Music and rituals as cultural expression and meaning production field: The example of mardin syriac community

Mardin Syriacs who are the subjects of this study define themselves as the descendants of the Mesopotamian people who lived in Mesopotamia since the establishment of the first civilizations. In this process, in accordance with the opinion mostly accepted, these peoples that are called in various names in history took the collective name ?Syriacs? to distinguish themselves from their kinds who did not choose Christianity as their religion.Syriacs lived under the rule of the powerful empires which dominated the regions where they lived at the time when they converted into Christianity. The last of these empires was the Ottoman Empire. Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Syriacs continued living in the Republic of Turkey. The places in which Syriacs mostly live in Turkey are within the region called as Tur-Abdin, where they inhabited from B.C. to present time.Collectivity in Syriac Community is based on components such as a common religion, a common undestanding of race and history, a common language, a common community name, a common model of life. Syriac Community based their understanding of a common race on Christianity, which is their common religion. They continually hand down and elaborate on this distinctive understanding of race. For the fact that they speak the same language as that of Jesus Christ, they deem their language as holy; that is, Syriac.As regarded by the community itself, the most dominant component regarding collectivity is their common religion which has held them together up to this day. This also helps to create a social environment within which members of the religion communicate with each other in this community. Within this social environment, Syriacs get a sense of belonging and collectivity.As in all communities having a common consciousness, Syriacs also wish to express their cultural identity and to ensure its continuity. The members of the community who unite around a realm of common meanings try to keep that community alive by creating various areas of expression. The most effective of these areas of expression are rituals which are based on the expression of the collective values of the community and within which meanings connected with symbols are fed by these values.All the Assyrians take part in every ritual related with Syriac Collectivity, which they legitemately participate in through rituals of Baptism and Qurbano since their infancy. They automatically learn the system of values related with Syriac Collectivity in every ritual performed throughout their lifetimes. As an area in which the community expresses its culture, the ritual refers to cultural values through every behaviour shown, every component used. It generates meanings intended for cultural values by continuous repetition of these components and it is transferred in this wise.Music in Syriac rituals is a component that completes the ritual. Meanings are placed into the music so as to serve the purpose of the ritual; the ritual cannot reach its goal without music. The messages to be given in the ritual are harmonized within the tunes that are thought to realize the purpose of every ritual by depending on the strength of impact reached through eight main Syriac tunes (melodies). From the time when the first Assyrian church was established, this musical system used in the rituals in churches is charged with Syriac-specific meanings and it has been an integral part of areas of cultural expression. In this aspect, it is a characteristic component intended for cultural expression and it has integrated with the ritual which is the only area in which cultural expression is realized.