The effects of dance and dance elements on the transference of Gypsy/Roma culture in Adana Akincilar district

Gypsies/Roma are communities that are thought to have migrated from India to many different parts of the world, almost everywhere, centuries ago. This community, which migrated to our country, not only boasts their colorful personalities and the entertaining lives they often offer, but they have also been subjected to marginalization. Their lifestyles, sometimes entertaining and sometimes exposing them to exclusion, have been the subject of various studies. Considered in this context, the problem of the research is the Gypsies/Roma people, whom we consider as an ethnic group who are subject to marginalization by all the societies they live in, and whose marginalization process is reciprocal since they are closed groups, and how they can preserve their cultural areas. This study aims to show that the dances of this group, which is well-known in the entertainment industry with its music and dances through the Gypsy/Roma groups living in Adana Akıncılar District, are an element of cultural transmission and play an important role in ensuring the continuity of culture, within the framework of cultural memory and the places where memory is kept alive. The research area was limited to Adana Province Akıncılar District and inferences and interpretations were made only on the Gypsy/Roma groups living in this region. The phenomenology model, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the research; Participatory observations were made and in-depth bilateral interviews were held; Field notes were created from the researcher's voice recordings taken after the field process, video recordings were taken with the permission of the research group in collecting data, and performance analyzes of wedding rituals were made. Based on the findings of the research; It has been seen that dance, music and those who perform these arts are a cultural preservation and transfer element on the Akıncılar Gypsy/Roma group. It has been concluded that it is difficult to distinguish the Gypsy/Roma group from those who are not like them in their daily lives, and that dances and the elements accompanying dances play important roles in making this distinction. The existence of ceremonial gatherings such as weddings is of great importance as places where they can keep their culture alive, cultural areas are built together by men and women, contrary to what is thought, they are not a completely closed group due to the presence of imported products in the music and dance repertoires, and children have a major role in the transmission process. results have been achieved.