İşte Hendek is a circle folk dance choreographed in Eastern-Turkish style to the psychedelic rock song “İşte Hendek İşte Deve,” composed (words & music) and sung by Turkish Anatolian rocker Barış Manço. Bora Özkök taught the dance in USA after learning it from the University of Istanbul Ethnic Dancers, in 1970. In that year, Manço had something of an eponymous demo cassette tape, Barış Manço – Barış Manço and didn’t cut a 45 rpm single of “İşte Hendek İşte Deve” until 1971 (Sayan – FS 266) which appeared in the same year on the LP compilation album of 45 singes Dünden Bugüne. Since they were in the same city, they probably heard it at a show, got the tape, and crafted the dance. There are endless remixes of Barış Manço’s version of the song and covers on YouTube, including by Turkish pop singer Çağlar Alkaç, who brought it to the attention of new generations in 2017.
Dance Name: | İşte Hendek |
Country of Origin: | Turkey |
Region: | Eastern |
Dance Type: | Circle/Chain/Line: non-partner |
Dance Category: | Oldies RIFD |
Folk Status: | Arranged Folklore |
Skill Level: | Easy |
Energy Intensity: | Moderate |
Pronunciation: | EESH-teh HEN-dek |
Translation: | Here is the ditch, here is the camel |
Aliases: | Iste Hendik |
Choreographed by: | University of Istanbul Ethnic Dancers |
Presented in USA: | Bora Özkök |
Year: | 1970 |
Song: | İşte Hendek İşte Deve (Barış Manço, 1971) |
Time Signature: | 2/4 |
Dancer Formation: | Short Lines (≤ 10) Keep lines tight & move as a unit |
Hand Hold: | Halay Hold |
Leads to: | R w/ R |
Date Taught: | 6/11/2024 |
Teacher: | Deryl |
Published: | June 6, 2024 |
Updated: | June 12, 2024 |
Tosun Yusuf Mehmet Barış Manço was born January 2, 1943 in Üsküdar, Istanbul, Turkey. He was a rock musician, singer, composer, actor, television producer, and show host in Turkey until his untimely and shocking death from a heart attack on February 1, 1999 in Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey. Barış was one of the pioneers in the Anatolian rock genre, aka Turkish psychedelic rock; a fusion of Turkish folk music and rock, and he later became known as the “The Father of Anatolian Rock.” Even after his death, he is still remains one of Turkey’s most popular public figures.
The song plot is of an age-old love story: Boy falls in love with girl; Girl’s parents/relatives don’t approve; Girl ends up with someone else, Boy is sad. In this particular case, the boy is offered a way around it. To prove himself worthy of the girl, all he has to do is get on a camel and make it jump a ditch. For those familiar with camel culture, you know that this is an impossible task. In fact, there is a proverb in Turkish and Kurdish about it: “It’s easier to make a camel jump a ditch than make a fool listen to reason.” See the full lyrics here.
About the Dance
The dance consists of four parts of four bars (in 2/4) each. The leader calls a change with “getch getch.” The parts are usually done in sequence, otherwise it would be confusing. Even though there are four parts, only bar 2 changes, and bars 1 and 3 & 4 are always the same. Comparing parts I & II, one notices that the difference is part II adds a double hop to bar 2, so the rhythm is double time (QQQQ instead of SS) to fit that in. This addition is repeated between parts III & IV, where the base motif is a back chug instead of what I call a “Calf Thrust.” Even though there are four “parts,” it’s just two versions of a one-count step and the addition of a double hop to multiply the two versions into four. In my notation, I give these steps a half count + hold for the S in I & III for pattern comparison, but “hold” isn’t part of the original notation from Bora, rather the step is listed a S or Q, but in practice, the movement speed is the same, it’s just the timing of when the next step comes that changes.
- In various dance notes and videos, there is some variation in where the right foot should be placed in relation to the left when it lands in bar 2. I prefer R immediately in front of L for quick calf hugging w/ L instep in the Calf Thrust while crossing R over L for the Chug Back.
- In bar 4, there should be some leaning back while bending your knees down. Most of the groups in the videos don’t do this this, perhaps because it’s hard on the knees and back?
- Also in bar 4, groups add a shimmy before and during the bounces. This shimmy is big and involves the entire torso rather than just the typical shoulder shimmy. It’s rapid and something like a wet dog shake. The not-so-good video from Pasadena Folk Dance Co-op at least shows that. The bouncing so much that it has become jumping is not what you are trying to accomplish. The heels should come off the ground, and weight is on the balls of the feet.
