Ceremony of Bektashi Djem: Tradition of Abdal Musa

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.