Village Watching Games

Village Spectacle Plays are traditional dramatic performances organized and enacted by rural communities, particularly during the long winter months as well as weddings and holidays, for entertainment and leisure. According to historical sources, these plays are rooted in a very ancient oral tradition and have continued in Anatolia since after 1071, parallel to the activities of ozans, maintaining their presence to the present day. They are considered older than the urban cultural products Karagöz (Shadow Play) and Orta Oyunu. Professor Dr. Şükrü Elçin has also used the term “Village Orta Oyunu” to describe these plays.^【1】

Village Spectacle Plays hold an important place within the tradition of Traditional Turkish Theatre. These performances, typically carried out by villagers under names such as “making a play” or “bringing out a play,” are distinguished above all by their anonymity; their creators are unknown. The plays do not rely on a written text. Although they have a general framework, they are performed extemporaneously (tuluat), shaped by the performers’ skills, the audience’s reactions, and their participation. The frameworks of musical, dance-based, silent, and folk-song plays are more defined. In these plays, the actual managers or directors are tradition and custom. In regions where the figure of a manager begins to emerge, this person is called “Delikanlı başı,” “Köse,” “Meydancı,” or “Oyuncubaşı.” These individuals oversee the preservation of the plays in their original, traditional form.

^{Village Spectacle Play (}Elazığ Ministry of Culture and Tourism⁾

Village Spectacle Plays are a form of theatre that has survived from thousands of years ago to the present. These performances have persisted since antiquity. Their origins lie in the dramatization of rituals created by villagers to enhance fertility in agriculture and animal husbandry. Villagers believed these rituals would bring prosperity from the gods. Because its function derives from ritual ceremonies, the tradition of peasant theatre differs from the broader Folk Theatre tradition.

These plays have undergone a functional transformation: initially, they were obligatory. Villagers consciously participated in them to ensure the productivity of their lives; the acts performed carried a sacred and worshipful character. However, over centuries, this obligation gradually faded, and spectacle plays came to be defined as a form of entertainment. Today, they are largely sustained for amusement, detached from myths and spiritual contexts. Generally, Village Spectacle Plays are divided into two main categories: ritual plays and profane (secular) plays. Villagers further classify them into humorous, tragic, silent (samıt or lal), and puppet (baby) plays.^【2】

The plays typically coincide with the autumn and winter months, periods associated with farming and animal husbandry. They are also performed during ceremonies such as weddings, both day and night. Performances take place in two types of spaces: open (village squares, threshing grounds, courtyards) and enclosed (large village rooms or homes). The performance space must be large enough to accommodate both performers and spectators. Performers and audience members are arranged in a circular formation, surrounding each other (performative space).

Performers are usually young or middle-aged individuals who are not professionals. The most capable among them assume the role of manager (director). In plays prepared predominantly by men, women are portrayed by men; in plays prepared by women, men portray women. The audience spans all ages, from children to the elderly. Anyone may attend performances held in open spaces, whether invited or not. In areas where religious activity is more intense, men and women may watch from separate locations. The audience actively participates in the performance and assumes a creative role. In entertainment-oriented plays, spectators may converse with performers and even disrupt the performance. At the conclusion of ritual plays, performers are rewarded with food.

In Village Spectacle Plays, modern theatrical elements such as auditoriums, stages, sets, lighting, and special effects are rarely or never used. There is no fixed concept of set design; performers merely indicate their location through speech. Costumes and accessories are made from simple materials appropriate to the period. It is irrelevant whether a man portraying a woman has hair or a beard; this artificiality enhances the sense of otherness. Accessories may be false (a stick), real (a rifle), or living (a person). Makeup is applied in exaggerated and practical ways, using wood soot or pot black (Arab makeup) or flour (White people). Music and dance are indispensable and vital elements of the plays. In ritual plays, music and dance serve a devotional purpose; in entertainment-oriented plays, they are purely for amusement.

In the Isparta region, these plays are generally referred to as “Maşalama.” Some identified examples include:^【3】

• Arab Play: Centers on an Arab figure with a face blackened with soot and exaggerated costume (inverted coat, pillow), searching for his daughters, while local men kidnap these girls.

• Horse Play: Based on the creation of a horse image by attaching an animal skull skeleton to a stick and covering it with a sheet (reflecting elements from the shamanistic beliefs of ancient Turks).

• Sheep Slaughter Play: A humorous play featuring the roles of butcher, assistant, and sacrificial animal, imitating the slaughter and washing of the animal, ending in laughter.

• Camel Play: Performed at weddings. Two people enter an exaggerated camel costume made with ladders and saddles, accompanied by its owner (Savram başı), and scare the audience.

• Tinsmith Play: A comedic performance featuring the roles of tinsmith, apprentice, bellows operator, and messenger. The tinsmith continues his work despite the messages, while the bellows operator paints himself and shouts.

• Keloğlan’s Wedding Play: Built around the theme of Keloğlan’s inability to marry; the performer plays both the role of father and Keloğlan.

These folk theatre plays, once widely performed in rural areas, are now on the verge of disappearing. The main reasons for their decline are the failure to train new performers and changes in tastes, entertainment preferences, and living conditions. For example, the lack of young performers for the Camel Play has caused it to lose its vitality. Village Spectacle Plays are not classified as Modern Theatre because they lack a written text. However, it is emphasized that this theatrical form, which encompasses all dramatic elements, must be archived and preserved through the efforts and support of researchers, and integrated into contemporary theatre to ensure its survival.