THE LIVING IDENTITY OF THE MEHTER (JANISSARY BAND) TRADITION
In the light of the available documents, it can be suggested that Turkish military musical tradition dates back to 2500 ago. This tradition has always been conserved by efforts of different personnel groups through particular customs and rituals. This cultural heritage, which evolved into what is no...
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| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | DE EN FR TR |
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Fırat University
2019
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| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/6d0659f0e14243e59b07beb22756ebb1 |
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| Sumario: | In the light of the available documents, it can be suggested that Turkish military musical tradition dates back to 2500 ago. This tradition has always been conserved by efforts of different personnel groups through particular customs and rituals. This cultural heritage, which evolved into what is now known to be “mehter”, had attained a relatively strong organizational structure at the beginning of Ottoman period. Mehter won the heart and minds of people though their performances during the ceremonies that scaled from sword-girding in the palace to the circumcision of the common. After the abolishment of the guild of jannisaries in 1826, Mehter lost its prominent place and tended to be forgotten since it was a part of this organization. With the personal efforts of Celal Esad Bey in 1914, Mehter was reinstated its function and has transformed into its current form in due course. This study investigates the relationship between Ottoman period mehter identity with that of nearly fifty contemporary mehter bands that perform around Turkey with respect to their clothing, instruments and the character of their music. The research suggests that present-day mehter organizations are structured heavily around municipalities. An association has been observed between the political identities of the municipalities and the construction of a mehter bands. In line with the reflection of modern identity perception all across our country, several varieties of mehter have been encountered, such as female mehter, mixed mehter, children’s mehter, disabled mehter and black mehter. Moreover, it has been found out that contemporary mehter bands are far from reflecting the genuine cultural heritage in terms of clothing, instruments and the number of performers. Instruments such as reed flute and trumpet, which are not among the original group of mehter instruments, have come to be used in such present-day formations. Finally, the traditional role of mehter has been discussed and suggestions have been put forward as to how this traditional culture can be best reflected. |
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