Modern Turkish oriental dance is closest to it's Rom roots, according to Elizabeth
Artemis Mourat, which gives it a distinctively Turkish style. This style is earthy and sensual,
with costumes which tend to be scanty by western standards. (Fig. 17). Their favorite rhythms
are Karsilama 9/8's, Gypsy 9/8's , which are heavier and slower, Chifte telli 8/4, and some fast
2/4's and 7/8 rhythms.

The largest contribution of Turkish culture to belly dance is a rhythmic one. Turkish
finger snapping (a special two-handed finger snap) is common to both Gypsies and Eastern dance
in general. Turkey has a history of the manufacture of metal cymbals of all sizes. The cymbal
was used with warlike effect by those feared mercenaries, the Janissaries. Mr. And also notes that
both the dancing boys and girls marked time with finger snapping, with the calpara clapper
sticks, or metal finger castanets called 'zil'. At some point small finger cymbals were played with
a pair on each hand in the modern manner by dancers and entertainers. In fact, the most common
word for modern cymbals is "zill" which is the Turkish word for them. (The Arabic
word is sagat.) They also used pairs of wooden clappers, one set in each hand, as portrayed in
numerous miniature drawings. These were called "carpara" or "calpara", which derived from the
Persian word "chalpara", meaning literally "4 pieces" (fig. 7). They even had an instrument
similar to the ancient crotales, which was a simple set of tongs with three arms,(or zilli masa)
with small cymbals attached to them. It was called çegane, or 'jingling johnnie'

In addition, Turkish music features complex and unusual rhythm patterns, such as the
"asak" or limping rhythms which are polyrhythmic and asymmetrical such as 9/8, 9/4, 10/8, 7/8.
The 9/8, or karslima (or kashlima) rhythm is often used by belly dancers as the opening rhythm
for dance sets. The word "karslima" means "facing," and Mr. And says that this dance was
originally one in the folk genre where two rows of dancers faced each other.

The Turks came from Central Asia and settled in the Central Anatolian plateau. They
were there for centuries before they gained possession of other parts of Anatolia, captured
Istanbul and advanced into Europe, Africa and Asia to create an empire. The Anatolian
peninsula is the bridge between Asia and Europe and many major migrants have travelled its
path. Over a period of more than two thousand years it has been inhabited by Hittites, Greeks
Phrygians, Lydians, Isaurians, Cappodocians and Byzantines to mention only a few. Although
there is no one Turkish national dance, there are several thousand folk dances which incorporate
elements from many of these cultures. Islamic prohibitions against dancing mainly affected the
city dwellers, and not the peasants in isolated villages.

Metin And, a Turkish expert on Turkish Folk Dances maintains that there are great
similarities between many Turkish folk dances and the dances of the Balkans (Yugoslavia,
Romania, Bulgaria and Greece), and that some dances claimed by the Greeks may actually have
come from the Turks. This is vehemently denied by most Greek scholars. Mr. And particularly
mentions a style of dance called the "zeybek" (Turkish) which the Greeks call "zeybeckikos".
More to the point, the Turkish word for dance "Ciftetelli" is also the name of a dance performed
in Greece. He attributes this to their common heritage on the Anatolian plains. The ciftetelli,
both a fast and a slow version, are familiar to all dancers who use Turkish music. The fast
ciftetelli (or chiftetelli) rhythm is more exclusively Turkish than the slower version.

Many references to practices in Turkish folk dances hint at the meaning of several
standard dance props used by belly dancers. In the Turkish wedding ceremony, there is a henna
ceremony performed for the bride at night, which includes a large circle dance where the
participants hold lighted candles on plates. Both the henna decoration and the candles are
considered to have a magical protective function. Men and women attend separate henna parties
for the bride and bridegroom. The exact tradition varies from region to region: In Arapkir, the
only women allowed to dance with lighted candles on saucers are those who are happy in
marriage and have been married but once. Similar kinds of dances can be found in other
countries which have been exposed to Moslem influence such as Persia, North Africa and
Malaya, where the dance is called "menari hinei". The wedding ceremonies also utilize a sword
as a magical protective device; for example, the sword dances performed in front of the wedding
procession. There is also a Syrian Bride's dance, where the sword reminds the bridegroom to
give her the proper respect!

Metin And classified the dances of Turkey into three categories: religious dance, dancing
for one's own pleasure (as in folk dances), and dance as spectacle. Under the category of
religious dance, the long and honorable history of Sufi dancing emerges. Dance was also part of
the lives of everyday people, who danced for their own pleasure. But the institution of
professional dancers was so highly developed that it deserves a more detailed look.

Turkish dances developed on two different planes, and in two cultural settings: that of
Istanbul the capital of the Ottoman empire, a few other large cities, and that of the village. Mr.
And maintains that the geographic isolation of remote villages has helped to preserved over a
thousand folk dances. These peasants are the pastoral unsettled fragments of the nomad hordes
who strayed into Asia Minor in the Middle Ages, some of whom are still semi-nomadic. The
second level of development was the court influence at the time of the Ottoman empire. The
slightest event at court could effect the entire populace such as the birth of a new prince, the
circumcision ceremony, a marriage the accession of a new ruler, or merely the girding on of the
sultan's sword. All entailed the need for a public ceremony.

These festivities were conductec on a huge scale, spectacular pageants consisting of mock
battles between Moslems and Christians, water triumphs, various plays, circus acts, fireworks,
horse races, dancing and music. In Istanbul these festivities would have occurred in the same
Hippodrome where the festivities of the Byzantine Empire had been held. There were also the
usual anniversary, religious, commemorative and patriotic holidays which included dancing as
part of their celebrations. They would have featured trade guilds, amateurs and professional
dancing troupes.

