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MANY REGIONS, MANY DANCES

The roots of many Turkish dances can be traced back to the Central Asian shaman rituals; they also strongly reflect the influence of the interactions with many diverse ethnic groups during the Turks' millennium long move towards the West. Their rich cultural diversity is exhibited in the colorful and varied regional dances of Anatolia. The number of folk dances performed and folksongs sung reaches almost 10 thousand that are observed in weddings, gatherings, festivals, friendship meetings (yarenler) association meetings, seymenlik (performance of young men armed in national costume who take part in a wedding procession/festivals) ceremonies, various seasonal recreations, holidays and in many other traditional activities. It is necessary to regard the Turkish folk music and folk-dances always as a whole completing each other.

1. Adiyaman

TURKISH: Adiyaman Turkiye nin guney Anadolu bolgesinde Firat nehri nin Kuzeyi ile Ortasinda bulunur. Bu bolgenin halk danslari genellikle topragin islenmesini konu alir. Danslar zurna ve davul esliginde oynanir. Her dansin bir hikayesi olan Adiyaman danslarinin en yaygin olani Galuc dansidir. Adiyaman in Halun koyunde ki tarlalarda Galuc adi verilen yabani ve zehirli bir ot yetisir. Koyun erkekleri sabah erken kalkip bu bitkiyi temizlemeyi gider. Oglen vakti ise koyun kadinlari tepsilerle yemek ve kurumus-su-kabaklari ile su getirirler. Ogle yemeginden sonra erkekler tarladaki islerine devam ederler. Ve zehirli 'Galuc' otlarini oraklari ile temizledikten sonra da sevincle kadinlar ile birlikte dans ederler.

ENGLISH: Adiyaman is located between the upper Euphrates of eastern Turkey and the middle Euphrates of south-eastern Turkey. Folk dances of Adiyaman usually depict daily life or cultivation of the land. A drum and a Turkish oboe, called Zurna, usually provide the music for the dances. There are several dances of the Adiyaman region. Every dance has a story. A favourite is the dance called Galuç: This dance is from the Hallun village of Adiyaman and depicts the struggle of the villagers fighting a poisonous weed called Galuç. Village men get up early in the mornings before planting season to eradicate the weed from the fields. At noon, the women bring their lunch in buckets and water in gourds. After lunch is consumed, the men get back to work. When the field is finally cleared of the weed, the men celebrate the occasion by performing the dance. Women join them, carry the gourds on their shoulders while men go through the symbolic motion of chopping the weed with their sickles.

2. Afyon Dinar

These dances take the name of "KIRIK ZEYBEK" which is from the Aegean region of Turkiye. Only women dance it. Afyon-Dinar dancers hold a pair of wooden spoons in each hand. Davul (drum], zurna (shrill pipe), sipsi (a kind of shrill pipe), baglama (a kind of lute), cura (a small type of baglama) and kabak kemane (an instrument played with bow) are used as instruments in this dance.

3. Artvin

This region in North-East Turkey is rich in natural beauty. There are great mountain ranges, waterfalls, exuberant rivers and of course the furious Black Sea. Dances from this region reflect the rough landscape. The names of general dances types are "Bar " and "Horon". The music is played using traditional instruments including the davul, zurna, accordion, garmon, kemen�e, mey, nagara and not-so-common one called the "tulum". Men often dance in a circle representing unity and solidarity. Women's dances often depict daily life, such as spinning yarn.

TURKISH: Artvin, Anadolu'nun Dogu Karadeniz kiyisinda ve Karedeniz yoresinin karekteristigini tasiyan dinamik, canli ve cok renkli danslari icerir. TESI dansi sadece kadinlar tarafindan oynanir ve TESI denilen bir arac ile yunden iplik egirirler. Erkekler ise genellikle birligi ve dayanismayi simgeleyen daire seklinde dans ederler. Danslar Artvin deki CORUH nehri�nin coskun ve azgin sularini tanimlarcasina cabuk ve serttir. Danslar genellikle zurna, akordeon ve davul esliginde oynanir

4. Cayda Cira

TURKISH: Bir zamanlar, Elazig'da bir koy dugununde, oglan tarafi gelin almaya giderken, yol üzerindeki bir �ayi geçmeleri gerekir. Tam bu sirada günes tutulmasi olur, ortalik kararir. Insanlar çiralar yakarak �aydan geçmeye baslarlar. Uzaktan bakilinca; �ayda çiralarin yandigi g�rünür. Ardindan hakkinda türkü yakilir:

"çayda çira yaniyor"
"hanim nanay nanay"

