Shuvani
Shuvani Festivále Historíque is a troupe of historical re-enactors, performers and merchants who pay tribute to medieval nomads of the Silk Road who migrated out of India a millennium ago.
Shuvani’s primary mission is to provide the people of today with the same sense of wonder experienced by the villagers of Medieval Europe upon their first encounters with the exotic nomads from the east who went on to become the Romani, Domari, Lom and other modern peoples. The group primarily achieves this through its extensive bewildering and interactive encampment filled with dancers, singers, musician, arts and crafts, textiles, animals, folklore and fortune telling.
Around 1000 years ago waves of migration occurred out of North Western India. These migrants were to spread across Asia, the Middle East and Europe over the next 500 years taking with them language, culture, arts and trades that both influenced and were influenced by the various countries they traveled through along the Silk Road. Today, ethnic groups such as the Romani of Europe, the Domari of the Middle East and the Lom of Armenia can trace their ancestry back to these early migrants from India.
Shuvani Festivále Historíque creatively portrays these ancient nomads of the Silk Road communicating the complex migratory route by including costuming, cultural and artistic elements of Medieval India, Persia, Armenia, Byzantium, European and Spanish societies. Few surviving records remain of the appearance or lifestyle of these migrant groups but their impact on industry and arts has been profound. Shuvani hopes to cast light on this little known and often dismissed group of people from a bygone age.
Shuvani Festivále Historíque can be seen at various community festivals and historical fairs around Queensland but our major appearance, with over 130 performers, is our own festival every August at Old Petrie Town.
