Despite my lamentable lack of background in Turkish cultures, I have dabbled in Alevi ritual—on which scholarship is clearly thriving (for Istanbul, see here and here; for Anatolia, here). Last week I learned from a talk at the Orient-Institut in Istanbul, when Faruk Çalışkan (Istanbul Technical University) introduced his research, based on his recent PhD thesis.

His work focuses on the music of Alevi âşık minstrels with their bağlama plucked lute, who have a long history of performing songs separately from their role in accompanying the vocal hymns of the dede ritual leader at cem ceremonies, coming to wider fame through the recording industry (see e.g. articles by Thomas Korovinis and Ulaş Özdemir in Landscapes of music in Istanbul, and studies of bards such as Aşık Veysel and Neşet Ertaş).

Referring to concepts such as Actor-Network Theory, Çalışkan’s work is amply theorised. And as an experienced bağlama player, he gains much from participant observation, navigating between the roles of listener, performer, and scholar:

As a listener, he observes how differently âşıks are imagined; as a performer, he experiences how âşıks imagine themselves, their positions, roles, and legacies; and as a scholar, he observes the wide network of mainstream artists and folk music performers, including bağlama players and instrument makers.

While the music of the âşıks has been popularised since the days of cassettes, Çalışkan examines commercial and non-commercial recordings across various genres that circulated on digital platforms since the 2000s. The video market, with TikTok and Instagram, must also be substantial, as well as online forums. 

This dynamic process involves a broad spectrum of actors—singers, bağlama players, collectors, archivists, and the music industry itself. By tracing these re-enactments and the roles of various human and non-human actors, his thesis reconsiders the circulation of âşık music in a kaleidoscopic manner and highlights its multidimensional presence and influence.

In his work he pays attention to the legacies of âşık Nesimi Çimen (1931–93, who died in the Sivas massacre) and âşık Mahzuni Şerif (1939–2002).

Âşık Mahzuni (left) and âşık Nesimi.

Their recordings can be found online—for âşık Mahzuni, e.g. this:

And âşık Nesimi:

I am reminded of my caveats in Unpacking “Daoist music”; rather than a separate topic to be outsourced to musicologists, soundscape should always be part of our studies of ritual and culture. But whereas “Daoist music” is a misleading concept imposed by outsiders, a distortion of the underlying ritual fabric of the whole Han-Chinese population, the Alevis are an embattled minority actively creating their own images. The song lyrics are clearly crucial. For China, perhaps a more apposite parallel might be daoqing 道情 narrative-singing, with its Daoist origins later absorbed into popular expressive culture, no longer limited to ritual.

Outsiders like me need to keep trying to grasp basic issues. While the bağlama is far from exclusive to the Alevis, they attribute a particular significance to it, setting forth from its ritual function. Similarly, the whole âşık phenomenon extends to non-Alevis (Kurdish, Turkish, and beyond)—besides subsuming a range of behaviour beyond “music”. * I also wonder about similar marketing ploys like “Sufi music” or “dervish music”.

Çalışkan continues to unpack definitions of “Alevi music”, a theme pondered by scholars such as Ulaş Özdemir and Ayhan Erol. As he suggests, for older generations the terms “Alevi” or “music” were largely redundant. But the recording industry has enhanced the identity and visibility of the Alevis—influential instances that Çalışkan cited include the 1980s’ Muhabbet albums and the work of Arif Sağ, the Kalan series Aleviler’e (see e.g. this playlist), and Kızılbaş albums with their theme of resistance. Still, Çalışkan reminded us of the evolving tradition of Alevi communities around Anatolia, and their whole social and cultural identity. So while “music” and its commodification are clearly important, we should bear in mind the over-arching topic. Yet another world into which I shouldn’t presume to venture…

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* For Uyghur ashiq, see here.