köçek

The ''köçek'' (plural in Turkish) was typically a young, male, and physically attractive enslaved dancer (''rakkas''), who usually cross-dressed in feminine attire, and was employed as an entertainer.

Roots

Turkish ''köçek'' derives from Ottoman Turkish كوچوك (küçük, “small, little”), from Old Anatolian Turkish (kiçük, “small, little”), from Proto-Turkic *kičük, *kičüg (“small, little”). Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰚𐰃𐰲𐰏 (kičig), Karakhanid (kičüg), Kazakh кіші (kışı), кішкене (kışkene), Uyghur كىچىك (kichik), Kyrgyz кичинекей (kicinekey), Shor кичиг, Yakut куччугуй (kuccuguy), etc

In the Crimean Tatar language, the word ''köçek'' means "baby camel". The culture of the ''köçek'', which flourished from the 18th to the 19th century, had its origin in the customs in Ottoman palaces, and in particular in the harems. Its genres enriched both the music and the dance of the Ottomans.

The support of the Sultans was a key factor in its development, as the early stages of the art form was confined to palace circles. From there the practice dispersed throughout the Empire by means of independent troupes.

Culture

A ''köçek'' would begin training around the age of seven or eight after he was circumcised and would be considered accomplished after about six years of study and practice. A dancer's career would last as long as he was clean shaven and retained his youthful appearance.

The dances, collectively known as ''köçek oyunu'', blended elements from throughout the empire, most importantly Turkish (like Karsilamas and Kaşık Havası) and oriental elements. They performed to a particular genre of music known as ''köçekçe'', which was performed in the form of suites in a given melody. It too was a mix of Sufi, Balkan and classical Anatolian influences, some of which survives in popular Turkish music today. The accompaniment included various percussion instruments, such as the ''davul-köçek'', the davul being a large drum, one side covered with goat skin and the other in sheep skin, producing different tones. A ''köçek''s skill would be judged not only on his dancing abilities but also on his proficiency with percussion instruments, especially a type of castagnette known as the ''çarpare''. The dancers were accompanied by an orchestra, featuring four to five each '' kaba kemençe'' and '' laouto'' as principal instruments, used exclusively for ''köçek'' suites. There were also two singers. A ''köçek'' dance in the Ottoman seraglio (palace harem) involved one or two dozen ''köçeks'' and many musicians. The occasions of their performances were wedding or circumcision celebrations, feasts and festivals, as well as the pleasure of the sultans and the aristocracy.

The youths, often wearing heavy makeup, would curl their hair and wear it in long tresses under a small black or red velvet hat decorated with coins, jewels and gold. Their usual garb consisted of a tiny red embroidered velvet jacket with a gold-embroidered silk shirt, ''shalvar'' (baggy trousers), a long skirt and a gilt belt, knotted at the back. They were said to be "sensuous, attractive, effeminate", and their dancing "sexually provocative". Dancers minced and gyrated their hips in slow vertical and horizontal figure eights, rhythmically snapping their fingers and making suggestive gestures. Often acrobatics, tumbling and mock wrestling were part of the act.

Famous poets, such as Enderûnlu Fâzıl, wrote poems, and classical composers, such as the court musician Hammamizade İsmail Dede Efendi (1778–1846), composed ''köçekçes'' for celebrated ''köçeks''. Many Istanbul meyhanes (nighttime taverns serving '' meze'', '' rakı'' or wine) hired ''köçeks''. Before starting their performance, the ''köçek'' danced among the spectators, to make them more excited. In the audience, competition for their attention often caused commotions and altercations. Men would allegedly go wild, breaking their glasses, shouting themselves voiceless, or fighting and sometimes killing each other vying for the opportunity to rape, molest, or otherwise force the children into sexual servitude. This resulted in suppression of the practice under Sultan Abdulmejid I.
In 1805, there were approximately 600 ''köçek'' dancers working in the taverns of the Turkish capital. They were outlawed in 1837 due to fighting among audience members over the dancers. With the suppression of harem culture under Sultan Abdulaziz (1861–1876) and Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1876–1908), ''köçek'' dance and music lost the support of its imperial patrons and gradually disappeared.

''Köçeks'' were much more sought after than the ''çengi'' (" belly dancers"), their female counterparts. Some youths were known to have been killed by the ''çengi'', who were extremely jealous of men's attention toward the boys.

