Backwards March

Introduced to KlezKanada by Jenny Romaine, the Backwards March has become a beloved annual tradition at this festival of Yiddish culture and the arts. In an interview with folklorist Itzik Gottesman, Arye Leish spoke about a custom in his village of Stanisesti (Romania) for welcoming Shabbes. He remembered that the entire town would gather together by the water and, facing east, walk backwards towards their homes while playing and singing a nign (a wordless melody). In this way they welcomed the Shabbes without ever turning their back on it as it came in. A version of the nign collected from Arye Leish is played during the Backwards March at KlezKanada.