Discovering One’s Self Through Embodiment of Tradition in Meşk: An Analysis of the Mode of Transmission in Turkish Performative Traditions

Abstract

Meşk is a polysemic concept that originates from traditional Turkish music and denotes both an embodied mode of transmission and a participatory performance style that characterizes Turkish performative traditions. As a traditional mode of transmission, it is the face-to-face training method that is based on the pupil’s faithful repetition/imitation of the master’s performance. As a performance style, it combines repetition with innovation, as it is based on improvisation according to already existing traditional patterns. This idiosyncratic correlation between repetition and change in meşk produces a unique aesthetics, in which the performers search for the new that does not get old. This search is connected to the mystical teaching of tasavvuf that is particular to Turkish culture. Following tasavvuf’s objective of discovering one’s self through disciplining the soul by disciplining the body, the performers of Turkish traditions search for their selves through practicing the arts they try to master. In this manner, they act as a part of the traditional chain that maintains heart-to-heart transmission of spirituality.

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