Çorum Folk Dances
In Çorum’s folk-dance tradition, the two core instruments are the drum (davul) and the double-reed zurna; in some areas the bağlama, clarinet or a hand-held davul also accompany the dance. According to the Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the province’s best-known dances are the Çorum Halayı, the Knife Dance (Bıçak Oyunu), the Drum Dance (Davul Oyunu), Dillala, İğdeli Gelin, Çekirge, Miço, Bediriş and Benli. Most are danced as a halay, sung to a folk tune, and performed in a disciplined line; alongside danced songs there are also nature-themed (Çekirge) and love-themed (Dillala, İğdeli Gelin) pieces.
Çorum Halayı
Danced by six male performers to drum and zurna, the Çorum Halayı unfolds in three parts: Ağırlama (a slow opening), followed by a section called İkileme where the music changes, and finally Yellendirme (Hoplatma), danced to faster, more agile movements. Each part has its own tune; a well-known quatrain from the İkileme section runs:
Karşıda kürt evleri hele yandım Yayılır develeri Elmasım hey Oturmuş inek sağar hele yandım Terliyor sinesi Elmasım hey
İğdeli Gelin and Dillala
İğdeli Gelin is danced by young men and women who join hands, one man beside one woman, to form a ring; its song describes a bride who has fallen asleep by a spring, her “kohl-lined eyes” drawing attention. Dillala is danced with 6 girls and 6 men, though only the 6 men and one girl actively perform; the remaining girls stand in the background as figurants.
Çekirge
Until recent times, one of the greatest fears of Çorum’s farming communities was the locust swarms (çekirge) that appeared as crops ripened; people fired guns and banged tin cans to drive the plague away. This experience gave rise to a dance performed by 6 girls and 6 men to drum and zurna, its figures choreographed to mimic the locust’s movements.
Other Dances and Sinsin
Çorum also knows dances such as Benli, Miço, Bediriş and Sarıkız. In the wedding-night festivity known as the “gece meydan âlemi” (night square gathering), halay and zeybek are joined by Sinsin — a dance performed by village youths around a bonfire, to drum and zurna. According to a publication of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in the Çorum region this dance is also called Zamah or Zamak Oyunu.
Semah
Semah, one of the twelve services performed in the cem rituals of Anatolian Alevis, is also practised in Çorum with minor regional variations; performed by men and women together, in a circle or facing one another without touching, its hand movements and postures carry symbolic meaning as a form of worship.