Modern offshoots

Today, Köçek or Zenne dancing is still seen in Turkey, although it has changed form to a more folkloric and less sexualized dance done by young, hairless youths, and is now done by adult men, still in skirts, beards and all''.'' These performances no longer takes place in a sultan's palace, but now inside bars, clubs, and cabarets to dance in front of the everyday masses. The attire that these modern Zenne wear are, "loose-fitting gauzy pants (''şalvar'') or skirts trimmed with shimmering coins and chest pieces adorned with sequins and tassel

which were made to imitate the clothing that women would wear. With the rejuvenation of the Zenne, it allows gay, lesbian, and trans people to be more visible to the Turkish public and create more spaces for them to exist and create their own communitie

Köçek/Zenne Movies

The revival of köçeks in Turkish society has lead to a growth of their presence in modern media and film. A modern interpretation is the movie '' Köçek (film), Köçek'' (1975) by director Nejat Saydam. The movie follows the life of Caniko, an androgynous Roma, who struggles with his gender identity. A more recent film called the '' Zenne Dancer'' (2011), directed by Caner Alper and Mehmet Binay, and this film touches on the discrimination that the LGBTQ youths still face in Turkey.

Turkey's Reaction to Köçek

Turkey has once enjoyed and accepted the performances of köçeks, but even with the modern revival of an old tradition, they have not been completely welcomed. Köçeks are looked down upon for being in same sex or queer relationships which was different from how the köçeks from the 18th century was viewed. This dynamic shift was due to the Westernization of the Ottoman empire which demonized feminine presenting men being with masculine presenting men pushing for more heterosexual relationship

he Turkish government does not have a ban on gay or lesbian relationships, but it is still looked down on by the public.

Zenne dancers have developed a safe space for people like them to safely exist within their own country while keeping their traditions alive through the 21 century. This place can be found in Taksim Square where the intersection of different walks of life meet. The tourist around Istikal, the people from the upper class neighborhood of Cihangir, and the people from the lower income neighborhood of Tarlabasi all come to Takism Square to see or be a part of the zenne dancers. It allowed young gay men to have a safe space and to even learn from more experienced zenne dancers on how to perform.

See also

* Bacha bazi, Afghan equivalent
* Khawal, Egyptian equivalent
* Ghilman
* LGBT topics and Islam
* LGBT in the Ottoman Empire
*Onnagata

References

Further reading

*AYVERDİ, Sâmiha; Istanbul Geceleri ''The nights of Istanbul'', ed. Baha, Istanbul, 1977.
*ENDERUNLU Fazıl bey; ''Çenginame, 1759
*Erdoğan, Sema Nilgün: ''Sexual life in Ottoman Empire'', ed. Dönence, Istanbul, 1996. p. 88–92
*JANSSEN, Thijs: ''Transvestites and Transsexuals in Turkey'', in ''Sexuality and Eroticism Among Males in Moslem Societies'', edited by Arno Schmidt and Jehoeda Sofer, ed. Harrington Park Press, New York, 1992
*Klebe, Dorit. "Effeminate Professional Musicians in Sources of Ottoman-Turkish Court Poetry and Music of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.” ''Music in Art'' 30, no. 1/2 (2005): 97–116.
*KOÇU, Reşad Ekrem, ''Eski İstanbul'da Meyhaneler ve Meyhane Köçekleri, İstanbul Ansiklopedisi Notları No''
*ÖZTUNA, Yılmaz: ''Türk Musikisi Ansiklopedisi'', Milli Eğitim Basımevi, İstanbul, 1976. p. 23

External links

Turkish Cultural Foundation: Court dance in the Ottoman EmpireThe Zenne: Male Belly Dancers and Queer Modernity in Contemporary TurkeyInside the World of Instanbul's Male Belly Dancers

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kocek
Turkish male dancers
Turkish dancers
Transgender topics in the Middle East
Culture of the Middle East
Arab culture
Belly dance
Gender systems
Turkish sex workers
18th century in LGBTQ history
19th century in LGBTQ history
Turkish words and phrases
Slaves in the Ottoman Empire
Transgender topics in Turkey
Cross-dressing
Male erotic dancers
Sexual slavery
Child sexual abuse