VOA慢速英语--疗伤之歌:雅兹迪难民庆祝七千年音乐文化

When the Islamic State (IS) group moved across northern Iraq in 2014, its forces tried to destroy the Yazidi people.

Yazidis are an ethnic¹ minority in Iraq. They had lived in the mountains of Kurdistan for a thousand years.

IS fighters killed thousands of Yazidis and enslaved many women and girls. The Yazidi culture was threatened with genocide.

Now, the British-based AMAR foundation is leading a project that aims to teach young Yazidis the ancient music of their ancestors. The aid group also hopes to create a permanent record of their culture.

The British government is providing financial support to the project.

Yazidi music is thought to be between 5,000 and 7,000 years old. However, it has never been written down or recorded. Traditional Yazidi musicians hand down the music from one generation to the next. Musicians memorize up to 500 individual pieces of music.

There are three kinds of music: traditional folk music, which is linked to agriculture, ceremonial music, and religious music.

Now, these sounds are being heard far beyond the homeland in northern Iraq. British violinist Michael Bochmann is leading the AMAR program. This month he invited the musicians to perform at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London.

"The music of the Yazidi people is...essential to their culture," he told VOA. Only a small group of people, the Qawals caste, are permitted to sing the music. "There are only 16 of them left," Bochmann added. He said he knew it was important to record the music for future generations.

AMAR has made over 100 recordings² in northern Iraq. Some were produced at Lalish, the 4,000-year-old spiritual home of the Yazidi. Sound engineers and musicians are also visiting refugee³ camps, where tens of thousands of Yazidi people still live after the IS campaign.

Hundreds of young Yazidis are learning to play the instruments of their culture. They include a stringed instrument known as a tabor, and a kind of drum known as the daf.

Among the Yazidis visiting London were several women who had been held captive⁴ by Islamic State. Among them was Renas, who was only 14 when IS forces captured her village. She says she faced abuse every day. Renas was later released after her family paid money. She was forced to leave behind the daughter she gave birth to while held captive.

Renas says the music project helps her forget the past.

"I want this support to continue. Thanks to this project, our people did not lose hope. And if they will continue to help us, we will not give up," she told VOA.

IS targeted musicians and destroyed instruments in an effort to destroy Yazidi culture. Now, the recordings will be stored at the Bodleian Library in Oxford⁵, and the Mosul and Dohuk libraries in Iraq.

During their trip to London, the Yazidis performed for Britain's Prince Charles. Ancient Yazidi music, once nearly destroyed, is now sung in a celebration of survival⁶.

Words in This Story

folk – adj. a of or relating to the common people of a country or region

beyond – adj. on or to the farther part or side

violinist – n. one who plays the violin, which is a small stringed instrument

essential – adj. important

caste – n. a division of society based upon differences of wealth, rank, or occupation

drum – n. a musical instrument that is made with a thin layer of skin or plastic stretched over the end of a round frame and that is played by hitting the skin or plastic with sticks or with your hands

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

3 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

4 captive   

adj.被俘虏的，不得自由行动的，被监禁的

参考例句：

• They led him captive.他们将他活捉。
• The rock star had a captive audience.那位摇滚歌星倾倒了许多观众。

5 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

6 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。