See the 2008 Craft/Material Culture/Foodways Participants

Ahmed Osman and Kwathi Ajawin
Sudanese Coffee & Tea Ceremonies, Poetry and Children’s games
Alexandria and Arlington

The coffee ceremony, one distinctive marker of Sudanese culture, welcomes guests by serving them coffee in an elaborate presentation.

In the ceremony, the beans are roasted and mixed with ginger root and pounded into a powder. Next, the powder is poured into a jebana or coffeepot, which is then filled with water. Once boiled, the coffee is strained through a hair filter into small china cups, which are half-full of sugar. Once the pot has been emptied, more water is added, and the coffee is re-boiled to produce a second, weaker round. This is usually repeated at least three times. Each step in the process expresses the hosts’ gracious welcome of his or her visitors.

Ahmed Binouf Osman is a leader in the Metro DC region’s expatriate Sudanese community and an Arlington Public Schools employee. A professionally trained journalist with work experience as the founder of a Sudanese Community Center in Cairo, Egypt, Mr. Osman is the founder of MANFA, a Sudanese service organization in Northern Virginia. Kwathi Ajawin is founder and leader of the North American Fashoda Association, a community organization working to meet the needs of the Collo (Shilluk) peoples of southern Sudan both at home and abroad. Both men work with untiring dedication to the preservation and continuance of Sudanese culture in their new American homes.

In addition to the coffee ceremonies, Mr. Osman and Mr. Ajawin will recite poems drawn from the oral tradition. With assistance from their families and Richmond community members, they will demonstrate traditional food preparation, children’s games, and clothing traditions, illustrating a broad range of traditions that make visitors feel welcome in Sudanese homes.

Alfo-Conce
Guatemalan Alfombra de Arracin makers
Arlington

Photo: Alfo-Conce Alfombra de arracin (rice carpets) are created in Guatemalan cities and villages during Holy Week. Using dyed sawdust, rice, dried beans and other vegetable materials, teams of artists create a carpet depicting scenes from the passion and other religious images as part of Good Friday activities. Built in hours before for Good Friday services, these carpets are destroyed as celebrants and congregation enter into the church, reflecting, it is surmised, the destruction of the Christ’s “earthly body” just before the crucifixion.

Each carpet is a unique creation, carefully developed by the artistic team during the days leading up to holy week. The images and techniques employed are drawn from a repertoire of traditional religious iconography and long-held community practices. The carpets can reach upwards of 150 feet long and 12 feet wide. They are created using a freehand technique and wooden frame stenciling.

The group name – Alfo-Conce – refers to the alfombra makers of Conception, their home village. Ubaldo Sanchez, the principal artist of the group, is 23 years old, lives in Arlington, Virginia and learned the tradition from his older brother and community members before immigrating to the United States at age 14. Each year, Alfo-Conce creates an alfombra at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Falls Church, Virginia. Earlier this year, they were invited by the Archbishop of Washington to create a celebratory carpet at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in honor of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to America.

Birgitte Hansen Tessier
Bobbin Lace maker
Remington, Fauquier County

Photo: Birgitte Hansen Tessier Born and raised in Aalborg, Denmark, “Gitte” Tessier watched her aunt Edith at her lace pillow whenever she visited her. Aunt Edith learned lace-making from two very old ladies who grew up in the Toender region of South Jutland, Denmark’s lace-making center. Aunt Edith enjoyed many other forms of needlework as well, as did almost all the women in the family.

According to Tessier, “In school we had mandatory needlework classes. We learned knitting, crocheting, cross stitch, Norwegian Hardanger embroidery, pulled thread embroidery, hemstitching etc. At the time, this was for girls only. The women in my family all did needlework of some sort, so there was always a mother or an aunt ready to help and teach me something else. These were my mother’s sisters.”

Many years later, after having met and married a young American who worked for the Foreign Service, the Tessiers were stationed in England. Here, Gitte had the opportunity to reacquaint herself with bobbin lace making. Lace is an ever-changing art, and lace makers all over the world not only recreate the old patterns, but experiment with metal, nylon filaments and plastic. Today’s lacers make everything from delicate lace edgings and fashionable clothing to large sculptural pieces of lace for churches. Tessier began teaching classes in Remington in 1998. About a year and half ago, she and a core group of students decided to form their own lace guild, and the Piedmont Lace Guild of Virginia was born.

