Social Aspect of Music in the Ottoman Empire - Essay Example

?Social Aspect of Music in the Ottoman Empire Music formed part of the unique culture that was found in the Ottoman Empire. This unique culture was aresult of the strong influence of the cultures they absorbed and adapted from the various lands they conquered and their people. Due to this influence, the Empire developed a unique style of court music in addition to the music traditions of its native people. Traditionally, the Ottoman music accompanies a solo singer possessing a small instrumental ensemble. One of the ancient traditional instruments used in Ottoman music is lavta. Over the recent times, the Empire has been using other instruments like kemence bowed fiddle, kanun plucked zither, ney end-blown flute, violin, kadum drum among others. The main types of music genres found in Ottoman Empire include spiritual songs, fasil music and other improvised genres like gazel, kaside, durak among others. Fasil music was more secular than the others (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Republic of Turkey, 2002). One of the interesting parts of the music found in Ottoman Empire is its social aspect. Like in many other ancient Empires, music in Ottoman Empire was an important part of social life. According to Bartok and Suchoff (1976), the Ottoman artistic music addressed many themes like love, military, religion and war. Ottoman teaching has an extensive and varied system of scales or modes called makams. In sufi teaching, every makam represents and conveys a specific psychological state. This means that the Ottomans use instruments and pieces of vocal music pieces to cure some medical and psychological conditions. Metin (1998) states that in the Ottoman Empire, music was used for the treatment of mental illness. In this way, it was used to restore sanity and hence maintain healthy socialisations in the Empire. Like most of the fine arts, the Ottoman music was oriented towards entertainment. It was also an important instrument in the achievement of social influence which was important in the attainment of social transformation. According to Metin (1998), the music of the Ottoman Empire was not only designed to appeal to the ear of their audience but also their eyes. This means they were meant to have a visual impact as well. This is demonstrated by the type of costumes worn by various instrumentalists and the majestic or unusual aspect of some of the Ottoman musicians. An example of this was seen in the sultan’s processions, for example the Sultan Murad III procesion. This procession comprised of Sultan Murad III on horseback followed by two dancers and a jester who was normally accompanied by a stringed instrument. At the back, there was a mounted mehter band. Music and dance was also used to enhance the prominence of the upper class and high-ranking people in the Ottoman society. Metin (1998), states that apart from royal processions, music and dance prominently figured in the processions of Ottoman’s tradesmen and this could last for hours. Such musical processions were also used to welcome back Ottoman ambassadors who had been serving in some countries like Paris or Vienna. These ambassadors would enter the city with a huge procession which included a sizeable mehter band riding on horses. These scenes were so magnificent that that the courtiers and the public watching would be deeply stirred. In the Ottoman Empire, music accompaniments were very important for art dances performed by women as well as men dressed in women attire. In these performances, dance and dance were greatly intertwined and could described as visual concerts. Murray and Will (1997) explain that in some types of Ottoman music, young male dancers normally cross-dressed attire meant for women. These type of dancers were called kocek. This type of music was used to express some types of relationships like pederasty. Pederasty is a type of relationship between a man and a young boy outside his intermediate family. The boy was normally an adolescent boy and relating with younger boys was not allowed. Between the 17th century and 19th century, the kocek culture flourished in the Ottoman Empire and its genres were enriched both in the dance and music of the Ottomans. According to Murray and Will (1997), a kocek would be trained beginning from when they are six to eight years of age and would perform in this type of dance music as long as he was did not develop beards or hid them and retained his youthful appearance. The performance of kocek increased the attention of some men towards boys and generally, it decreased attention towards their female counterparts, also known as Cengi or the ‘belly dancers’. Generally, their performance was sexually provocative. In some cases, music audiences would fight regarding dancers and this made kocek to be outlawed in 1837. However, some male dancers dressed in female attire still perform in some areas of turkey though their art is no longer of a sensual nature. Generally, there was a shortage of females in the entertainment and social life in the Ottoman Empire and as a result, the males loved to watch and listen to rakkas to satisfy their urge to see something aesthetic. Rakkas were male belly dancers and were categorised into two main types namely the kocek and the tavsan oglan (Jahal, 2002). Rakkas gained