Shalakho

The tradition & historical record

Shalakho ( sha-luh-KHAW) is a folk dance performed throughout all of the Caucasus. It's distinguished by its 68 time signature and fast-paced, upbeat style. ¹

Per Karine Hayrapetyan, from Pan-Armenian International Academy of Sciences the name Shalakho (Armenian: շալախո) derives from Shalakhoi (Armenian: Շալախոյ) with the y-semi-vowel falling. She further argues, that the name is related to the Armenian totems and the Shirak Plain. Additionally, she draws a parallel between the name and the word shalax (Armenian: շալախ, lit. 'apricot, precocious'). ¹

In Georgian the term Kintouri (Georgian: კინტოური, romanized: K'int'ouri, lit. 'Kintoian') is equivalent to kinto (Georgian: კინტო, romanized: K'int'o, lit. 'kinto, the entertainers who lived in Tbilisi') + -uri (Georgian: ური, romanized: -uri, lit. '-ian'). The term is used interchangeably with Shalakho (Georgian: შალახო, romanized: Shalakho) and Baghdaduri (Georgian: ბაღდადური, romanized: baghdaduri, lit. 'Baghdadian'). The Georgian term Baghdaduri (Georgian: ბაღდადური, romanized: baghdaduri, lit. 'Headscarfian') is equivalent to baghdad (Georgian: ბაღდად, romanized: baghdad, lit. 'headscarf') + -uri (Georgian: ური, romanized: -uri, lit. '-ian'). The term is used interchangeably with Shalakho (Georgian: შალახო, romanized: Shalakho) and Kintouri (Georgian: კინტოური, romanized: K'int'ouri, lit. 'Kintoian'). ¹

Per Azerbaijani composer Afrasiyab Badalbeyli, in his Explanatory Monographic Musical Dictionary (Azerbaijani: İzahlı Monoqrafik musiqi lüğəti) the term Shalakho derives from Shalakum (Azerbaijani: Şələküm), which is an elision of the phrase shala yukum (Azerbaijani: şələ yüküm, lit. '(my) heavy load'). Azerbaijani philologist Aliheydar Orucov, in his Explanatory Dictionary of Azerbaijani Language (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Dilinin İzahlı Lüğəti) marks the word as a Georgian loanword. According to Aynur Talıbova, in her Get Closer To Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycana daha yaxın olaq) the name Shalakho owes its origin to the moment when clowns and entertainers in Zaqatala would put a piece of wood on an animal's back during their performance, thus alluding to a bundle of logs, then singing a song where lyrics contained multiple use of the word shala (Azerbaijani: şələ, lit. 'a burden, load'). For the name Shalaqoy (Azerbaijani: Şələqoy) compare Azerbaijani phrase shalani qoy, gal doyushak (Azerbaijani: şələni qoy, gəl döyüşək, lit. 'put your burden, let's fight'), which could have influenced it. ¹

Bezhta term shalakho (Bezhta: шалахо, romanized: šalaxo), Hunzib term shalakho (Hunzib: шалахо, romanized: šalaxo) and Tsakhur term shalakho (Tsakhur: шалахо, romanized: shalakho) are thought to be a borrowed from Georgian. ¹

The Shalakho dance developed in the urban centers of the South Caucasus, particularly in Tiflis (now Tbilisi), which in the 19th century was an important cultural hub with a significant Armenian population active in music and dance. The city was ethnically diverse, and various communities participated in public performances and entertainment, including Shalakho performed with duduk, barrel organ, and other popular instruments. In this cultural environment, Shalakho was performed by local musicians and dancers, with the majority being of Armenian origin. These performances were part of popular urban entertainment, often including comedic acts and animal displays, such as bears or monkeys. The performing groups were ethnically mixed, including Romani entertainers. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Shalakho”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Shalakho is style of dance in the Caucasus, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 2 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²