Festivals and ceremonies from the Byzantines to Ottomans and their reflection to Cihat Burak's paintings

In this thesis, the practice of antic rituals, festivals and ceremonies as methods of implantation of political power towards the society in our geography and their reflection in art as seen in the Cihat Burak's paintings have been explored. In the first part of the thesis, the terms festival and ceremony have been explained and the rituals that combine the entertainment and dance attributed to Dionysos in Ancient Greek society have been discussed. From the Dionysos ceremonies that symbolize the rebirth, to Greek tragedy and comedy, the historical period as a legacy of political representation of power for forthcoming civilizations have been further established. In the second part of the thesis, Istanbul, the heart of cultural richness of Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, and it's festivals have been discussed. Istanbul's symbolic treasure is attributed to the journey from small Byzantine settlement to Eastern Roman city, Constantinople to today's Istanbul. In this paper, the ceremonies and festivals located in the hippodrome where the government meets the public, have been explored as the reflection of ruling power on the society. Furthermore, the mutual symbols seen in Byzantine and Ottoman festivals have been pointed out. The albums that recorded ottoman festivals and miniatures that are acknowledged as official documents have opened a window for traditional arts. Lastly, regarding the historical journey of festival and ceremony phenomenons, the Republic Day celebrations, embodiment of Modern Republic ceremonies, have been mentioned along with the today's society which reevaluated the terms: government, power and authority. In the last part of the thesis, Cihat Burak, the Republic artist with respectable historical knowledge and sensibility towards traditional arts, and his paintings that portray the festive mood have been studied. In his own festive world, created by the images referring to ancient cultures, Cihat Burak establishes an exhibition in which he covertly expresses the issues that cannot be uttered by the political power. The balance between Burak's humorous personality and his figurative paintings has been further revealed and the ruling power phenomenon and its reflection on public society in the selected art works by the renowned painter have been explained. Keywords: Festival, Ceremony, Feast, Public square, government potency, Criticism.