Zeybek (dance)

Zeybek is a traditional Turkish folk dance that originated from the Aegean Region of Turkey during the Ottoman period. It was performed by and named after the Zeybeks, and was later popularized in the early 20th century by Selim Sırrı Tarcan.

There are over 150 regional variations of the dance, ranging from the slower ağır zeybek to the more livelier kıvrak zeybek. Today, the Zeybek dance stands as a symbol of dignity, pride, and heroism within Turkish culture, embraced at weddings and festive gatherings, as well as by women for its graceful yet powerful movements and its symbolic evocation of honor and bravery.

Etymology

The word zeybek was first attested in Ottoman Turkish sources of the 15th century, appearing in the chronicle Tevārīḫ-i Āl-i ʿOsmān of the Ottoman historian Aşıkpaşazade.

Although its exact origin remains uncertain, several etymological theories have been proposed, with a Turkic origin considered the most plausible. According to the Turkish musicologist and composer Onur Akdoğu, zeybek derives from the Old Turkic compound saybek, meaning “valiant lord”, formed from say (“strong, brave”) and bek (“chieftain”). Other scholars suggest alternative Turkic origins. For instance, professor Mehmet Öcal Özbilgin argues that the word stems from military terminology, originating from sü (“army”) and bey / bek (“lord”), thus conveying a sense of “leader of troops.”

The word and its derivatives appear in various neighboring cultures, reflecting the historical influence of the Zeybek dance. In Greece, a related form of the dance is known as the Zeibekiko, which evolved from the Turkish Zeybek dance.