Centuries-Old UNESCO Heritage Echoes: Whistler Language Festival Celebrated in Giresun
The extraordinary communication tradition of the Black Sea is back on stage. The people of Kuşköy filled the streets of Giresun with whistles before the 27th Whistle Language Festival. The UNESCO heritage language once again drew attention by transforming into words with melodic sounds.
Here are the details.
These Whistles Have Words: Whistle Language
The whistling language used in Kuşköy is not just about whistling from a distance. The sounds produced by the use of fingers, tongue, teeth, lips, and cheeks turn into the equivalents of words in the spoken language.
The geography of the region played a major role in the emergence of this tradition. Due to the rugged structure of the Eastern Black Sea, its deep valleys, and mountainous terrain, it was important for people living in villages to be able to reach each other from a distance. The whistling language was one of the extraordinary answers to this need.
News Was Delivered This Way When There Were No Phones
In settlements separated by valleys and mountains, the whistling language was used not only for short messages like 'come', 'go', 'okay', but also for warnings and calls for help. The inventory of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism states that the whistling language was also used in situations such as forest fire warnings or calls for help.
UNESCO Adds This Language to the Urgent Protection List
The whistle language of Kuşköy was included in UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2017.
UNESCO points out that the tradition is being used less and less due to technological developments and socioeconomic changes. According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, it is estimated that about 10,000 people in the Eastern Black Sea region can speak or understand the whistle language.
It is reported that the language is kept alive by communities in the rural areas of Giresun, especially Çanakçı, Ordu, and Gümüşhane.
Countdown for the Festival Has Begun
The festival, organized to introduce the whistle language and pass it on to future generations, will be held for the 27th time this year.
The Whistle Language Culture and Art Festival will be held on Sunday, September 6, in the village of Kuşköy in Çanakçı. During the march held in the city center of Giresun before the festival, the people of Kuşköy communicated with the whistle language while dancing the horon with the accompaniment of kemence, drum, and zurna.
At the event in Atatürk Square, black cabbage soup was also served to the citizens.
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