Girêsîra in Ostana: a musical tribute for the Firat Cewerî award ceremony

Jul 12, 2024

Kurdish television ‘Rudaw Kurmanci’, with two million viewers, broadcast a special announcement: Firat Cewerî has won the prestigious Ostana Prize for writers in their mother tongue.

The video, published on 30 June 2024 on Rudaw Kurmanci’s Facebook page, shows Firat Cewerî together with her accompanist Aldo Canestrari and the President of the Prize, Giacomo Lombardo, during the award ceremony in Ostana. Their joy is palpable!

Behind them, the Collettivo Artistico Premio Ostana enchanted the audience with a performance of the popular Kurdish song ‘Girêsîra’. This traditional song, known for its addictive rhythm and repetitive melodies, takes the audience on a unique cultural journey. Imagine being part of this celebration, immersed in tradition and music!

Read more about the song by Aldo Canestrari

 

It is a traditional song sung during weddings, with a ‘halay’ rhythm (the ‘halay’, or ‘yallı’, a Kurdish and Turkish dance in a circle, very widespread, takes place as a cheerful circular dance, often accompanied by a choral singing. The dancers hold each other’s hands or shoulders, make synchronous rhythmic movements, raising and lowering their hands making circles. There is always one group of dancers who leads, whose movements are repeated by the entire collective. The dance consists of three parts: first it begins with solemn and intermediate steps, then the speed of the movements increases, in a second time the technically complicated jumping actions are performed and towards the end the movements end in a triumphal manner and smooth march).

The song Girêsîra has a repetitive rhythm and lyrics, with few variations.
Its title is inspired by the village called ‘Girêsîra’ in the province of Batman (it is no coincidence that in the song the term ‘Girêsîra’ is associated with various legumes: lentils in the first verse of the first verse, barley in the first verse of the second, and garlic in the first verse of the third: ‘Girêsîra’, the name of the settlement mentioned in the song, means “garlic hill”), and also known by the title of “Meyro”, the name of the protagonist who appears in the song. The lyrics of the song can be interpreted as a repetitive pattern in which the singer expresses his desire for her.