Friday 6 May 2011

Ζεϊμπέκκικος (Zeybegi)

Ζεϊμπέκικο is a dance named after the Zeibeks, (see e.g. this) and partly associated with the Yoruk nomads (see e.g. this documentary), who are said to be the ancestry of at least some Turkish Cypriots (which might be attested to by the fact that the term Yurukkis [Γιουρούκκης] is still used in Cyprus). Given its prominence in Greek popular music, discourse regarding the origins and practice of the dance (see e.g. Giorgos Veltsos' take on it) has reached a certain level of mythologising; for example, people have come up with etymologies which associate the first part of the word ('zei') with Zeus. I have even heard it being said that to dance the Ζεϊμπέκικος properly, the ritual must involve ending the dance by slicing open one's own stomach and holding one's bowels in one's hands.

The Ζεϊμπέκικος was played in Cyprus by both Greek and Turkish speaking Cypriots prior to the import of its rembetiko form. A large number of tunes in the traditional repertoire take this form. They are often named after the region they originated from, such as in the case of the απτάλικος (abdal zeybegi),





which is performed in many 'traditional' forms throughout the Aegean and Asia Minor, as well as in rembetiko style.

Another Ζεϊμπέκικος traditionally played in Cyprus is this:





It existed in various earlier forms (known in Greece as the Ζεϊμπέκικο 'Τούρνα'), and was made famous as a rembetiko, titled Οι νέοι χασικλίδες (the new hashish-smokers):




Perhaps the Ζεϊμπέκικος that is most commonly known as somehow particularly Cypriot is the one which the Turkish Cypriots call Sarhos Zeybegi, here sung in both languages:



and here sung in its millomeno ('dirty', i.e. sexually explicit) form, if I'm not mistaken by Michalis Tterlikkas:



This a version played with tsambouna and toubaki in Mykonos



I do not know whether this is commonly played in Mykonos and/or other islands.

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