Curious Case of Novruz

Novruz is a holiday celebrating the arrival of sping. Nowruz marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in Iranian (Muslim Solar) calendar. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed. It is believed to be Zoroastrian holiday of most significance amongst the Zoroastrian ancestors of modern Iranians.

A Turkic purist, upset by such Iranian-centric interpretations will tell you that Ulugh-Kun (or "Great Day" in Old and Middle Turkic) was the spring festival of Turkic shamanism. It was celebrated on or about March 22, and marked the first day of the Turkic month of Oshlaq-ay. The name of the holiday appears in the medieval dictionary Divan-i Lughat-it-Turk by Mahmud Kashgari, written in the 1070s.

It is widely celebrated in Iran, Azerbaijan and Central Asia, who fight over its significance. I will not get into details of this great war of words between a Turk and Persian.

But the fact that Novruz transcends nationalities, cultures and religions is most remarkable. For, while in Iran, where the Zoroastrian heritage is well forgotten it is believed to be a Muslim holiday (and even educated folks belive firmly it while jumping through fires and dancing around green wheat). This is perhabs is not so remarkable coming from a rustic folk. But Novruz is so much wider than the village ritual, and it is a soul of every nation that celebrates it. The fact that Shia Islam had adopted, nurtured and saved this great day, with all its traditions intact is most amazing. While Christianity had changed pagan holidays and made them their own, like Christmas or Easter, Islam could not and would not do that. When Shia - eternally vilifed and forgotten by the Arab - made Iran their spiritual refuge the marriage of help and support was born. And now it is that despite Salafi shrill cries, one can proudly proclaim oneselef a pious - or even most radical - Muslim and celebrate most Novruz rites is a great achievement.

Cradle of the Best....

Jeffrey Werbock is a musician who plays Mugham but most of all he is an unusual and inspirational human being. I had a fortune of and meeting him in London, and devoting a full evening to Azerbaijan mugham where he is the authority over us – natives. Yesterday’s session was a great success, and all of us longed to ask him a a question as to how, he, an American without any Middle Eastern blood, devoted his life to study of an Azerbaijani artform, and through this art coming to love Azerbaijan probably more than many an Azeri.

The notes are scarce:

In 1971 he moved to Los Angeles, California and the following year he met an older man from Daghestan who played traditional Azerbaijani music on one of their native instruments, the kamancha. From the first moment of listening to this strange and ancient music, Jeffrey was completely enthralled and this event changed his life forever. With the guidance of Mr. Avshalomov, he began to study the cultures and peoples of the Caucasus Mountains, with a strong emphasis on the traditional music of Azerbaijan. Since then, he has given hundreds of concerts and lecture demonstrations at museums, colleges,universities and community concert venues in the United States, Europe, Israel and Azerbaijan.

But our fascinating conversation revealed much more than his life story. His is a great life to demonstrate positive, life affirming side of any culture and cultural space. In this day an age, where native cultures are disappearing and we are taught to believe that our lives are inferior to Western ones, where the “Clash of Civilizations” is becoming a cliché, a beautiful sound of mugham performed by a Westerner and an opera composed by a Muslim serve to tear down many a wall that the World seems to excel at pointlessly building.

I have great respect for people like Jeffrey, tirelessly working to preserve for posterity a great art, not for the sake of Western consumption, but for the art's own sake. They possess that spiritual intelligence, that is so lacking in many a “civilized” human in the West. We – the educated Rest, have an imprint of the great Western Civilization in us, appreciating its science its churches, philosophers and operas. We, also have a great responsibility on our shoulders, to save for posterity a great gift that God bestowed of humanity – a gift of tradition. Herein is the geat dialectical truth – without a Tradition there is not going forward, no real Progress (but only imitation of it), but without Progress Tradition becomes Dogma.

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