ENGLISH: Long ago in the city of Elazig, a groom's party set out to meet the bride's party. They came upon a creek and had to get across. As they were crossing, a solar eclipse occurred and the sky grew dark. The people in the party lit small twigs to mark their path across the creek. The sight of the burning twigs across the creek at dusk inspired the folk song:

"the twigs are burning in the creek"

5.Kirklareli

TURKISH: Turkiye nin kuzey-bati yoresinde bulunan Kirklareli sehri; yorenin karekteristik ozelligi olan "HORA" dansi ile "Karsilama" muziginin en canli bir ornegini temsil eder. "Birisiyle bulusmak veya bir araya gelmek" anlamina gelen "Karsilama" diye adlandirilan bu b�lge oyunlarinin genel karakteri s�yledir: Bütün Trakya'yi kapsayacak sekilde; cift davul, cift zurna kullanilir. Eller bazen omuzdan, kenetlendigi gibi, el ele tutularakta oynanir. Kadin-erkek birlikte oynanan oyunlar; tekli ve gruplar halinde veya iki kisilik karsilikli olarak icra edilir.

ENGLISH: The city of Kirklareli, located in the North Western part of Turkey, is the home of the characteristic lively and rhythmic dances of "Hora" and "Karsilama". As the dance depicts, "karsilama" (meaning 'meeting' or 'greeting') is the meeting or gathering of friends. These dances share music from two drums and two zurnas. During the dance the dancers hold hands or rest their arms on each other's shoulders. When males and females both participate in this dance there are solos, groups, and duets.

6. Silivri

TURKISH: Gene Kuzey-bati Turkiyede bulunan Silivri dansi, Trakya bolgesinin karekteristik ozelligi olan 'HORA' tipi bir danstir. "HORA" 'ayagini yere hizli vur ve ses cikar' manasina gelir. Bu dans lar toplumdaki cesitli torenlerde yapilan neseli ve cok canli ritme sahip olan danslardir. Genellikle kiz-erkek karisik oynanan bu dans yavas baslar ve hizli ve canli bir sekilde biter.

ENGLISH: The North-Western region of Turkey has a characteristic folk dance known as "Hora". Hora means to "stomp with feet and make noise" and is generally danced by men and women together, starting slowly and finishing with a very quick tempo. In semi-circles, circles or lines, the dancers perform figures depicting their feelings of happiness, sadness and sometimes, heroism.

7. Ciftetelli

TURKISH: Tum Turkiye'de oynanan ve çok popular bir dans olan Ciftetelli genellikle kadinlar tarafindan oynanir. Erkekler de zaman zaman bu danslara katilip yasam sevinclerini muzikle dile getirirler.

ENGLISH: A favorite dance for all occasions, çiftetelli is a simple dance performed throughout Turkey. The 'çiftetelli' is a very popular dance, which is generally performed by women. However, men can also express their joy of living through body language in harmony with the music.

8. Silifke

TURKISH: Anadolu'nun güneyinde bulunan "SILIFKE" M.�. 300 l� yillara varan yerleskesi ile nice uygarliklara yurtluk etmistir. " Selçuklu devletinin kurulusundan itibaren, Türkmenlerin en �nemli yerlesim alanlarindan biri olmustur. Burada yelesen Türkmenler "Teke Türkmenleri" ve "Y�r�k" olarak bilinir. Y�r�kler belirli bir �evre i�erisinde mevsim sartlarina g�re g�� ederler. Oba ve yaylalarin getirdigi kültür zenginligini yasar ve yasatirlar. Anadolu'nun en renkli kültür dagarcigi, sicak iklim kusagina ragmen en hizli olarak bu b�lgede yasanir, yasatilir. B�lge kasik oyunlari, zeybekler ve semahlari ile bilinir. Ritm �ok �nemli ve akicidir. Türkmenler, Avsarlar, yürükler ve Aleviler hayatlarini türkülerle, danslarla anlatirlar. Bunlarin yaninda eski toplum ve inanislara bagli olarak "Samanizm"in felsefesi y�rede gelenekler arasina girmis ve folklor etkisi ile yasatilip günümüze farkli konular ile tasinmistir. Oyunlar �ok hareketlidir, kisa aralikli ritimler �ogunluktadir. Bu da oyun ve figürlerdeki akiciligi ve beceriyi �n plana cikarir. �ogu oyunda oyuncular ritme, ellerinde ustalikla kullandiklari tahta kasiklari kullanarak katilir. Akdeniz ve Ege'nin karakteri olarak bu y�rede de oyuncular ferdi olarak dansa katilir, el ele tutusma yoktur. Enstrüman olarak müzige klarnet,kaval, keman, kemane, baglama, cura ve davul eslik eder.

