The Construction of National Identity through Cybernetic Process: The Example of “K’na” Dance Event in Greek and Turkish Thrace

Abstract

The research field of this paper is the area of Thrace, a large geopolitical-cultural unit that was divided – due to political reasons – in three subareas distributed among three different countries: Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece. A dance event that used to take place before the border demarcation but is still performed in the Greek and Turkish Thrace is that of “K’na”, a wedding dance event danced by the people of both border areas, despite of the changes in their magical-religious beliefs and the changes brought by socio-economic and cultural development. In particular, the aim of this paper is the study of the “construction” of the national identity of inhabitants both of Greek and Turkish Thrace, as this is manifested through the dance practice within the wedding event of “K’na”, through the lens of sociocybernetics. Data was gathered through ethnographic method as this is applied to the study of dance, while its interpretation was based on sociocybernetics according to Burke’s identity control theory. From the data analysis, it is showed that the “K’na” dance in Greek and Turkish Thrace constructs and reconstructs the national identity of the people who use them as a response to the messages they receive via the communication with “the national others”. In conclusion, the “construction” of the identity results from a continuous procedure of self-regulation and self-control through a cybernetic sequence of steps.

Studying Dance in the Present. The K'na Dance and Its Different Dance Forms in Nea Vyssa, Greece

“…"K"na" ritual got its name from the henna substance used in it (Filippidou, & Koutsouba, 2020), which is considered a symbol of purification and is performed also in Greece and particularly in the communities of region of Thrace, especially those originating from the part of Thrace that now belongs to Turkey, such as Nea Vyssa (Filippidou, 2010(Filippidou, , 2018Filippidou, Koutsouba, Lalioti, & Lantzos, 2018, 2019. This wedding dancing ritual takes place the night before the wedding at the bride"s house (Filippidou, 2010(Filippidou, , 2018.…”

Acculturation Strategies and Dance: Identity Construction Through the Example of “Zonaradikos or Omouslamas” Dance of The Gagaouz of Thrace, Greece

“…Nevertheless, it is a common fact that the elements of tradition, including dance, in their long way do not remain constant but over time change, influenced by the respective historical, religious, political, and social developments (Filippidou, & Koutsouba, 2020a;Filippidou et al, 2019). Thus, over time, a standardized dance repertoire was formed in the area, which characterized the area's inhabitants as Thracians and distinguished them from the non-Thracians, the "foreigners" (Filippidou, 2011).…”

Dance and Socio-Cybernetics: The Dance event of “K’na” As A Shaping Component of The Cultural Identity Amongst the Arvanites of Neo Cheimonio Evros, Greece

“…However, most of them denoted the importance of the henna that is used during the performance of the event, without knowing the reason why they did it. The dance event is performed on the eve of the wedding, mainly at the bride's house (Filippidou, 2010(Filippidou, , 2019Filippidou, et al, 2018Filippidou, et al, , 2019 and the "basic ritual acts of the custom present differences in the individual ritual roles amongst the villages of Evros…" (Spanos, 2016, p. 59). In other words, the "K'na" dance event is generally the same amongst all the groups of the area that perform it, whereas slight variations are observed locally, due to issues related to the shaping of the local cultural identities (Filippidou, Koutsouba, & Tyrovola, 2013).…”

“…Among those is a small plate with some henna. After they dance "the Baxisia" and then give them to the bride, they take "the Baxisia" from the relatives of the bride to give them to the groom by taking them to him and continuing the party there (Filippidou, 2019;Filippidou, et al, 2018Filippidou, et al, , 2019.…”

“…Next, they tie a red thread around the candles while during this preparation of the henna the relatives sing three songs suitable for this special occasion. The songs played are about emigration due to the fact that the bride is soon to leave her family and home and live with her husband and his family (Filippidou, 2019;Filippidou, et al, 2018Filippidou, et al, , 2019.…”