''Qaytarma'' (; also written as ''Haytarma'') is a form of Crimean Tatar

folk dance A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, Ritual, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances. Ritual dances ...

and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

characterised by cyclical motion. It is most commonly performed at weddings and on holidays.

Description

During ''Qaytarma'', a male dancer holds his arms apart and forms fists, making short, provocative movements with small jumps. His dancing partner, usually a woman, acts without sharp movements. Instead, she performs exact movements of her legs and shoulders, making smooth, rotational hand movements. According to other studies, among them those conducted by , only women should participate in ''Qaytarma'', or, if men participate, they should do so separately from women. In addition to

Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...

Krymchaks Krymchaks ( Krymchak: , , , ) are Jewish ethno-religious communities of Crimea derived from Turkic-speaking adherents of Rabbinic Judaism.Crimean Karaites Crimean Karaites or simply Karaites (Crimean Karaim language, Karaim: Кърымкъарайлар, ''Qrımqaraylar'', singular къарай, ''qaray''; Trakai dialect: ''karajlar'', singular ''karaj''; ; ; ), also known more broadly as Eastern E ...

Urums Urums (, ; , ''Urúm''; Turkish and Crimean Tatar: ''Urum,'' ) are several groups of Turkic-speaking Greek Orthodox people native to Crimea. The emergence and development of the Urum identity took place from 13th to the 17th centuries. Bringin ...

, and

Ukrainian Greeks Ukrainian Greeks are a Greek minority that reside in or used to reside in the territory of modern Ukraine. The majority of Ukrainian Greeks live in Donetsk Oblast and are particularly concentrated around the city of Mariupol. According to the 20 ...

also dance ''Qaytarma''. According to researcher Serhiy Zaichenko, ''Qaytarma'' music is typically in 9/8 or 7/8 time, which is common of Turkic music.

History

The exact origins of ''Qaytarma'' remain uncertain, but two theories are dominant. The first, proposed by Anatolii Bohorod, suggests that it originates from

Sufi whirling Sufi whirling (or Sufi turning) ( borrowed from Persian Sama-zan, Sama, meaning ''listening'', from Arabic, and zan, meaning doer, from Persian) is a form of physically active meditation which originated among certain Sufism, Sufi groups, and w ...

. The second theory claims that the dance originated with the arrival of

Sephardic Jews Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

in Crimea following their expulsion from the Iberian Peninsula through the

Crimean Roma The Crimean Roma (also known as Crimean gypsies, Tatar gypsies, or ''Çingene'') are a sub-ethnic group of the Muslim Roma heavily assimilated among Crimean Tatars to the point that they are now considered to be the fourth subgroup of Crimean Tat ...

. ''Qaytarma'' was first mentioned in 1793. In a 1925 archaeological and ethnographic expedition of Crimea, Crimean Tatar researchers Usein Bodaninsky,

Osman Aqçoqraqlı Osman Nuri-Asan oğlu Aqçoqraqlı ( – 17 April 1938), also written as Aqchoqraqli or Akchokrakli, was a Crimean Tatar writer, journalist, historian, archaeologist, ethnographer, and teacher. Early life Osman Nuri-Asan oğlu Aqçoqraqlı was ...

, and recorded 25 different versions of ''Qaytarma''. Refatov further concluded in 1932 that ''Qaytarma'' was unique to the Crimean Tatars, without influence from Russian, Turkish, or Iranian culture. In Zaichenko's 1995 study of Greek Ukrainian dances, he recorded further variations of ''Qaytarma'' practiced in the south-eastern

Pryazovia Pryazovia (, sometimes spelled , ''Pryozivia''; ) or literally Cis-Azov region is usually used to refer to the geographic area of the north coast of the Sea of Azov, mostly located in south-eastern Ukraine, with a small part in Russia. It is l ...

region.

In popular culture

The first written piece of ''Qaytarma'' music was created by

Alexander Spendiaryan Alexander Afanasyevich Spendiarov (, November 1, 1871, Kakhovka, Russian Empire – May 7, 1928, Yerevan, Armenia) was a Russian composer and conductor of Armenian descent, founder of Armenian national symphonic music. Biography Alexander S ...

in 1903 during his stay in

Bilohirsk Bilohirsk (until 1944 – Karasubazar, ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Bilohirsk Raion, one of the raions (districts) of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which is recognised by a majority of countries as part of Ukraine, but i ...

(then known as Karasubazar) as part of his ''Crimean Sketches'' symphony. Unlike most authentic pieces, Spendiaryan's ''Khaytarma'' () is in 3/8 time. In the 1930s, Ennan Alimov painted a piece about Qaytarma, titled ''Girl Dancing Qaytarma''. The ensemble was established in 1939 as part of the . Crimean Tatar director

Akhtem Seitablayev Akhtem Shevketovych Seitablayev (, , ; born 11 December 1972) is a Ukrainian actor, screenwriter and film director of the Crimean Tatars origin. He is the director of several high-profile films, including '' Haytarma'' in 2013 and '' Another's Pra ...

has referenced ''Qaytarma'' multiple times, most notable as the title and opening sequence of his 2013 film

Haytarma ''Haytarma'' () is a 2013 Ukrainian period drama film. It portrays Crimean Tatar flying ace and Hero of the Soviet Union Amet-khan Sultan against the background of the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars. Haytarma means "return", but is also ...

. On ''

Tantsi z zirkamy ''Tantsi z zirkamy'' (, ''Dancing with the Stars'') is a Ukrainian dance competition show that premiered on October 7, 2006, on 1+1. The show is based on the British reality TV competition ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and is part of the ''Dancing ...

'', he performed the dance alongside dancer Olena Shoptenko. Elements of ''Qaytarma'' and ''Tım-tım'', another Crimean Tatar folk dance, were incorporated into the music video for the song

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

. In 2015,

Ukrposhta The Public Joint-stock company, JSC Ukrainian Postal Service or Ukrposhta () is the national postal service of Ukraine. It is a public company with 100% state ownership due to its strategic importance. From 1999–2015 it was a unitary enterpris ...

issued a stamp depicting ''Qaytarma'' as part of its Crimean Tatar stamp series.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qaytarma Crimean Tatar culture Crimean Tatar music European folk dances Ukrainian folk dances Ukrainian folk music