A Personal Fight

By Brooke Heriges, *Cultural Expressions night exhibits Turkish film, food* - The Daily Beacon - Knoxville, TN, USA
Friday, November 6, 2009

Wednesday night in the International House was different than usual. Instead of the traditional Culture Night, the I-House decided to focus on one country in particular, Turkey, in a Cultural Expressions night. The different format made it possible to look at the specific history and religions that made Turkish culture what it is today.

Instead of the typical full-scale meal that many have come to associate with and indeed the reason for which to attend the culture nights, the I-House started things off with a short film, depicting different religions and their profound impacts on the country that would be Turkey. Though primarily Islamic today, Turkey was at one time the site of many important stories from the Christian Bible as well. All the different religions and ways of thought also influenced the arts of Turkey and more specifically the architecture. This way of looking at the country, not through its political wars or powerful leaders, but through theology and art was quite interesting for those present.

“It is nice to see a country that isn’t centered around government but its culture and its dancing and art,” Amanda Reuter, junior in Spanish and international business, said.

After the film, younger children demonstrated Turkish folk dancing. Many cultures have traditional dance, and so do the Turks, but something was lost in the performance as none of the moves or the music was explained before or afterward. Regardless, the kids dancing and the food — some Turkish cuisine was served directly after the dance — will be what sticks with some people.

“The little kids were really cute,” said Ashley Reuter, freshman in business. “And the food was really good.”

Next up for the evening was a speaker who talked about Sufism in Turkey. Sufism is a mystical branch of Islam, of which the famous Whirling Dervishes are a part. The presenter’s story was revealing as far as the tenants of Sufism go. He emphasized that Sufism means to seek God through personal experience, and then he went on to tell the stories of how Sufism came to be. He made one clear point in his presentation that is particularly apt for American students who don’t already know — he informed the audience that a jihad, a word heard very often these days with a strongly negative connotation, actually refers to a personal fight between the soul and the ego of a person. He did not spend long on this topic, just a brief pause in one of his stories, but the implications of the importance of culture nights (or country nights) were there. Some members of the audience agreed.

“These events are useful to compare cultures and see the differences between them,” Amanda said. “How they all interact and what one culture or country perceives of others.”

To close out the night, a video was shown highlighting one artform in Turkey, called Ebru, which is essentially marbleized and dyed water. The video was mesmerizing as what appeared to be random dots floating in water slowly came together to make an entire picture. However, because the attendance was low, and many people had left after the food was eaten, few people got to experience the second half of the evening.

“These events are better than reading about culture out of textbook because its visual,” Ashley said. “All types of people are here who are actually part of the culture.”
Amanda continued, “It’s one thing to read about it, or watch something on the Discovery Channel. But it’s different because (these events) are more interactive, and you get to see how people communicate.”

[Picture: Ebru Art from Dr. Mehmet Refii Kileci]