The Function of Ghazels at Urfa Special Night Gatherings and Musical Assemblies

Abstract

Ghazel to be considered as the signal of poetship in the Ottoman Literature is the most important verse style providing communication between the center and the provinces. Although Divan poetry makes a progress at the palace atmosphere and in good care of rural representatives of the central government, it is welcome by great masses later. Thanks to shadow play, rituals at lodge and Islamic mysticism environments and music to be performed at public assemblies, ghazel reciting tradition becomes widespread. In order to ascertain the function of ghazels to be performed at various musical assemblies, Urfa special night gatherings and musical assemblies provide with us remarkable data. It is obvious that music is performed and ghazels are recited first of all at special night gatherings, then Mevlit rituals and programs of classical Turkish music songs at chalets and houses of vineyards. The poems of Divan poets like Ahmet pasa, Nabi and Fuzuli are also recited in addition to the ghazels of local classics like Urfali Abdi and Kani, those of Sufis like Kuddusi and those of Yasar Nezihe Bukulmez with an interesting coincidence. Bedih the Boiler (Yoluk) and Mahmut the Tinman (Guzelgoz) most of all, the ghazels to be recited by the ghazelreciters from Urfa are of great function in transferring classical culture to people in accordance with practicing tradition. Even these 36 poems to be ascertained without the intention of compiling and analyzing all points out how carousing tradition having a transformation makes a contribution to transferring the cultural values in addition to the funtion of entertainment and amusement in public assemblies.