Cultural production, bodily exchange, identity transition: "9/8" Romani dance of Turkey

Bu çalışma Türkiye'de 90lı yılların sonlarından beri gittikçe popülerleşen 9/8lik Roman dansının tekrarlı kültürel üretimler, bedensel değişimler ve kimliksel dönüşümler sürecindeki analizine odaklanmaktadır. Çalışmanın argümanları 2006-2011 yılları arasında aralıklı periyotlarla yürütülen alan araştırmaları ve etnografik gözlemler ile konu hakkında literatürdeki bilgiler tabanında geliştirilmiştir. Alan araştırmaları Türkiye Trakyası'nın seçilen kent ve ilçe merkezlerindeki Roman mahallelerinde gözlemlenen dans pratiklerini kapsamaktadır. Bu bağlamda, Edirne (merkez ve Keşan ilçesi), Kırklareli (merkez ve Lüleburgaz ilçesi), Tekirdağ (merkez ve Çorlu ilçesi), İstanbul (Avrupa kısmı) pilot bölgeler olarak belirlenmiştir. Mahalle yerleşimleri olarak ise Edirne'de Kum mahalle, Menzilahır, Gazimihal ve Deringöl mahalleleri (merkez) ile Yenimescid ve Çerge mahalleleri (Keşan); Kırklareli'de Kule mahallesi (merkez) ile Altıyol mahallesi (Lüleburgaz); Tekirdağ'da Aydoğdu mahallesi (merkez) ile Kore mahallesi (Çorlu); İstanbul'da Hacıhüsrev, Sulukule, Çayırbaşı, Ahırkapı mahallelerindeki günlük yaşam pratikleri ve kutlama eğlenceleri temel alınmıştır. Sosyal bilimlerde kimlik çalışmaları ve Roman araştırmaları literatürü ise alan araştırmaları süresince elde edilen verilerin yorumlanmasında yol gösterici olarak konumlandırılmıştır.Çalışma aracılığıyla geliştirilen söylemler bir taraftan da Çingene/Roman kültürel kimliği üzerinden kimliksel temsillerin belki de en dikkat çeken tarafı olan etnik kimlik meselesinde yeni bir tartışma açmayı amaçlamaktadır. Bahsedilen tartışmanın ötesi, Roman dansı örneklemi üzerinden, sürece dair ilişki örgüleri içerisinde temelde manipülasyon ve yabancılaşma kavramları aracılığıyla yorumlanmaktadır. Yanısıra, çalışmada, günümüz yerel pratiklerinin tarihsel uzantılarla ilişkilendirilmeleri aracılığıyla Çingene/Roman icralarının özellikle kent merkezli dans ortamlarındaki varoluşları tasvir edilmiştir. Tasvirlerin detaylı analizleri ise, egzotikleştirme ve oto-egzotikleştirme halleri üzerinden üretilen yeni anlamların içselleştirme süreçlerindeki katkılarını açığa çıkartır. Bu bağlamda bahsedilen icraların güçleri, kendi kontrolleri ve kontrol edilebilirlikleri, yeniden inşaları, yaratım süreçleri en azıdan ?eğlenmenin en iyi hallerinden biri? olarak kabul edilen durumlara, hatta toplumsal olarak ?Romanlaşma? eğiliminin sebeplerine de dokunmaktadır. Bu sayede, tarihsel süreçte toplumsal utanç meselesi olarak kabul edilen bir topluluğa ait kültürel gösterimlerin, zaman içinde seçkinleştirilmiş bir tarz olarak sunumu aynı zamanda dönüşen politik ve toplumsal algıları da açığa çıkartmaktadır.The work focuses on the iteratively cultural productions, bodily exchanges, and identity transformations via Romani dance that has been popularized since the end of the 90s in Turkey. The arguments of the work has developed by means of fieldworks that executed in the period between 2006-2011 and ethnographical observations, and by the literature review. Fieldworks contain the determinated pilot regions in the Romani quartes at center of cities and towns in Turkish Thracian part of Turkey. In that context, the daily life practices and celebrational entertaintmens are the basic events at such regions which are Edirne (center and Keşan), Kırklareli (center and Lüleburgaz), Tekirdağ (center and Çorlu), and European part of Istanbul. Quarters are Kum, Menzilahır, Gazimihal, Deringöl in Edirne and Yenimescid and Çerge in Keşan; Kule in Kırklareli and Altıyol in Lüleburgaz; Ayduğdu in Tekirdağ and Kore in Çorlu; Hacıhüsrev, Sulukule, Çayırbaşı, Ahırkapı in Istanbul.The literature in social sciences in terms of identity issues and Romani researches has remerkable contributions to the analyzing the inner structure and the interpretations of practices in the process. Although the dance studies are the significant part of the literature in terms of the issues of identity, the attributions directly in the field of Romani dances are very limited. So, the work contributes not only to the dance research in identity issues but also to the Romani dance of Turkey with the same orientation, identity and the politics.Besides, it intends a new discussion about the ethnicity debates ?that might be the most attractive part of the identical issues- via Gypsy/Romani cultural identity. Leading up to the agents of basically manipulation and alienation in the processional configuration, is also aimed by the case of Romani dance. The issues of identity, which is a heterogenous, a multilawyer, a paradoxial and an ambitious field and panoptical emphasize of contemporary world, updated its previously determinations and meanings. Henceforth, the individual, social, geographical, political, cultural belonging, etc. are linked with just a discourse that is the contents of choices and styles. Accordingly, the definitions and denotations of ethnic identity have become to be a bodily text which are explained by experienced styles. Upon the style issue is thought in its cultural context, it reveals the cultural styles that are embedded within the habitus of that cultural structure. As a content of habitus, dance event is an abstract picture in which the experiences are bodly embeded, and it echoes free styles of performances as a society.The work suggests that structural constitution of dance practices among Romani societies are explained by 3 main notions: 1) cultural plagiarism and appropriation, 