MUSIC and SOCIAL COHESION in TURKISH ALEVI LIFE Melanie
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ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: A VOICE OF THEIR OWN: MUSIC AND SOCIAL COHESION IN TURKISH ALEVI LIFE Melanie Terner Pinkert, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016 Dissertation directed by: Professor J. Lawrence Witzleben Division of Musicology and Ethnomusicology School of Music, University of Maryland This dissertation examines the role that music has played in the expression of identity and revitalization of culture of the Alevis in Turkey, since the start of their sociocultural revival movement in the late 1980s. Music is central to Alevi claims of ethnic and religious difference—singing and playing the bağlama (Turkish folk lute) constitutes an expressive practice in worship and everyday life. Based on research conducted from 2012 to 2014, I investigate and present Alevi music through the lens of discourses on the construction of identity as a social and musical process. Alevi musicians perform a revived repertoire of the ritual music and folk songs of Anatolian bards and dervish-lodge poets that developed over several centuries. Contemporary media and performance contexts have blurred former distinctions between sacred and secular, yet have provided new avenues to build community in an urban setting. I compare music performances in the worship services of urban and small-town areas, and other community events such as devotional meetings, concerts, clubs, and broadcast and social media to illustrate the ways that participation—both performing and listening—reinforces identity and solidarity. I also examine the influence of these different contexts on performers’ musical choices, and the power of music to evoke a range of responses and emotional feelings in the participants. Through my investigation I argue that the Alevi music repertoire is not only a cultural practice but also a symbol of power and collective action in their struggle for human rights and self-determination. As Alevis have faced a redefined Turkish nationalism that incorporates Sunni Muslim piety, this music has gained even greater potency in their resistance to misrecognition as a folkloric, rather than a living, tradition. A VOICE OF THEIR OWN: MUSIC AND SOCIAL COHESION IN TURKISH ALEVI LIFE by Melanie Terner Pinkert Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2016 Advisory Committee: Professor J. Lawrence Witzleben, Chair Professor Eliot Bates Professor Emeritus Robert C. Provine Professor Fernando Rios Professor Madeline C. Zilfi © Copyright by Melanie Terner Pinkert 2016 Acknowledgments The road to the completion of this dissertation has been an exciting and challenging one, and would not have been possible without many people who have helped, encouraged, and stood by me. I am indebted to all of them and offer sincerest apologies to anyone whose name I have mistakenly omitted. I express heartfelt appreciation to the Turkish Alevi community—musicians, spiritual leaders, association directors, and media producers—for sharing their music, stories, and worldviews with me. My journey began with one song—a portal that opened up a world of expressive practices and life ways. I thank the congregations at urban and small-town cemevi s who welcomed me wherever I went, sharing their homes, food, and hospitality. They were most generous and patient with my endless questions and requests to record performances, ritual practices, and conversations. My deep gratitude goes to my dissertation committee. The positive feedback and suggestions I received from my advisor, Dr. J. Lawrence Witzleben, kept me going through my fieldwork experiences, and the writing and editing process. Dr. Robert C. Provine provided invaluable advice during many phases of the project and helped focus my research questions. My thanks go to Dr. Eliot Bates, who encouraged my interest in Turkish music and the Alevi case, introduced me to many contacts, and generously shared his experiences navigating in Turkey, and to Dr. Fernando Rios for sharing his thoughts on the theoretical frame of this work. My appreciation goes to Dr. Madeline Zilfi for providing regional and historical perspectives, and for her continued interest in and support of this project. I wish to thank important contacts in Istanbul and Ankara, without whose cooperation and enthusiasm my fieldwork would have been impossible. My heartfelt appreciation goes to Cem Çelebi, who taught me to play bağlama , shared his knowledge of Turkish folk and Alevi music traditions, and gave me my performing nickname, “aşık Melanie.” I also thank the extended Çelebi family for welcoming me as a sister, sharing Alevi traditions and worldviews, and showering me with their hospitality in Istanbul and Fatsa. My thanks go to İmdat Çelebi Dede , Binali Doğan Dede , and Zeynal Şahan Dede for encouraging my participation in worship services and for their patience with my continuing questions. I am also grateful to Cevahir Canbolat and to Dertli Divani Dede for sharing their perspectives on Alevi music, faith, and politics, and to Ulaş Özdemir for many conversations that helped clarify the nuances of Alevi traditions and perspectives. I express my appreciation to many in Çorum: to the Hubyar Alevi community, especially Güzel Erbağ Dede and Irfan Kümbet Dede for sharing their knowledge with me and including me in their worship services, and to Hüseyin Aydoğdu Dede and his family for hosting me. I also thank Dr. Osman Eğri of Hitit University and Hüseyin Bekmez for their help in understanding Alevi traditions. ii I am deeply grateful to my Turkish language teachers and tutors who went far above and beyond the call to prepare me for this project: Feride Hatiboğlu at the University of Pennsylvania, and graduate students Nilsu Gören and Zeynep Karacal at the University of Maryland. I also offer my thanks to Emre Üstüner at Concept Languages in Etiler, Istanbul, who helped me prepare interview questions. I am also most appreciative of those who spent many hours to help with the translation of recorded interviews and other Turkish-language materials: Mine Tafolar and Güneş Çetinkaya Şerik in Turkey, and Serap Rada and Professor Ahmet Karamustafa at the University of Maryland. Several professors and scholar-performers offered their expertise in Alevi and Turkish folk music traditions and contemporary practices. At the State Conservatory of Istanbul Technical University I wish to thank Şehvar Beşiroğlu, Director of Musicology, who endorsed my research project, and Professor Songül Karahasanoğlu for taking the time to discuss perspectives on Turkish music. My thanks also go to Professor Okan Murat Öztürk of Başkent University, and Professor Bayram Ünal of Niğde University for their support and advice on this project. I am also most grateful to Professor Irene Markoff of York University for useful contacts, practical suggestions, and for her continued interest in and encouragement of my work. I owe much to my hosts and acquaintances in Turkey who became my friends in the course of my research, and who looked after me and supported my effots—the Ünal family in Ankara, and the Alpar family and Sevgi Demirkale in Istanbul. Thanks also to Isaiah Soval-Levine for sharing tea and talk in Istanbul. I offer many thanks to the Turkish Folk Music Group in the DC area who provided my introduction to Turkish music, culture, and food, and who taught me to sing and play my first folk songs. I also thank Dawn Avery for her encouragement and faith in me, Mary Scott who listened with great interest to my adventures and gives the best hugs, Holly Markush who bolstered me with words of encouragement, and Victoria Sun Voelkl who coached and supported me through the challenges of fieldwork and writing. Last but certainly not least, I offer my love and gratitude to my family for being there for me throughout my doctoral program and the completion of this dissertation—to my husband, Marvin, for surviving my absences and “holding down the fort” during the period of my research, and to my children Anna and Alan, for their enthusiasm and support. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgments......................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... iv List of Tables .............................................................................................................. vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................ viii List of Musical Examples ............................................................................................. x Guide to Pronounciation and Conventions .................................................................. xi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 FIRST IMPRESSIONS ............................................................................................. 4 THE HACI BEKTAŞ FESTIVAL ........................................................................... 7 MEETING CEM ÇELEBI ...................................................................................... 10 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND FIELDWORK PROCESS ................................ 13 STRUCTURE OF THE CHAPTERS ..................................................................... 19 CHAPTER TWO THEORETICAL FRAMES AND