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The köçek (plural köçekler in Turkish) was typically a very pretty young male slave effeminate dancer^[1] (rakkas), who usually cross-dressed in feminine attire, and was employed as an entertainer.^[2]

Roots

Turkish. köçek derives from Ottoman Turkish كوچوك (küçük, “small, little”), from Old Anatolian Turkish (kiçük, “small, little”), from Proto-Turkic *kičük, *kičüg (“small, little”). Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰚𐰃𐰲𐰏 (kičig), Karakhanid (kičüg), Kazakh кіші (kışı), кішкене (kışkene), Uyghur كىچىك (kichik), Kyrgyz кичинекей (kicinekey), Shor кичиг, Yakut куччугуй (kuccuguy), etc. [1] [2] In the Crimean Tatar language, the word köçek means "baby camel".^[3] The culture of the köçek, which flourished from the 18th to the 19th century, had its origin in the customs in Ottoman palaces, and in particular in the harems. Its genres enriched both the music and the dance of the Ottomans.^[2]

The support of the Sultans was a key factor in its development, as the early stages of the art form was confined to palace circles.^[4] From there the practice dispersed throughout the Empire by means of independent troupes.^[2]

Culture

A köçek would begin training around the age of seven or eight after he was circumcised and would be considered accomplished after about six years of study and practice. A dancer's career would last as long as he was clean shaven and retained his youthful appearance.^[5]

The dances, collectively known as köçek oyunu, blended elements from throughout the empire, most importantly Turkish (like Karsilamas and Kaşık Havası) and oriental elements. They performed to a particular genre of music known as köçekçe, which was performed in the form of suites in a given melody. It too was a mix of Sufi, Balkan and classical Anatolian influences, some of which survives in popular Turkish music today. The accompaniment included various percussion instruments, such as the davul-köçek, the davul being a large drum, one side covered with goat skin and the other in sheep skin, producing different tones. A köçek's skill would be judged not only on his dancing abilities but also on his proficiency with percussion instruments, especially a type of castagnette known as the çarpare.^[2] The dancers were accompanied by an orchestra, featuring four to five each kaba kemençe and laouto as principal instruments, used exclusively for köçek suites.^[6] There were also two singers. A köçek dance in the Ottoman seraglio (palace harem) involved one or two dozen köçeks and many musicians.^[2] The occasions of their performances were wedding or circumcision celebrations, feasts and festivals, as well as the pleasure of the sultans and the aristocracy.

The youths, often wearing heavy makeup, would curl their hair and wear it in long tresses under a small black or red velvet hat decorated with coins, jewels and gold. Their usual garb consisted of a tiny red embroidered velvet jacket with a gold-embroidered silk shirt, shalvar (baggy trousers), a long skirt and a gilt belt, knotted at the back. They were said to be "sensuous, attractive, effeminate", and their dancing "sexually provocative". Dancers minced and gyrated their hips in slow vertical and horizontal figure eights, rhythmically snapping their fingers and making suggestive gestures. Often acrobatics, tumbling and mock wrestling were part of the act.^[7]^[8]

Famous poets, such as Enderûnlu Fâzıl, wrote poems, and classical composers, such as the court musician Hammamizade İsmail Dede Efendi (1778–1846), composed köçekçes for celebrated köçeks. Many Istanbul meyhanes (nighttime taverns serving meze, rakı or wine) hired köçeks. Before starting their performance, the köçek danced among the spectators, to make them more excited. In the audience, competition for their attention often caused commotions and altercations. Men would allegedly go wild, breaking their glasses, shouting themselves voiceless, or fighting and sometimes killing each other vying for the opportunity to rape, molest, or otherwise force the children into sexual servitude.^[9] This resulted in suppression of the practice under Sultan Abdulmejid I.^[2] In 1805, there were approximately 600 köçek dancers working in the taverns of the Turkish capital. They were outlawed in 1837 due to fighting among audience members over the dancers.^[10] With the suppression of harem culture under Sultan Abdulaziz (1861–1876) and Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1876–1908), köçek dance and music lost the support of its imperial patrons and gradually disappeared.^[11]

Köçeks were much more sought after than the çengi ("belly dancers"), their female counterparts. Some youths were known to have been killed by the çengi, who were extremely jealous of men's attention toward the boys.^[9]^[12]

Modern offshoots

Today, Köçek dancing is still seen in Turkey, although it has changed form to a more folkloric and less sexualized dance and is now done by adult men, still in skirts, beards and all^[13]. A modern interpretation is the movie Köçek (1975) by director Nejat Saydam. The movie follows the life of Caniko, an androgynous Roma, who struggles with his gender identity.^[14]