International Conference "Intercommunal Musical Geographies of Late Ottoman Istanbul", Ethnomusicology and Cultural Anthropology Laboratory, Department of Music Studies, School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), 29/10/2021


Anna Vakali, Kadir Has University, InterMusiG

"Conflict, rivalry and violence between musicians in late Ottoman Istanbul: a view from the Ottoman archives"


Abstract:

The paper will present preliminary findings of a broader research focusing on music/entertainment, musicians of higher and lower social classes and inter-communal life in 19th century Ottoman Istanbul. Research has been conducted in the Ottoman Archives of Istanbul (Directorate of States Archives/Başbakanlık) and the archives of the kadi courts of Istanbul at the ISAM Library in Istanbul. The present paper will focus on selected cases from both the kadi courts and the secular courts of the Tanzimat, in order to illuminate two kinds of interactions: On the one hand, it will present some of the disputes evolving between quotidian musicians of 19th-century-Istanbul, who appeared before court; on the other hand, it will elaborate on disputes between various communities of the Ottoman capital’s neighbourhoods pertaining to issues connected with entertainment. The general aim is to reflect on the role of music/entertainment in inter-communal relationships, in a time of rapid modernization, reform, as well as the proliferation of nationalist ideas.

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