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Halay (Assyrian: Khigga ܚܓܐ, Greek: Χαλάϊ, Kurdish: Dilan, Turkish: Halay, Zazaish: Gowend) is a popular dance in the Middle East. It has been a symbol for the tempestuous way of life in Anatolia, its place of origin, since the times of Assyrian empire.[citation needed]
Halay is traditionally played on the zurna, supported by a davul, but in the recent years, electronic instruments have started to replace them. Typically, Halay dancers form a circle or a line, while holding each other with the little finger or shoulder to shoulder or even hand to hand with the last and first player holding a piece of cloth — usually called "mendil" (from Arabic).
The Halay has spread from Anatolia to many other regions, such as Armenia and the Balkans. It is a national dance in Turkey and Armenia[citation needed].
Khigga is the style of Assyrian folk dance in which multiple dancers hold each other's hands and form a line. There are multiple foot patterns that dancers perform.
[edit] Halay in weddings
In many Kurdish, Turkish, Turkmen, Assyrian, Arabic, Persian,Albanian and Greek weddings, people dance Halay for hours. Every region has its own style and forms.
[edit] Yalekhta
The head of the khigga line usually dances with a yalekhta, or piece of cloth with beads and bells added to the sides so it jingles when shaken. A Yalekhta can have many different designs on the piece of cloth.
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