Ernesto Gomez and David Amoroso
Mexican Dia de los Muertos traditions
Fairfax and Arlington

Ernesto Gomez and David Amoroso create temporary ritual space - altars used by families and communities to remember loved ones on All Saints Day, November 1. The Dia de los Muertos (this day) is the day when the veil between life and the afterlife thins and communications across the divide are possible. These altars feature personal mementos, carved sugar skulls, ceremonial foods, flowers and candles all ritually placed. This ritual dates to the ancient Aztecs; despite efforts by the Church, it remains an important part of life in many Mexican and Mexican-American families. In rural Mexico, people visit the cemetery where loved ones are buried and decorate grave sites with marigolds and candles. They bring gifts for the dead and sit on picnic blankets next to gravesites eating their loved one’s favorite foods.

Gomez, born in Puebla, Mexico, developed his craft participating in the many cultural celebrations of his hometown. As a child, he created altars in his home and worked in his father’s panadería (bakery) to bake pan de muerto for the entire village. Since 2004, Mr. Gomez has created altars for the Arlington Arts Center. The altars are adorned with papel picado (hand cut paper), cornhusk flowers, and sugar skulls.

Amoroso shows his admiration for Latin culture through his artwork. His artistic passion is divided between photography, block and screen prints, and acrylic canvases. More recently, his involvement within the Latino community has allowed him to create Mexican altars for Día de los Muertos and Guatemalan Alfombras de arracin. He has exhibited and worked in the DC Metro area, Mexico, Central and South America.

Gankhuyag Natsag
Mongolian Khuree Tsam Mask and Costume Maker
Arlington

Gankhuyag Natsag, Mongolian mask maker and visual artist, was born in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital. His parents, well-respected masters of traditional Mongolian handcrafts, introduced him to fine arts and traditional crafts.

After finishing secondary school, he worked at the Union of Mongolian Artists, earning acclaim as a painter and papier-mâché artist and creating objects for traditional performing art troupes in Mongolia. In 1985 he received his first international recognition, winning First Prize at the XII World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow. During 1989, 1991 and 1995, he worked for the groups Tumen Ekh and Temujin Munkh as well as for the National Folk, Song and Dance Ensemble of Mongolia.

The ancient religious mask dance, or Tsam, reflects Buddhist teachings and older shamanistic practices. Tsam is a theatrical art performed by skilled dancers wearing magnificently ornamented costumes, representing characters of holy figures, devils, animals, and people. Tsam was first introduced to Mongolia in the 8th century, when the Indian Saint Lovon Badamjunai was invited to Mongolia to sanctify Samya, the first Tibetan Buddhist temple. Eventually, more than 500 Mongolian monasteries had their own local variations of the ceremony.

Banned by the Communist Government in the 1930s, the Tsam has found new life. In 1998 Gankhuyag and his team of artisans at the Union of Mongolian Artists began their work on a complete set of Tsam dance masks and costume, representing 108 individual characters.

Joanna Griffin, Nadia Hoots and Elaine Hampton
Tidewater Ukrainian Cultural Association
Ukrainian Pysanky
Virginia Beach

Nadia Hoots, Joanna Griffin, and Elaine Hampton are leaders in the Tidewater Ukrainian Cultural Association (TUCA), a group formed in 1996 to celebrate Ukrainian traditions, encourage philanthropic activity, and organize community events for Ukrainian-Americans, friends, and neighbors. Nadia currently serves as President of the association, Elaine is their Cultural Director and Joanna teaches pysanky-making workshops at group sponsored events.

TUCA are showing two types of Ukrainian Easter eggs: pysanka and krashanka. Pysanky (derived from the word pysaty — "to write") are beautifully decorated with patterns ranging from abstract geometric designs to plants and animals, to religious imagery. Using beeswax, a stylus, and repeated dying, the complex pysanky designs emerge and shine brilliantly through the hands of an expert artist. The krashanky are hard boiled eggs dyed a solid color and meant to be eaten.

