Music, Immigration and the City by Philip Kasinitz Marco Martiniello

Author:Philip Kasinitz, Marco Martiniello [Philip Kasinitz, Marco Martiniello]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780367335700
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2019-11-05T00:00:00+00:00

Conclusion

The three pillars of Alevi music and identity have been the bağlama (long-necked lute), the cem ceremony, and the dede (religious leader) and other guides. In many respects, the most powerful tool for the endurance of Alevi religious or cultural teachings has been the music that was transmitted orally among generations including the latest iteration of transnationalization of the Alevi music and religion. The music has played a central role in maintaining Alevi religious continuity by providing a sonic channel for other aspects of culture, history, and practice as well as religious knowledge and rituals. The cemevi functions as a place of education and reproduction of the religious and moral values of the community. Alevis attend them for religious services, music classes, and other social and political events. One of the critical “entertainment” activities for the members of Alevi minority has been attending at the bars that feature music from Turkey, which are also known as türkü bars. Based on the analysis of performance settings of the Alevi musicians and ethnographic research in Germany and Istanbul, especially in türkü bars, I argue that there is a sizable culture industry responsible for resurrecting, exploiting and marketing the new iteration of religious and folk music to audiences in both Germany and Turkey.

Türkü bars in Germany have several functions, from providing leisure and performance spaces to serving as virtual laboratories of longing and nostalgia where attendees exchange and negotiate political, religious, and social attitudes and stances through their requests and acts. The music and actions in the bars have become performative: not only expressing emotional states but also creating states and tensions through the reenactment of living rooms in the old homeland. People who spend hours at these places, mingling with their peers, friends, and family members, share recognizable traits that define their collective belonging to the immigrant community with origins in Turkey. Prolonged social events and hours spent in türkü bars have become locations of collective catharses for some Alevis and other immigrants. These events and performances have helped to maintain a ceremonial and spiritual connection for some Alevis. In this context, spirituality can refer to a more modern form of a non-practicing but collectively endured solidarity within some Alevi community members. The rather cheerless routine in smoke-filled bars—with collective singing of emotionally charged tunes in common remembrance—might seem just a musical occasion to outsiders. As an insider of the culture to a certain extent, I view türkü bar musical experiences as symptomatic of cultural and generational remembrances similar to those that overtook the participants in Alevi spiritual rituals. In addition to the spiritual utility, I believe especially for the young Alevis, cemevis play a role in connecting them musically and kinesthetically to a homeland, albeit imagined or real, as well as to fellow members of the community. Similar to the cemevis, the musical and social continuity and cohesion among the Alevis are maintained in additional spaces like the türkü bars, where music from Turkey has been performed for many hours until early morning hours.

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