prominence because in Ottoman music and dance, boys were an acceptable alternative or substitute for the prohibited women performers. Some types of music dance were used within the confines of the royal courts. An example was those performed by belly dancers. Belly dance was exclusively performed by women singers and dancers to other women, an opposite of the kocek music dance. These dancers and musicians performed the belly dance women confined in the harem, a section of the royal palace that contained wives and concubines numbering up to several hundreds. Belly dancers hardly appeared in the public. Aksoy (1999) states that there were also some concubines in the harem who were musically trained and would play instruments like the cogur, musikar, ney, tanbur, santur, ceng, kemance, kanun, violin and daire. In the Ottoman Empire, music was widely used to colour social celebrations and functions like weddings. A good example of this is the Turkish Ciftetelli, a type of lively wedding music. Music also functioned as an accompaniment in various types of shows for example the performances of magicians, tumblers, acrobats, jesters, wrestlers and jugglers. Ottoman music was not restricted to human performances alone. Instead, it extended to shows or performances staged by trained animals. Yararer (2001) reveals that music in the Ottoman Empire was mainly dominated by the non-Muslim composers. The reason behind this is that generally, the non-Muslim societies did not serve in the military. This enabled them to be more active in art and commerce. In the Ottoman Empire, music portrayed the practice of seclusion and the presence of the harem. These were important aspects of life in the Empire. The Topkapi Palace was somehow conservative hence men and women, mainly the concubines, received training in separate settings. The males were trained in palace music called the Enderum. Music in the Ottoman culture was also an important indicators of social status among women. Among the upper class, the social and political life among both sexes occurred within private spaces. However, the poor men and women existed and worked together in public spaces. Therefore, women from lower social classes would feature more at the public domain in music as compared to those of the upper or royal classes. Music in the Ottoman Empire was extended to formal contexts for example courts. Sometimes, musicians who were not trained in the palace would be invited or were employed permanently at the courts exclusively for musical activities. In the court of Bayezid, there were number of musicians engaged on a daily basis. The court music kept a close touch with that of the cultural environment of the Eastern Islamic societies. This was done so because the Empire wanted to become a global Empire hence its music was creating for itself a special identity in the context of Islamic Art. However, it maintained the local cultural features of the Ottoman society. Engagement in musical activities was not limited to the general citizens. Pekin (2000) states that sultans in the Ottoman Empire were also interested and involved in music. Some sultans like Mahmud I, Mahmud II, Murad IV, Mustafa II and Mehmed IV were greatly interested in music. At the top list of these sultans was Selim III. Under the mentioned sultans, interest for music in the Ottoman courts greatly surpassed a merely official interest. Other royal lovers of music included Ladies of the court, princes and other members of the royal family. Unlike other countries like Egypt, the law of the Ottoman Empire never imposed restrictions on musicians and dancers. Conclusion The lifestyles of the people of the Ottoman Empire were influenced by the cultures of the lands they conquered or interacted with. Socialisation was an important aspect of their lives and this was greatly achieved through music and dance as well as coffee houses. Religious groups also formed an essential part of their lives and these were greatly marked by religious music. Apart from enhancing socialisation, music in the Ottoman Empire was also used for other functions like healing of mental illnesses. References Aksoy, B. (1999). “Women in the Ottoman Musical Tradition”. Osmanl? (10) pp 788-813. Bartok, B. and Suchoff, B. (1976). Turkish Folk Music from Asia Minor. Princeton. Princeton University Press. Jahal, J. (2002). “Male Belly Dance in Turkey.” Online: http://www.jasminjahal.com/articles/02_02_male_belly_d.html. Viewed on 22nd August, 2011. Metin, A. (1998). “OTTOMAN MUSIC AND ITS INSTRUMENTS.” Online: http://www.turkishculture.org/music/classical/Ottoman-music-instruments-282.htm. Viewed on 22nd August, 2011. Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Republic of Turkey (2002). OTTOMAN MUSIC. Online: http://www.turkishculture.org/music/classical/Ottoman-music-474.htm. Viewed on 22nd August, 2011. Murray, S. and Will, R. (1997). Islamic homosexualities: culture, history, and literature by (1997) Pekin, E. (2000). “Music at the Ottoman Court.” Online: http://www.turkeyodyssey.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1925:music-at-the-Ottoman-court&catid=18:articles&Itemid=9. Viewed on 22nd August, 2011. Yararer, M. (2001). “Non-Muslim Composers and Performers of Turkish Music.’ Online: http://www.turkishmusicportal.org/list_composers.php?cat=3&lang2=en. Viewed on 22nd August, 2011. Read More