The art of pysanky is so ancient that no one truly knows its origins. It is known that at least 2000 years ago primitive people who lived in the area of Ukraine worshipped the sun. These pagan people saw parallels between the egg’s yellow yolk and the sun, the white of the egg and the moon. In those ancient times, the egg was believed to have magical powers and often was used in sun worship ceremonies. Written references from as early as the thirteenth century record the well-developed customs of pysanky and krashanky, albeit with new Christian meanings attached.

Miguel Hugo Flores
Bolivian Dance Costume Design, Embroidery and Mask Making
Sterling

Miguel Hugo Flores Home to some of the largest and richest silver and tin mines on earth, Oruro hosts Bolivia’s most significant cultural event – the Carnaval de Oruro. Since at least 1789, Oruro’s residents have danced in honor of the Virgen del Socavon (Virgin of the Mineshaft) during a ten day festival. This event was recognized in 2001 by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Members of the Flores family have crafted the masks and dance costumes for the carnival for four generations. Miguel Hugo Flores started his apprenticeship in his father’s shop at the age of seven; he mastered the dance choreographies, learned to play the flute and drum accompaniments, and developed a deep knowledge of the carnival’s history. The Diablada dance tells the story of the epic battle between Archangel Michael and Lucifer.

Essentially a medieval Mystery Play, the Diablada incorporates Andean religious traditions as well. The Diablada masks are brightly painted and adorned with beads, colored glass, mirrors or feathers. Each unique mask reflects the characters in the dance. The most elaborate Diablada masks stand four feet tall and often include representations of dragons, snakes or other “evils.” Each of the dance costumes are hand embroidered using metallic thread, beadwork and rich fabrics.
In 1994, Flores led a troupe of Bolivian dancers and musicians to perform in Chicago. An invitation in 1999 brought him back to the States for a second time; he immigrated to Virginia shortly thereafter. He works as a chef and kitchen manager, and crafts diablada, morenada and other dance costumes in his spare time. He so loves his new home that he named his daughter “America.”

Mongolian Goo-Ertunts Society
Mongolian Ger and household arts
Arlington

The Ger is the round frame tent constructed from a collapsible lattice-frame and covered with wool felt. Used by Mongolia’s nomadic peoples and other central Asian cultures for more than two millennia, the ger are carried on the backs of yaks or camels, allowing for the “comforts of home” for Mongolian herders as they follow their flocks across vast open plains. Gers pack tightly, travel well, can be set up in a matter of hours, and provide much needed shelter for families.

Each of the ger’s furnishings, and they ways in which they are arranged, carry special significance. Traditionally, the door faces south, and other objects are arranged in relation to the cardinal directions. Herders use the sun’s position in the ger’s crown as a sundial.

The Goo-Ertunts Society, a Mongolian arts organization based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and Arlington County, Virginia is dedicated to the preservation, documentation and performance of an array of Mongolian art forms, ranging from the epic song and narratives of the nomadic tribes, to religious dramas and performances of the moriin huur (the horse-headed fiddle). They use their ger and its accompanying household implements to introduce Mongolian culture to audiences across America.

Arlington’s Mongolian community, one of North America’s largest, strives to maintain ties to its home while at the same time working to bring Mongolian immigrants into the American mainstream. There are an estimated 1200 Mongolians living in Arlington.

Arlington’s Mongolian community school meets weekly, teaching arts, language, music and history to nearly 100 students. Their community associations produce children’s festivals, an annual Naadam (mid-Summer) Festival, wrestling tournaments, and performances.

Saint John the Baptist Lutheran Church Ladies Auxiliary
Slovakian Foodways
Emporia

Life was not easy for the Slovak Lutherans who settled in southern Virginia at the beginning of the 20th century. Having only recently crossed the ocean from their native land, which was under the domination of the Austria-Hungarian Empire, the Slovak immigrants were different from the people who had already settled and lived around Emporia, Virginia.

