Assyrian culture
Celebrations involve holding parades and parties, gathering in clubs and social institutions and listening to poets reciting "the Story of Creation.
[5] The legend of Kalo d-Sulaqa tells of a young Malik Shalita, governor of the Assyrian homeland's capital Mosul, who was first noticed by Tamerlane after he had successfully fought and defeated his initial attack on the city.
It was during this time that, according to legend, Malik Shalita's wife organised Assyrian women dressed in white, and was given the responsibility to collect provisions from the nearby towns in order to feed the men fighting at the front.
The historical account is in keeping with the legend, as both describe a brutal battle of attrition, in which both men and women joined and defended themselves against Tamerlane's attack.
The tragic nature of the 1401 event had left such an indelible impression on the minds of the survivors that they remembered the final battle and have honoured the memory of the fallen by re-enacting the camaraderie of the Assyrian men and women who died defending their homeland.
Most commonly, in Hakkari, prior to the First World War, girls in each village would gather and choose the prettiest one among them to be the Kalo d-Sulaqa ('the Bride of the Ascension') for that year.
She would be dressed in a traditional Assyrian wedding costume and then paraded around the village singing and asking for walnuts and raisins, which they would then share amongst themselves in a feast held afterwards in honour of the 'bride.'
Apart from the little girls dressed as brides, there was also a custom practised by Assyrians living in Hakkari, where ropes were tied to strong branches of large trees.
It is also a new custom to hold a mock wedding reception complete with khigga, slow dance, dinner, and cake, the only difference being that the bride, groom, best man and maid of honour are all young girls.
At the graveyard, the people gather and burn incense around the grave as clergy chant hymns in the Syriac language.
The closest female relatives traditionally bewail or lament (bilyaya) in a public display of grief, with some beating their chest, as the casket descends.
Other women may sing a dirge or a sentimental threnody (jnana, which are short, rhymed chants) to passionately heighten the mood of the mourning at the cemetery, similar to an Indian oppari.
[13] During all these occasions, everyone is expected to dress in complete black, passively informing the community that they have recently buried a loved one.
Mourners also wear only black until the 40 day mark, with no jewellery and would typically not dance or celebrate any major events for one year.
[16] It is rich in grains such as barley, meat, tomato, herbs, spices, cheese, and potato as well as fermented dairy products and pickles.
