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Journals / Musicologist / 2025 / Volume: 9 Issue: SI Special Issue

Strategic Rituals and Symbolic Power: Henna Nights as Cultural Performance in Novi Pazar

Mehtap Demir Güven(İSTANBUL ÜNİVERSİTESİ, İSTANBUL DEVLET KONSERVATUVARI)0000-0003-4654-7872
Pages
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Publication Date
2025-12-31
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The article reveals that cultural elements function not only as means for transmitting values and knowledge, but also as strategic components of identity, power, and mechanisms of political representation.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

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Objective & Hypothesis:This study evaluates the cultural behaviors of the Muslim Bosniak community living in the city of Novi Pazar, Serbia, specifically through the cultural elements observed in ceremonial transition rituals such as henna night celebrations, and the meanings attributed to these elements.
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Key Findings & Data:In this region, where layers of Ottoman heritage, Bosniak identity, Turkishness, and Islamic identity are interwoven, the study analyzes—through an interpretivist approach and in light of field data—how cultural elements may occupy a strategic position in identity construction.
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Conclusion & Impact:The article reveals that cultural elements function not only as means for transmitting values and knowledge, but also as strategic components of identity, power, and mechanisms of political representation.
🔬Design:Research Article
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Henna nights · Cultural performance · Novi Pazar

Abstract

This study evaluates the cultural behaviors of the Muslim Bosniak community living in the city of Novi Pazar, Serbia, specifically through the cultural elements observed in ceremonial transition rituals such as henna night celebrations, and the meanings attributed to these elements. In this region, where layers of Ottoman heritage, Bosniak identity, Turkishness, and Islamic identity are interwoven, the study analyzes—through an interpretivist approach and in light of field data—how cultural elements may occupy a strategic position in identity construction. The research is based on the theory of interpretive anthropology and employs qualitative data collection methods. Field data were gathered through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions, and were analyzed using descriptive analysis and thematic coding techniques. This method reinforces the notion that henna night, as a rite of passage, functions not merely as a traditional festivity, but also as a crucial space in the construction of both individual and collective identities. Additionally, the study engages with the theoretical frameworks of Balkanism and Orientalism to discuss the tension between internal representations and external gazes; it argues that such ceremonies can serve both as local cultural expressions and as strategic re-presentations. The support provided to the Muslim community in Novi Pazar by Türkiye through instruments of cultural diplomacy is evaluated as a significant element in the processes of cultural continuity and identity reinforcement. The article reveals that cultural elements function not only as means for transmitting values and knowledge, but also as strategic components of identity, power, and mechanisms of political representation.

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Cite This Article

Güven, M. D. (2025). Strategic Rituals and Symbolic Power: Henna Nights as Cultural Performance in Novi Pazar. Musicologist, Volume: 9 Issue: SI Special Issue. https://doi.org/10.33906/musicologist.1709759

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