They spoke a different language.
They wore different clothing.
They ate food that was different.
Their religious practices were different from the people in this area.

But these folks were industrious. They were resourceful. They were religious. They learned quickly from their neighbors how to clear the land, what crops to plant, how to harvests what they produced and where to sell peanuts, corn, tobacco and cotton. Soon their clothing began to resemble the clothing of their neighbors. Gradually they learned the language their neighbors spoke. They found themselves eating foods that were different from what they were accustomed to in the past. But even as this was happening they retained their heritage.

The unique dress of their native land was worn on special occasions. They became bilingual, using the English language to conduct affairs with the community and maintaining the Slovak language in their homes and among themselves. And they always kept their food specialties -- klobasy, hallusky, kolacky, bandurky, and their traditional Christmas oplatky and kapustova polievka.

Today church members continue using food as a way of remaining connected to their immigrant ancestors. Annually, the church sponsors a bake sale featuring kolacky (sweets). They’ve also hosted sausage-making events and they continue to cook and serve traditional foods at church suppers, picnics and events throughout the year.

Sochieta Ung
Cambodian Dance Costume Designer and Fabricator
Cambodian American Heritage, Inc.
Arlington

Sochieta Ung is a survivor of the Cambodian holocaust. After living in refugee camps in Thailand, Mr. Ung came to the United States where he resumed his study and performance of Cambodian dance. Mr. Ung joined the Cambodian American Heritage, Inc. (CAHI) dance troupe in the early 1980s as a dancer and became an instructor and master dancer in 1989.

In addition to instructing members of the dance troupe, Mr. Ung is instrumental in the design and construction of the costumes worn by CAHI’s performers. In particular, he is recognized for creating the various crowns worn by our dancers as part of the costumes in the Cambodian classical dance repertoire. Using modern techniques and materials, he has created headdresses for the dancers which are durable, light, meticulously detailed and spectacular in appearance.

Mr. Ung's talents are well known beyond the dance troupe—he is often called upon to construct crowns and headdresses for private individuals and other Cambodian dancers in the United States and around the world.

Southside Virginia Czech/Slovak Heritage Society
Community Historians and Activists
Joyce Pritchard and Marie Blaha Pearson
Petersburg, Prince George and Chesterfield

Between 1895 and 1920, over 500 Slavic families came from either Western states or directly from Eastern Europe to settle in Virginia. The greatest number settled in the counties of Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, and Prince George counties surrounding Petersburg, Virginia, mostly on farmlands that had been abandoned after the battles of the American Civil War that had raged in the area. Others settled in the counties of Hanover, Henrico, Greensville and New Kent.

Founded by Joyce Pritchard and Marie Blaha Pearson (both descendents of these Czech and Slovak immigrants), the Southside Virginia Czech/Slovak Heritage Society promotes their cultural heritage and sponsors events throughout Virginia. One of the primary missions of the SVCSHS is to document genealogical information of all area Czech/Slovaks in order to help families re-connect. Recent efforts have included building a “virtual library” of reference materials, sponsoring recipe collection projects, Christmas celebrations, Easter events, and farm and cemetery tours. Members of the Society are descendants of (or interested in) the Czech/Slovaks who settled in Virginia.

Trupti Vakharia
Rangoli (Indian welcome carpets)
Fairfax

Rangoli are geometric or pictorial designs made of rice, turmeric, ground chili, dried dal (lentils), ground chalk or flowers. This ancient decorative art is practiced across India. Each creation welcomes visitors to the home and is a symbol of hospitality.

Trupti Vakharia first became interested in traditional Indian crafts as a child watching family, neighbors and friends. Ms. Vakharia, a graduate in fine arts with a diploma in fashion design, “freehands” each of her rangoli and uses both traditional patterns and newly-created images. She also designs and embroiders clothing; makes wax candles, paper flower arrangements, and ceramics; and does traditional mendhi (henna) hand painting for weddings and celebrations.

