Nart TV (National Adiga Radio & Television) is such a great idea that I can’t believe a similar initiative was not born years ago. The TV station aims to reach Circassian viewers and to spread Circassian traditions, culinary arts, and language. This is important because as the official website of Nart TV says “the language is almost not spoken within the many Circassian communities today and virtually about to go extinct among our youth of Circassian descent. The disappearance of the language would not only be a loss of world’s linguistic heritage, it would also open the door to the gradual loss of Circassian culture around the world.”


The Circassian flag, used in Nart TV logo.

The word “nart” means chevalier or horseman and it’s the name of one of my cousins. My own parents (both of them, which I find very cute) always have the tv on Nart to watch either dancing, or traditional cooking, or even to learn the language. My mother, albeit Circassian, did not receive a solid linguistic instruction from her mother or father. Living in the heart of Amman at the time, right around the Roman Amphitheater, she was brought up to speak Arabic rather than Circassian. She understands it though, and can speak it if spoken to, but she never could make a serious effort to teach us her language.

This is heart warming really. I think what the young people at Nart TV are doing is a commendable effort, and a large part of it is actually volunteer work. Another one of my cousins is a volunteer there, and very much encouraged by his family, as I imagine all the other Adiga youth in Jordan are, to help the channel any way possible. I heard they had a bazaar the other day to support the channel. It’s all good.

They should also enlist the help of the talented Circassian “visual artists;” be they graphic designers, art producers, photographers, or others. The Circassian community in Jordan -at least- boasts of an impressive number of these talents and they would do well to help educate young generations about their culture. I also think on the long run they have to have solid partnerships with well-to-do Circassians and corporations, or to generate substantial funds through ads and other endeavors, in order to remain in business. Even if it’s not a for-profit project, it still needs money to function.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 9:15 am and is filed under Jordan, Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.