The national identity of a country is the political and cultural aspects that of which define the country. The culture of a country includes musical traditions, religion, language and of course, the people. According to Anna Triandafyllidou, the national identity of a nation is described as a “psychological bond that binds fellow nationals together” creating as she put it “a sense of belonging” (Triandafyllidou 1992). The “sense of belonging” could be easier for other nations, however for Cyprus it is a little more complicated that that. The north part of Cyprus would call themselves “Turkish Cypriots” however on the south part of Cyprus, they label themselves “Greek Cypriots”. The national identity of the Republic of Cyprus diverges across the land.
The Republic of Cyprus was a former British colony, but declared their independence in 1960. However, their was a strain between Turkish Cypriots in the north and Greek Cypriots in the south and in 1963 violence broke out in the capitol on Nicosia. A year later in 1964, the Greek government supported a coup to overthrow the president of Cyprus, however the Turkish government got ahold of this plan and intervened. In 1983, the northern part of Cyprus—which was predominantly Turkish Cypriots— declared themselves the “Republic of Northern Cyprus” (TRNC) although this declaration was only recognized by Turkey. The United Nations (UN) came together to vote if they wanted to acknowledge TRNC, but this vote failed. Then the leaders of TRNC and the Republic of Cyprus (ROC) came together to see if they could unify the country together again, however this failed again. The entire nation then entered the European Union (EU) in 2004 but the EU only recognizes an “internationally recognized government” so all the laws and rights to those under the EU do not apply to TRNC (CIA). However a Turkish Cypriot may still document their legality under TRNC.
Even though the two communities live on the same, small island, their languages and ethnicities and culture differ greatly. In the Republic of Cyprus, the Greek Cypriots speak Greek and a majority of them are Christian Orthodox. (Psaltis Chakal 2). The musical traditions in the ROC are closely linked with that of Greece. Church music was very common and prominent during the “identity-building process of the Greek Cypriot population” (Hasikou 2). A Byzantine chant was especially notable in the Greek Cypriot nationalist movement. This brought out the ‘Greekness’ in the ROC as the Byzantine music stood as a important symbol for the “cultural heritage from ancient Greece” that both Greece and the ROC share (Hasikou 2). This traditional music ensemble included the incorporation of wind and string instruments accompanied by small orchestras. As time has gone on and society has become modernized, Cyprus followed along incorporating more modern, western music in their country contributing to their national identity. Genres such as pop, rock and heavy metal, folk and electronic music is very common in the Republic of Cyprus today.
The politics in both TRNC and ROC differ as well. In the Republic of Cyprus, they have a Presidential democracy with the president being Nicos Anastasiades who has held office since 1997. In the Republic of Northern Cyprus they have a semi-presidential democracy with the president being Mustafa Akıncı and the prime minister, Hüseyin Özgürgün. The vice president position in the Republic of Cyprus has always been open for a Turkish Cypriot, however this spot has not been filled since 1974 because Turkish Cypriots do not interfere with the Cyprus government.
The Republic of Northern Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriots speak Turkish and a majority of them are Sunni Muslim (Psaltis Chakal 2). Fold music is very traditional and popular in Northern Cyprus. Additionally, fasil, which is a traditional Turkish music is very popular as well. Fasil was derived from the Ottoman’s, “some dating back to the 14 century” (Cyprus44 1). In this type of music, different scales and/or modes are put together and they make a song. In a fasil, their is a “prelude, postlude and a first section that begins and ends with improvised music” (Cyprus44). Another popular genre of music is jazz and mainstream pop—which is mostly played in newer clubs and hotel discos.
Greek Cypriots say that they have always wanted to have a unified state and live peacefully and coexist with the dissimilar communities. While Turkish Cypriots say that this has never and probably will never happen seeing as the two unalike groups have always fought and lived in conflict. Greek Cypriots became more integrated with Greek educational systems and they watch Greek television. Turkish Cypriots mixed their culture more with Turkey through their economy and customs.
Overall, the national identity of Cyprus as a country is complex since their are two different sides with clashing religions, languages, politics and culture in total. However as time goes on and society becomes more modern, the two sides are becoming more alike. Turkish Cypriots, all though are closely linked with Turkey are seen more as liberated Turkish Cypriots, and in 1974 many of them decided to identify as Cypriots rather than Turks. They also felt threatened by cultural assimilation when an arrival of Turks entered their island. Their influence of religion is also decreasing on both sides with Turkish Cypriots who did take after the Turkish national identity, which surfaced as an anti-religious ideology; and Greek Cypriots had strong religious associations with the Hellenic–Christians ideals, but the influence of religion still decreased. The national identity has always been indistinguishable between the two groups of Turkish and Greek Cypriots, however in the future maybe Cyprus can unify and become one nation and obtain one strong national identity.
Word Count: 945
Citations:
Cakal; Psaltis. ( 2016). "Social Identity in a Divided Cyprus" [web log post.] Retrieved from https://ucy.ac.cy/dir/documents/dir/cpsaltis/Psaltis_and_Chakal_2016_SIT_in_CY. pdf
Cyprus. (2018). The CIA World Factbook Retrieve from https://www.cia.gov/library/ publications/the-world- factbook/geos/cy.html
Cyprus44. Music in North Cyprus. Retrieved from http://www.cyprus44.com/culture/music .asp
Cyprus. Countries and their Cultures. Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/Cr- Ga/Cyprus.html
Hasikou. (2015, July). "Music and Society in Cyprus: British Colonialism and the Emergence of European Music Traditions" [web log post.] Retrieved from http://www.athensjournals.gr/humanities/2015-2-3-5-Hasikou.pdf
Triandafyllidou, A. (1998). National identity and the 'other.' Ethnic and Racial Studies, 21(4) 593-612. Retrieved from http://login.proxy.seattleu.edu/login?url=https://search- proquest-com.proxy.seattleu.edu/docview/210167159?accountid=28598