Rangoli designs are passed down through generations. Though the designs vary throughout India, the basic approach is the same. It is tradition in India to draw Rangoli for festivals and other auspicious occasions such as weddings as it is considered a holy ritual. Rangolis play a particularly important role in the festival of Diwali to welcome Laxmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity. Small footprints coming into the home, representing the footprints of the Goddess, are incorporated into the design.

Lines in rangolis are always drawn in one fluid finger movement. The entire pattern must be an unbroken line with no gaps, for evil spirits are believed to enter through such gaps if they find one. With an expert hand, the images created are elaborate and look as if they are painted. In India, this art is temporary. Each rangoli design is generally displayed for only a day or two, and is often redone as a part of the daily routine.

Wilhelm and Melanie Wanders
Master Chocolatier and Marzipan Artisans
Chocolaterie Wanders
Manassas

Since 1726 the Wanders Family has produced world-class chocolates, pastries and savories. Continuing the centuries-long family tradition of creating fine artisan products, Wilhelm Wanders and his American-born wife Melanie founded Chocolaterie Wanders in Manassas in 2005.

Every stage of production is done by hand, including the mixing, pouring, cutting, piping, and enrobing of ganaches, as well as the decoration and adornment of each truffle. Unique to Chocolaterie Wanders is their in-house production of marzipans and nougat. By combining traditional European chocolate production methods with fresh Virginia ingredients, Wilhelm and Melanie are able to provide customers with hand-made treasures.

Growing up the son of a Master Pastry Chef, Wilhelm developed a passion for fine confections. He apprenticed under Josef Buecker, Vice President of the Pastry Guild of Germany. In 2000, Wilhelm became manager of chocolate production at Café Wiacker in Herne, Germany. After moving to America, Wilhelm worked under Master Pastry Chef and former CIA Dean of Baking & Pastry Markus Faerbinger and well-known chocolatier Larry Burdick. In 2004, Wilhelm became the Executive Pastry Chef at Guglhupf Bakery & Patisserie in Durham, NC.

Melanie received her Culinary Arts and Management Degrees from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. She interned at Alice Water’s famed Chez Panisse in Berkeley before taking over ganache production at L.A. Burdick Chocolates in Walpole, NH. After working for two years at Conditorei Wanders in Germany, Melanie returned to the United States to become Chef Instructor and Culinary Program Manager at Chez Bay Gourmet Cooking School in Durham, NC.

Music/Dance Participants

Husnu Aydogdu & the Turkish Music Ensemble
Turkish Instrumental and Vocal Music
Arlington County

Husnu Aydogdu=s music career includes more than 30 years as an instructor, researcher, and performer of Turkish Folk music. He worked as a musician with TRT (Turkish Radio and Television) specializing in Turkish Folk Music instruments, and participated regularly in Istanbul Radio Broadcast between 1980 and 2002. Around the same period he directed various folk music concert tours in Turkey and abroad (in England, Poland, France, and USA). He also instructed folk music orchestras, choir groups, and vocalists.

Husnu has conducted extensive research on Turkish Folk Music instruments and songs brand. Husnu is also an instrument builder and inventor; he created and designed two new instruments (twin kemane and head kemane) and made them a part of the mainstream Turkish Folk Music. He has taught music for many years raised many generations with Turkish Folk Music. Husnu has been living in the United States since 2001 and he became an American citizen in July, making him the newest “new neighbor” participating in the Richmond Folk Festival.

Dholi Mastana, Dholi Brij and Dholi Mosaic
(Dave Gupta, Brij Sehdave, and Sorabh Bhargava)
Indian (Punjabi) Percussion Ensemble
Charlottesville

Dholi Mastana, Dholi Brij and Dholi Mosaic are Dave Gupta, Brij Sehdave, and Sorabh Bhargava, three young performers of the Dhol drums. Together, and independently, they perform regularly for Indian weddings and community celebrations and as back-up to Bhangra dance troupes. The latest incarnation of Dhol is fusion, mixing Dhol with non-traditional music types such as hip-hop or Spanish reggaeton.

