ROJ HOZAN

Qamishlo- Eight-year-old Awaz Kal, who lives in Qamishlo, plays wind instruments such as flute, zurna and mey, which are commonly used in Kurdish music. He was born in Serêkanîyê (Ras al-Ayn), a city in North and East Syria; however, his family were forcibly displaced from the city to Qamishlo due to the occupation of the Turkish state. “When the Turkish state occupied Serêkanîyê, my family had to leave the city without taking anything,” Awaz Kal told NuJINHA.

‘I play for my friends’

Awaz Kal’s father is a wild instruments teacher. “I loved listening to my father while he was playing the flute. I learned how to play the flute by listening to him. Now, I am a first grader and I often play the flute at school for my friends.”

Awaz Kal, a member of the Rojava Children's Orchestra Institute, also plays other musical instruments such as drum and tambourine but he likes to play wind instruments such as flute, zurna, woodwind instrument, and mey, ancient double-reed wind instrument. “In the past, Mey was an instrument played by shepherds. This instrument was a bond of love for them. Flute is also an ancient musical instrument now used in many orchestras. I want to be a well-known flautist in the future,” Awaz Kal told us.

‘I teach this culture to Awaz in order to pass it down to next generations’

Awaz Kal’s father Kawa Kal thinks teaching children how to play musical instruments develops Kurdish culture. “I always encourage Awaz to play the flute. Now, he encourages his friends to play musical instruments. Now, there are only two flautists in this region; me and one of my friends. I teach this culture to Awaz in order to pass this culture down to the next generations,” Kawa Kal said that his son’s friends want to learn how to play the flute after they see how Awaz plays it. “I teach my students how to play musical instruments, commonly used in Kurdish music. I wish Awaz a good future and I want to see him as a great musician in the future.”