PADIDA & DARJO
Tajikistan is located in the heart of Asia, in the middle of the highest mountains on the planet. Originating in ancient Persian cultures, Tajikistan gained independence only three decades after the fall of the Soviet Union. Almost the entire territory is covered by mountains. It remains a largely unknown place on the world map.
The national folk ensemble "Padida & Darjo" will make you discover it. It was established in 2001 to present Tajik folk arts and traditions worldwide. The Tajiks, Persian-speaking people of Central Asia, were for more than a thousand years the main guardians of Islamic culture in the heart of this region at the crossroads of East and West. Their ancestors, the Sogdians and the Bactrians, played a preeminent role in the spread and transformation of Buddhism, Manichaeism and Christianity along the Silk Road. The popular culture of this country bears witness to this syncretism. The Tajiks were the heirs and propagators of this sedentary culture of Central Asia, which from prehistoric times spread from the Iranian plateau to the Caspian Sea and the borders of China.
Unlike its neighbors, where Turkish-Mongol features and cultures predominate, Tajikistan is a country of Persian language and culture. The official languages are Tajik (a variety of Persian, written with the Cyrillic alphabet plus a few letters) and Russian. Each ethnic group also has its own language or dialect. In southwestern Tajikistan, where the majestic mountains of the Pamir reach heights just below those of the Himalayas, local traditions of religious song, mystical music and dance have flourished among the Pamiri, mountain peoples, many of whom are Ismaïli Shia Muslims. Like the other Pamiri Muslim communities, those of the Ismailis, whose hereditary spiritual leader is His Highness the Aga Khan, have preserved cultural practices of their own. Adding to the rugged geography of Badakhshan, these practices have fueled the preservation of many aspects of traditional culture found in the "Padida & Darjo" show.
We will observe the beautiful costumes of the group. The art of "chakan" embroidery is to embroider ornaments, flowers and symbolic patterns with brightly colored threads on cotton or silk fabrics. The tradition is widespread among women and girls in Tajikistan. This embroidery is used to decorate show and ceremonial clothing (blouses, scarves, show dresses). Embroidery reproduces symbolic and mythological images related to the surrounding nature and the cosmos, and expresses the wishes and hopes of the population.
The ballet offers us a complete journey into the rich Tajik traditions. He invites us to a trip to the "land of rivers of gold", as we call Tajikistan. It is said in this mysterious country that songs and dances are "those of the intimate". The vocality is sublime, the world of "hofizs" bards is fascinating. We let you discover the national folk ensemble "Padida & Darjo" and this fabulous country.