As with many Indian musical traditions, each dhol rhythm is learned via oral transmission – syllables are used to “line out” the drumming pattern. Each rhythm can stand alone, or the rhythms are “stacked” together to create a complex pattern suitable for dancing. The most commonly played beat is chaal, which can be mixed with other beats to change the rhythm and tempo. Beats can be communicated and taught through verbal bols, which represent different sounds. For example, "na" means a base hit and "ge" is a treble hit.

At the age of 12, Dave Gupta was well on his way in his percussion career as the lead percussionist in his middle school band class. However, snare drums just didn't cut it. A few years later he came across the Dhol (a traditional Indian drum) in a cultural performance. The dhol drummers captured the audience with powerful dhol beats that echoed through the auditorium. Gupta was inspired and instantly fell in love with the beats and rhythm. He became a committed student—learning the beats, the history, and the art of dhol. His passion and lively nature inspired the name Dholi Mastana, or "the joyful drummer".

Gupta’s numerous performances include the Indian Embassy, the Kennedy Center, the Warner Theater, aboard the USNS naval ship, and at FUR and Avenue Nightclub. He is currently pursuing a degree in Engineering at the University of Virginia. He also dances and plays Dhol for his collegiate Bhangra team, UVA di Shaan.

The Edelweiss Boys
German Accordion Band
Staunton

the Edelweiss Boys Karl Protil, Walter Bodenschatz and Doris Kerber entertain at the Edelweiss Restaurant in Staunton, Virginia, playing from a repertoire that includes Beer Hall favorites, German and Austrian folksongs, American standards and vintage pop tunes.

Born in 1939 in Yugoslavia, Karl Protil and his family fled to Austria in 1946. Karl fell in love with the accordion in the 2nd grade, thanks to his teacher’s performance at a school Christmas party. “Right
then I knew this was the instrument I wanted to learn.” Karl immigrated to the United States in 1957.

“At our refugee camp in Austria, four or five boys . . . played in the evening without music; you had to play by ear or you didn’t play at all. It was quite a challenge. But it worked,” Karl remembers. “In the USA I didn’t play for 30 years. Then, [they] asked me to play at the Edelweiss. I was nervous, but after a while it went away.”

Music is in 82 year old Walter Bodenschatz’s blood. German-born Walter began playing the piano at age seven. In 1945 he played piano and sang in bands for American and British soldiers stationed near his home. He later took up the accordion. Thirteen years ago, Walter came to visit his daughter in Crimora, Virginia; he met Karl Protil, and he’s been a regular member of the Edelweiss Band ever since. Doris Kerber grew up in the town of Trossingen, Germany. Trossingen is the home of the Hohner Accordion Company, so it was natural that Doris begin accordion lessons at a young age. In 1960, she left Germany for the United States; it was not until she took early retirement that she picked up her accordion again.

By day, Karl runs the family furniture-making shop; Doris is the owner of a Mary Kay Consulting business; and Walter is enjoying his retirement. Each Friday night, they’re the Edelweiss Band and in fine form.

Ganga
Indian (Bengali) Song and Instrumental Music Ensemble
Falls Church

Ganga Guha Shankar, folklife specialist at the Library of Congress, writes that “for three decades, Ganga has brought alive the traditional folk music of the East Indian state of Bengal for audiences around the globe. [They] were directly responsible for introducing generations of listeners to the ancient songs of the Roy family’s ancestral homeland.”

From their home in Falls Church, Ganga— father Hitabrata (Bachoo) Roy, son Broto, daughter Krishna and associated musicians—have traveled and performed the repertoire of the bauls (wandering bards and mystics) and bhataili (boatmen) of Bengal in venues from London to California, from India to Stockholm. They’ve performed at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the Lowell Folk Festival and the National Folk Festival, in addition to the hundreds of performances for community organizations and local events in the Washington DC region.

Their repertoire—songs accompanied by the dotari (four string lute), harmonium, tabla and hand held percussion—speaks to both the toils and the treasures of everyday life for the villagers in Bengal. “We spend the winters in Bengal,” Bachoo explained to Span Magazine. “We keep in touch with the grass-roots because that’s what folk music is all about. Folk songs have always been the songs of the common people . . . Indian classical musicians have always been paid for their music by their patrons, the maharajas. Bauls sing for nothing except maybe a fistful of rice. They sing for the joy of singing.”