Unfortunately, very little is known about the dances performed by the professional
dancers who entertained at the spectacles of the Ottoman Empire. The specific information which
is available on these professional entertainers dates from the 16th through 19th centuries.
Foreigner travelers who saw these dances were fascinated by them, and wrote a great deal about
them. Some of them must have been quite spectacular; one miniature survives which shows
dancing boys performing on water, by means of each one standing on a small, round raft which is
balanced by counter-weights under the water. The dancers were tied to the raft by a vertical pole
worn under their long skirts to conceal the attachment. Levni, an 18th century miniature painter,
clearly depicts the ropes used to manipulate these small rafts. The sultan is watched the
performance from the shore. It is impossible to say when and how this dance might have
originated.

The dancing girls and dancing boys are a recognized institution throughout the Near East;
they were the actors and actresses of their time. However so little is known about them because
dancing was regarded by the scholarly writers of the past as an "improper and wicked sport",
especially when indulged in by professionals. The name for both dancing boys and girls is
Çengi. Fig. 18 shows a pair of male Çengi dancers. One explanation of the origin of this word
is its similarity to the word "çingene" meaning gypsy. The majority of these dancers were, in
fact, Gypsies. The "Çenk", prounounced 'chang', is also a musical instrument: an upperchested
harp, which is sometimes called a 'jew's harp.' There are two other words for dancing boys:
"köçek" (and their music köçekçe), and "tav ança". The 'tavsan rasan' dance (tavsan=rabbit)
refers to the grimaces, facial contortions, light steps, and jumps, and facial expressions which
imitated the rabbit. The difference in tav an and köçek was more in the manner of their
dressing.

The köçek, or dancing boys, were organized into different guilds or companies of
entertainers called "kol". By the mid 1600's there were said to be some 3000 of these dancers, in
approximately twelve companies. They were usually Gypsies, Armenians or Jews, as Turks were
not supposed to enter such a degrading profession. Be that as it may, these dancers were so
beloved by their audiences that poets sang their praises in verse, praising their physical beauty
and their skills.

The dancing boys were young boys whose dance and external appearance suggested
femininity. Sometimes they grew their hair long and decorated their locks with ornaments and
wore pointed hats. Sometimes they even dressed like girls. Their dancing consisted of leisurely
walks, finger snapping, short mincing steps, slow movements, suggestive gestures, sometimes
somersaulting, wrestling, rolling upon the ground and other forms of mimicry. The boys danced
as long as they maintained their good looks and could conceal their beards. This custom which so
astounded Western travelers arose because of Islamic prohibitions against association with
women. The dancing boys were a safe substitute for the prohibited women and girls, and any
sexual liaisons which might have resulted were very much a part of the culture, even if not
considered respectable. (Fig. 18)

The dancing girls also had a following. They were very reported to be very popular and a
delight to see. A kol or company of çengi consisted of the Kolba i, the leader of the company
and her assistant, and usually twelve dancing girls and four musicians called straci, one of whom
played the fiddle, the other a double drum called nekkare, and the remaining two who played
tambourines. Their age limit was thirty to thirty-five. The Kolba i and her assistant were older
women. Their dancing is described as suggestive contortions, a good deal of stomach play and
twisting of the body, falling upon the knees with the trunk held back (a backbend) to the extent
that the spectators were encouraged to put a coin on their forehead. This is the same custom
observed in Egypt called "nukoot". Every muscle and both shoulders were made to quiver (i.e. a
shimmy) and all this was alternated with graceful poses and feminine affectations. Sometimes
they would perform a pantomime of physical love with an expression of restrained passion;
retiring as if alarmed or humiliated and sometimes taking bold or daring attitudes, pretending to
throw their breasts or lips to the spectators.

The homosexual tendencies which occurred amongst the dancing boys also occurred
amongst the female çengi dancers, who sometimes performed in the bath houses. There was a
special name for this type of dancer, called Zürefa (lit. graceful). There was a special kind of
handkerchief and a special symbolic language used to reveal their inclinations. Just as dancing
boys chiefly impersonated females dancing, the female dancers occasionally impersonated males,
as they had always done when women performed plays in the seclusion of the harem. Another
interesting aspect of harem performances is that the musicians who played for the Sultan's harem
dancers were expected to play blindfolded.

One accessory of the dancing girls was a silken scarf. Holding the two ends of the silken
scarf in their fingers, they would either play the shy maiden or the flirting courtesan; of they
would twist a colored scarf into a rope and wind it round the head or neck, or else they would
hold the scarf in front of their face like a veil. Hence the names of the dance which have
survived are "kaytan oyunu" or "tura Oyunu" (kaytan and tura mean silk cord, braid, knotted
handkerchief). It was described as a pantomime on amorous relations executed to the
accompaniment of çeng and tambourine. Modern belly dancers, in imitation of this practice use
large rectangular or half-circle veils.

The authors of a French treatise on Turkish dance dated 1583 noted that many writers
believe that the style of çengi dancing originated from Spain. Metin And notes that this is quite
probable, since there was a Jewish emigration movement from Spain to Turkey in the late 15th
and early 16th century. A description of a dance published in 1759 also made the comparison:
"the agility of the dances is accompanied with several postures displeasing to modesty. Some
danced in the Spanish manner, with tolerable gravity, and with castingets in each hand. The band
consisted of flutes, and drums of different sizes, which they beat on the upper part with a stick,
and on the under with a bowl forming by this means differents sounds." This was more likely a
re-occurrence of cross-culturization, since both dances came from Eastern roots.

In Europe, Mr. And notes, çengi dancing is invariably called belly dancing or danse du
ventre, though the use of the pelvic or abdominal muscles is only one of the forms of cengi
dancing. In his opinion, belly dancing is more likely to refer to a widespread and degenerated
form of comic dancing in Anatolia.