2) imitation, and 3) improvisation. Cultural plagiarism and appropriation is the first phase of reconstruction of a known form by the imitation and additional improvisational qualities. While the whole structure is previously an individual style, it becomes to be cultural representation via the different individual representaitons in times. By the positively view, it is possible to explain how the Romani dance practices are socially shaped and contextualized via the notion of imitation. The reconstructed strucutre in the process of cultural plagiarism and appropriation is improvisotioned by expanded movement lexicons, at the last instance. The common denominator of Romani embodiment which is sthrenghtened by improvisation, is a significant pecularity of the representational identity. The hora tiganeasca (Gyspy hora) of Romania, which is solo improvisational style of traditional Romanian hora, is the example of this structure and cultural styles of Romani societies. Similarly, as the subject of this thesis, 9/8 measured Romani dance of Turkey, is a phenomenon which is constituted by means of additional solo improvisational styles to the traditional dances of Thracian region of Turkey.In fact, the new formation depicts the process in which the transformations are spontenously, and manipulated by the members of society themselves. On the other hand, we can observe the external ideologies and political manipulations in the same process. For example, the exotic themes in the world music category depicts this process via the Romani stars and increasing fame of Romani music in Balkans. At the last instance, the societial pecularities and new meanings comes with the alineated practices contrastingly to the previous one. For example, the conscious of ?casual and banal/cheap? for Romani people of Turkey in 1950s has been updated with the idea of ?they have a special and fascinating culture? in 2000s. The basic notions in each period (1950s and 2000s) are the exoticism and autoexcotisizm in terms of represantational processes.In this work, the manner of exoticism and auto-exoticsm emerge in the analysis of embodiment processes. Autoexotisim is built on the strategy of ?behave like Romani? and it includes exagragated representational styles for the audience. Because, the more the level of being other is increased, the more the feel of fascinating and interest is increased for the other.In this work, especially the presence of Gypsy/Romani performances are depicted in the urban dance mediums by means of the identifying current local praxis with historical past. In that context, the power, self-control, being manipulated by the others, reconstructions, creation processes of these performances touch on the case which is accepted as ?one of the best way for having fun?, and even if on the facts of the orientation to socially demand for being Romani.In that contexts and concentrations, the whole work constitutes six parts. The first chapter, introduction includes the literature review about the Romani researches and identity issues, geographical and cultural positionization of fieldworks that is the main metodology, and the interpretations about the nomination of bodies via dancing with insiders.Second chapter propounds different approach for the summary of Romani history via the embodiment processes of its history that is embedded by the cultural knowledge of bodies. Experiri cultural identity instead of ethnic identity which is suggested for this work, focuses on the bodily and cultural experiences, is also explained in the second chapter. Reinscribing process of tacit knowledge to bodies in dance practices are tried to make sense by the same approach.The details of Romani music increases in world music chategory are in the third chapter. The world music issues has precursor ground before the popularization of Romani dances in Turkey. Furthermore, the wedding music repertory which was has been changed by wrold music projects in local practices, is also affective phonemenon for the bodily movement repertory in wedding dance practices in the regions. These changes has constituted also a new genre, called as techno-Roman in the local music marketing since 2007. Additionally, the transmissied statu from localization to glocalization by the productions of commercial music market has become to be vital for the challenging bodies of Romani communities who are continuing to be marginal and other.Fourth chapter contains the historical process of bodily representations over the dance repertory, and the recent local dance practices. This chapter focuses on the representational processes for the non-Romani audience. The process also reveals the descriptive phase of Romani style dance by the agents of non-Romanies, the changed bodily representations that includes also the Romani bodies in following times. In this process, the categorization of Turkish folk dances that has national politics of early republic times and new nationalistic ideologies after 1980s, and the articulation of Romani dance formation to this national repertory.Principal arguments of fifth chapter is the strategies of manipulation and alineation processes that is explained above. One of the most remerkable results of this process is the alterated new structures in local fields, is also commented in this chapter.Finally, the epilogue produces the whole structure of cultural productions, bodily exchanges, and identity transformations, aimed by valuable references to the producing and consumption of cultural styles.Ph.D.Doktor