River Nile Band
Sudanese and Ethiopian Popular Music
Alexandria and Centerville

The Washington metro area’s growing East African population turns to the River Nile Band whenever they’re looking for fun. The band’s six musicians – Hassan, Tensae, Sabri, Tarik, Osama and Adaroub - hail from Ethiopia and Sudan and they play a contemporary blend of traditional music from their home communities, infused with reggae and western pop. Formed in Washington, DC six years ago, the River Nile Band has performed at Kent State and American Universities, on-air for Voice of America Radio, in concert for the Ethiopian Community Development Center, Africa Watch and other community events, and in countless clubs around the region. Their goal: to show that contemporary world music can be approachable and lively while still respecting their roots.

Rumah Gadang Group
Indonesian Minang (West Sumatran) Music and Dance
Arlington

Indonesia’s West Sumatra is also known as Minangkabau (land of the Minang people). Straddling the equator, two-thirds of West Sumatra is covered in dense forest and thick jungle. This region’s inhabitants are believed to be the world’s largest matriarchal and matrilineal society—women own and inherit the family property; titles, clan names, and traditions are handed down along the mother’s line. Sunni Islam is the dominant faith, but it blends with older religious beliefs and practices.
The Rumah Gadang Group brings together Minang musicians, dancers, singers, and actors from across the Washington DC region. Since their formation two years ago, they have performed for the Indonesian Embassy, the Dance Asia Festival, and community events.

The group’s principal choreographer and lead musician is Wirzam Tiharman, who from 1975 to 1991 performed internationally with the ensemble Syofyani. With degrees in Art and Music from West Sumatra’s Teacher Training College, Mr. Tiharman is responsible for the repertoire and ensemble. Nani Afdal, the ensemble’s principal female vocalist, is the daughter of traditional musicians and a winner of numerous prizes for her singing. Her husband, Rumah Gadang’s founder Muhammad Afdal, has been a performer of Minang traditional dance since his early 20s. He, too, is a former member of the ensemble Syofyani and a veteran of numerous international tours. Their son Aldo and daughter Ayla Lawindo are following in the parent’s footsteps performing with Rumah Gadang.

Minang music is a complex blending of traditional melodies, instrumentation, and song forms mixed with influences brought to Sumatra by Indian, Malaysian Chinese, Middle Eastern and European traders and settlers. The principle Minang instrument is the talempong, a set of small, round bronze gongs played with mallets. Others include the bansi (bamboo flute), rabena (one-sided drum), and pupuik batang padi (oboe-like double reed instrument.)

The Sama Ensemble
Persian Daf and Tombak drumming
Vienna

The traditions of the tombak (goblet drum) and the daf (frame drum) go back 1,500 years. After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iranian pop music was banned, and classical instruments such as the tombak grew in popularity. The Ensemble's music represents breathing, and brings about relaxation and concentration.

Ali Reza Analouei was born in Esfahan, Iran. Dr. Analouei has undertaken the lifetime quest to amplify and apply the concepts of Sufism, Erfaan, and music within his playing, his teaching, and his personal development. He began playing tombak at the age of ten; as a young member of the Kakh-e Javanaan Ensemble, was privileged to interact personally and sometimes perform with many of the greatest Persian musicians. After taking his Doctorate degree at Manchester University in England, Ali migrated to the United States in 1986.

Dr. Naser Khorasani was born in Tabriz, Iran, in 1971. Naser is a psychologist specializing in music therapy and meditation. He has also mastered playing the most spiritual Persian musical instrument, the daf. He has studied under Masood Habibi, one of the most renowned daf players in the world. Naser directs his own ensemble of percussionists comprised of more than sixty daf players and has performed in Sufi festivals in many countries, including India, Iran, and Kenya. In addition, Naser has collaborated with some of the most famous music ensembles in the world, including Hadis, Masnavi, the Azerbaijan Orchestra of Iranian Azerbaijani musicians in Tehran, and the Dalahoo Ensemble.

