Folk arts events will showcase cultures of four local refugee communities

Folk arts events will showcase cultures of four local refugee communitiesMarch 20, 2007SU News ServicesSUnews@syr.edu

The Department of Anthropology in the Maxwell School will host events on March 29 and 31 and April 12 to celebrate the cultures of four local groups of refugees who are exiled from their homelands. All events are free and open to the public.

The largest event, “Folk Arts Soul of Syracuse,” will feature three traditional performances on Saturday, March 31, from 2-4 p.m. at the Community Folk Art Center, 805 E. Genesee St. The Sudanese DiDinga will perform their harvest celebration dance, “Nyakorot;” the Ahiska Turks of Russia will perform “Haliy,” a celebratory dance; and the Karen of Burma will sing and dance to traditional music. Domestic arts demonstrations by Ahiska Turkish women will be featured, and Karen women will demonstrate traditional backstrap weaving called “tahtah.” The event is sponsored by the Department of Anthropology and the New York State Council on the Arts.

On Thursday, March 29, at 4 p.m., Heather MacLachlan, a Ph.D. candidate in ethnomusicology at Cornell University, will speak on “Karen Nationalism: Historical and Contemporary Expressions” in Room 500 of the Hall of Languages. The Karen people are the largest ethnic minority group in the ethnically diverse country of Burma/Myanmar. As a result of intense hostility with the ruling military elite of the country, this group has been forced to flee its home country over the past three decades. The talk and folk arts demonstration by Karen folk artists is sponsored by the Department of Anthropology, the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York Council for the Humanities.

Finally, on Thursday, April 12, Richard March, a folk and community arts specialist from the Wisconsin Arts Board, will speak on “From the Ottoman Empire to the Empire State: The Musical Culture of Bosnian Refugees.” The talk will be followed by a performance by the Bosnian MAH Band and Bosnian folk art demonstrations by Emina Bajric and Hava Tihic. March will speak at 4 p.m. in Room 200 of Eggers Hall; the performances will take place at 5 p.m. in the Eggers Commons. The talk and folk arts demonstration by Karen folk artists is sponsored by the Anthropology Department, New York State Council on the Arts and New York Council for the Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Arts.