Turkey - The Ceremony Of The Bektashi Djem

Facts This release celebrates the Bektashi ceremony of the djem, which features semah sacred dancing and sung poetry accompanied on the saz lute. The djem is both a liturgy commemorating the founding myths of the Bektashi faith and a fraternal agape (ritual feast) uniting an entire community. Music, listened to with great intensity, is a link between all that permeates this entire ritual. In these recordings from the Turkish region of Antalya, two 'choirs' are present: one, conducted by Muzaffer Gurgu, recorded in 2004; the other, conducted by Suleyman Can, in the 'mother' house (the house of the ancestral djem) in 2011.