Solazo
Ecuadoran, Chilean & Argentine Music
Floyd

Solazo is a group of spirited and talented artists who present a cross-cultural experience and are committed to the study, development, and spread of Latin American arts and culture through music, dance, and workshops. Admired as one of the most musically adventurous Latin bands today, these gentlemen are the “real thing,” a treasure of Latin-American culture. With superb individual musicianship, the members of Solazo meld seamlessly, performing both traditional and contemporary music. Solazo has been selected by the Virginia Arts Commission to receive grant funds and are included in their touring roster.

Pepe Aranda has been a professional performer, songwriter, and studio musician for 35 years. Originally from Chile, he began his studies in a music academy at the age of 7. As a youth Pepe performed exclusively classical music on violin and piano; Pepe later became interested in more "pop" forms of music and achieved success with his own groups, Pepe Aranda Y Los Rockmanticos and La Banda Metro.

Originally from Chile, Kike Rodriguez began singing as a child and won the Festival de Cantantes (Festival of Singers) in Santiago at the age of 12. He began his public performing career as a teenager, touring Chile & Peru with Tierra Joven, a young group of folkloric singers.

Miguel Benitez, originally from Clorinda in northern Argentina, began studying music very early and was performing publicly by age 14. He worked with Estampas Gauchas, a folkloric group of musicians and dancers. He played music and danced the Malambo, which he still performs with Solazo. He toured Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru and Ecuador performing with Vocal Cuatro. He became a very popular soloist singer in Ecuador before moving to the United States.

Thongtanh Souvannaphanh
(Lao Heritage Foundation)
Laotian Instrumental Music
Springfield

Seventy-six year-old Thongtanh Souvannaphanh began playing the saw—a bowed lute similar to the Chinese Erhu and Gaohu—at approximately the age of six. He performed in the royal court of Luang Prabang before immigrating to the US in 1969. He has played at the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Now retired, he devotes his time to preserving and promoting Lao art, music, and literature. He gives saw instruction two nights a week and still performs occasionally.

Traditional Laotian orchestras include the saw, wooden xylophone, kong vong, drum, mini cymbals, flute, kaen, kim, three-string guitar, and vourt. Joining Mr. Souvannaphanh will be four musicians from the Lao Heritage Foundation, an Alexandria-based cultural non-profit organization focused on documenting and presenting Laotian traditions in the United States.

As a special guest at the Richmond Folk Festival, Mr. Souvannaphanh has invited Bounseung Synanonh to join with the Lao Heritage Foundation ensemble. A resident of California, Mr. Synanonh began playing the kaen (bamboo mouth organ), at the age of 12 in Savannakhet, Laos. Considered one of the world's best, Master Synanonh recorded with the World Music Institute under the direction of ethnomusicologist Terry Miller. He also performed for President Reagan at the White House in 1987. Now in his 60's, he still performs energetically and teaches his art to a younger generation of students.

Jose “Chino” Terrones, master dancer, and Peruvian music and dance ensemble
Peruvian Marinera Dance
Falls Church

Jose "Chino" Terrones

One of the most elegant and beautiful dances in Peru is the marinera, a graceful and romantic couple's dance that uses handkerchiefs as props. The dance is a stylized re-enactment of a courtship with ties to Andean, European, and African dance traditions. It is an emotional dance; Peruvian diva Susana Baca said in the documentary Marinera, Passion of Peru, “At the first compass of the marinera, I feel that my skin bristles and I can't control it.” Customary accompaniment for the dance is provided by a cajón, guitars, and bugles.

A graduate of the National Institute in San Juan, Peru, Jose Terrones is a grand champion dancer of the marinera and a native of Trujillo. He began teaching in his native Peru in 1994 before immigrating to the United States in 1999; he still returns to his homeland frequently to teach and perform. In January 2008, Mr. Terrones won the World Championship for marinera dance at the Concurso Nacional de la Marinera; dancers from all over Peru and abroad converge on sunny Trujillo to participate. Mr. Terrones was the first Peruvian expatriate to win the event.

Joining Mr. Terrones will be several of his students as well as a four piece musical ensemble.