until the music came to an end. It was as if the soulful, healing and empowering breathe of the Zurna, supported by friends and community offered her strength and renewed courage and affirmation. She describes the ‘moment’ of sudden realisation that her mourning period had been literally “broken”. To this day, several decades later, hearing about this unexpected act/ritual evokes a deep connection to a ‘language’ or “Mother tongue” of wisdom beyond words where the coming together of community, music and dance continues to connect, relate, transform and heal- transmitting so much more than words would be capable of.
The body carries the memory of dance regardless of where the origin of the dance is from. In the Armenian tradition, even at the end of the year’s mourning for the departed person, the community is celebrated with a special circle dance in which the departed person becomes alive in the act of the dance.
There is a tradition of “breaking” (kotrel) the mourning period for the bereaved by solemn respectful singing and dancing known as khagh latzel. As the widow of a national hero recounted to me in personal conversation, a year after the loss of her husband, she and her daughter were invited to the paternal home of a well-known singer and close friend of the couple on the occasion of his marriage. At what was proving to be an emotionally challenging moment for her, she described how some 15-20 men close friends of her late husband approached her, gently holding her hands, leading her to the dance space. She stood frozen in the middle, crying and not knowing what to feel or do when they raised her arms with theirs as they continued singing, dancing, and crying-repeatedly, supported by the mystical powerful call of the Zurna. The men surrounding her, placed their arms on her head and shoulders, singing, crying and swaying with her until the music came to an end. It was as if the soulful, healing and empowering breathe of the Zurna, supported by friends and community offered her strength and renewed courage and affirmation. She describes the ‘moment’ of sudden realisation that her mourning period had been literally “broken”. To this day, several decades later, hearing about this unexpected act/ritual evokes a deep connection to a ‘language’ or “Mother tongue” of wisdom beyond words where the coming together of community, music and dance continues to connect, relate, transform and heal- transmitting so much more than words would be capable of.