ENGLISH: Silifke, the charming South-Anatolian town on the Mediterranean coast, is one of the areas of Turkey where the once predominantly nomadic Turkmen were numerous. They are also called "Teke and Yoruk Turkmens". Their dances are enriched by the vast-history in this region. Dances from this region, Türkmen kizi, Yayla Yollari, Silifkenin Yogurdu and Keklik, depict the daily lives and chores of men and women. Songs depicting nature and daily life accompany almost all of the dances. The most representative dances of this town are the "spoon" dances. These, in general, are mostly spread in the Mediterranean region and thus have a characteristic structure in arrangement, performance, rhythm and melody. The instruments used are the beast bow (later violin), baglama and clarinet.

9. Karadeniz

TURKISH: Türkiye'nin kuzeyinde, Karadeniz kiyilarinda yerlesmis bir sehirdir. HORON oynanan bu b�lgede, Karadeniz'in kizgin dalgalari ve daglarinin kuvvetli havasi, Horon'un olusmas�nda �nemli rol oynar. Hizli, aktif ve titremeli figürler, Karadenizin �nl� baligi hamsinin m�cadelesine benzer. Dans yavas baslar ve gittik�e hiz kazanir. Horon danslari, d�nyanin en aktif danslaridir. Danslar davul ve zurna ile birlikte KEMEN�E adi verilen y�reye �zg� bir enstrüman esliginde sunulur.

ENGLISH: On the Black Sea coastline, folk dances are lively and express the impatience and vigour of the people in the region. They are usually danced collectively with rapid and rhythmic movements. The harshness of nature and behaviour of sea-life is also reflected in these dances. These are HORON dances and are accompanied by the Davul (drum], zurna (shrill pipe) and Kemence (lira).

10. Asuk Masuk

TURKISH: Türkiye'nin güneyinde Silifke'nin Taseli y�resine ait, cücelerin taklid edildigi bir oyundur. 2 erkek dans�i tarafindan oynanir. Dans�ilarin biri erkek, digeri ise kadin kostümü giyer. Dans�ilarin kostumleri uzerinde boyun ve kar�n arasina makyaj yapilir. Bu makyajlar kadin ve erkek yüzlerinin abartilmi� halidir.

ENGLISH: Asuk Masuk is an imitation play of dwarfs which belongs to the Taseli district of Silifke and is performed by 2 male dancers. One of the dancers wears the costume of a male-dwarf and the other one wears the costume of a female-dwarf. The costumes consist of make up painted on the dancers' bodies, from their necks to their bellies, along with a body suit which completes the full costume. The make up painted on their bodies work to exaggerate the faces of the men and women.

11. Kafkas

TURKISH: Turkiye'nin Kuzey Dogu sunda oynanan bu danslar, basitten zora dogru degisen bir karakter g�sterir. Müzik gittikce hizli tempoya ulasir. Konusu ask, zerafet, cazibe, asalet, mertlik, kahramanlik, kiskanclik gibi mevzulari icine alan bu oyunlarda psiko-sosyal olaylarin tesirleri bilhassa dini ve seronomik (bayram - cenaze - ayin vs.) konularda alenen g�r�n�r. Kadin ve erkegin beraber g�ründükleri oyunlarda b�lgenin kendine has enstrümanlari eslik eder. Oyunlardaki estetik, sürat, supleks ve canlilik, akillara durgunluk verecek degerdedir. Bütün bu s�ratli hareketleri sosyal anlamda, sik sik taktik degistirmeye benzetiyoruz� Danslar, Kafkas Turkunun kovalama, baskin ve muharebe gibi harp teknigini isler.

ENGLISH: Kafkas is dance from the North East part of Turkey. It is characterized by the increasing speed and difficulty of the music and dance. Kafkas portrays the society's beliefs and customs such as holidays, prayers, funerals and other aspects of life in times of love, peace, honour, jealousy and bravery. The music and instruments of the area bring to life the dances performed by both males and females. The aesthetics of the dance include speed, agility, and the ability to manoeuvre the body in tune with the increasing speed of the music.

12. Harmandali

TURKISH: Bati Anadolu yoresine ozgu olan Efe danslarinda, Efe, dizini topraga vura vura and icercesine oynar. Kendine olan güveni ona tabiat ve sosyal sartlar vermektedir. Mertlik ve s�z sahibi olan efenin karakteri, oyununda derhal kendini gosterir

ENGLISH: Harmandali is a dance that expresses courage, self-confidence and heroism. It is a victory dance where males are depicted as brave and honourable. Harmandali is particular to the Western region of Turkey. The dancers' actions of walking bravely and placing their knees on the ground show the power in each step the warrior takes.