Rebetiko in Turkey

Marginality—A Key Concept to
Understanding the Resurgence
of Rebetiko in Turkey
From the study of record labels it can safely be inferred that by the beginning of the twentieth century the term “rebetiko” was already current among the Greek-speaking population of cities within the Ottoman Empire, although it is unclear in which sense it was used.[1] Since then, however, Greek journalists, musicians, scholars, record producers, and other authorities have applied the term with some inconsistency to songs that differ considerably in terms of melodic properties, the content and style of their lyrics, or the manner of performance. If one tried to give a one-size-fits-all definition, one would probably not arrive at much more than the vague conclusion that, in an eclectic fashion, rebetiko songs combined elements common to a wide range of musical traditions in the Eastern Mediterranean. This result would, of course, not be a very satisfactory one; and some debaters have actually suggested avoiding the term altogether.[2] Yet, there is no denying the widespread acceptance of the label “rebetiko.” Instead of striving to classify this genre according to formal criteria, I find it more productive to concentrate on its functional aspects—to regard “rebetiko” not as a technical term but as a quite abstract, imprecise or “fuzzy” concept that individuals (whether experts or laypersons) internalize under specific circumstances, that each of them uses in a specific context and for a particular purpose. Therefore, any serious examination of this concept requires asking how it “works” within the changing parameters that are set by personal dispositions, public discourses, socio-economic conditions, political ideologies, cultural traditions, and so forth.