A ROOTED FOLK CULTURE AT THE BALKANS AND THRACE REGION: THE PRACTICE OF GUSLARI (MINSTRELS) AND PESNA (FOLK TUNE)

Oral culture including oral narrative/tradition and literature not only holds the adventure of thousands of years of the society it belongs intrinsically but also serves as a resource for the written culture. It is transferred from one generation to another through representatives such as bards, minstrels and saga tellers. One of the agents known by names such as “bard”, “minstrel”, “shaman”, “k？ssahan” (saga teller) is “guslari” as known at the Balkans and Thrace region. Although some differences are found between guslari, who perform melodious poems and narratives with the musical instrument called “gusle” of the minstrels in Anatolia and the minstrels, there are some similarities in terms of the performance of minstrel tradition. The characteristics of the practice of Guslaris embody remarkable features with their status in the tradition, their world of narration and performance aspect. It is noted that apart from the historical background of the practice of Guslari, the Turkish-Islamic cultural atmosphere and tradition of being minstrels left traces on the Guslari from the Balkans, especially in Ottoman period. In addition to the practice of Guslari, the “pesna” folk tunes/songs forming the other part of this study has an importance. In addition to the Guslaris, amateur people in the public said that the pesnas, the harmony of poetry and melody is remarkable. The status in oral tradition, functioning and properties of “pesna” as a variety combining poetry and music in Slavic region are undeniable not only for Pomaks and Romans but also in Bulgaria, Macedonia and Greece. As a result, it is observed that both the Guslari organisation and “pesna” telling tradition hold various cultural values as the significant elements of folk culture at the Thrace and the Balkans and seen as the reflection of the society they belong