Dance Steps of İşte Hendek
Repeated Step Motifs
Figure | Bar | Rhythm | Step |
---|---|---|---|
Walk & Pivot | 1 | SQQ | Moving LOD while facing diagonal R : R ● L ● Pivot on L to face center (the pivot connects to Step in Bar 2); Optionally, call out, “Uuh!” |
Calf Thrust | bar 2 ct. 2 or & of 2 | Q | Bend L knee & place L behind R calf while bending body bkwd & up sharply |
Chug Back | bar 2 ct. 2 or & of 2 | Q | Bend slightly fwd & bend & lift L leg slightly in back, chug bkwd on R |
Hop Hop | bar 2 ct. 1 | Hop 2x on L while swinging stiff R leg around in front of L (QQ) | |
Back & Bounce | (3) | SS | Move bkwd w/ small steps: L ● R |
(4) | SQQ | Close L & bend knees & lean bkwd, then slowly straighten in prep for next beat (this is a continuous motion, starting downward on the beat and straightening up on the & to be straight up for count 2) ● bounce on both feet 2x (QQ) |
The Dance: İşte Hendek
Figure | Bar | Rhythm | Step |
---|---|---|---|
I. BIR (Beer) | 1 | SQQ | Walk & Pivot |
2 | SS | Step R in front of L ● Calf Thrust + hold | |
3-4 | SS, SQQ | Back & Bounce | |
II. IKY (Icky) | 1 | SQQ | Walk & Pivot |
2 | QQQQ | Hop Hop ● R in front of L (Q) ● Calf Thrust (Q) | |
3-4 | SS, SQQ | Back & Bounce | |
III. UC (Uch) | 1 | SQQ | Walk & Pivot |
2 | SS | Step R across L ● Chug Back + hold | |
3-4 | SS, SQQ | Back & Bounce | |
IV. DORT (Dirt) | 1 | SQQ | Walk & Pivot |
2 | QQQQ | Hop Hop ● R across L (Q) ● Chug Back | |
3-4 | SS, SQQ | Back & Bounce |
Dancing Examples
Music Examples
Lyrics: İşte Hendek İşte Deve (Here’s the Ditch, Here’s the Camel)
The best of a blend of sources: Dunav, LyricsTranslate, Shira, and Google Translate.Kuyu başına vardım
Zeynep'im bekler diye [Zeynep'i görem diye]
Nasıl haberin almışsa
Dayı emmi hep orada.
Dediler; ne ararsın
Kızı almak mı istersin ?
Sana bir çift sözümüz var
Hele buysa niyetin:
CHORUS:
İşte hendek işte deve
Ya atarsın ya biçersin
Baktın olmaz vazgeçersin
Zordur almak bizden kızı
İşte Halep, işte arşın
Ya aşarsın ya biçersin
Baktın olmaz vazgeçersin
Zordur almak bizden kızı
Instrumental
Instrumental
Söğüdün dalı uzun
Barış'ın gönlü hüzün
Dudağımda aynı türkü
Seneler sonra bugün
Dayı emmi yaşlanmış
Develer kervan olmuş
Zeynep’imden haber sordum
Başkasına yar olmuş
Chorus
Instrumental
Instrumental
Söğüdün dalı uzun
Barış'ın gönlü hüzün
Elin elimde değmedi
Varın, anlayın gayrıI came to the well,
Thinking my Zeynep1 would be waiting.
Somehow her uncles found out,
And they were already there.
They said, "What are you looking for?
Do you want to marry the girl?
We have a few words to say to you,
Especially if this is indeed your intention:"
CHORUS:
Here is the ditch,
Here is the camel,
Either jump over [on camelback] or fall in [the ditch]2.
If you think you can't, then give up,
It's hard to get our niece from us!
Here's Aleppo [a distant city], here's the yardstick,
Either you get there or you try to measure up,
If you think you can't, then give up!
It's hard to get our niece from us!
Instrumental
Instrumental
The branch of the willow is long,
Baris'3 heart is broken.
I have the same song on my lips,
Today, after many years.
The uncles got old,
Camels became caravans4.
I asked for news of my Zeynep,
And she's in love with someone else.
Chorus
Instrumental
Instrumental
The branch of the willow is long,
Baris' heart is broken.
I never even touched her hand with mine,
I'll let you figure out the rest.
1. Zeynep (Zaynab): an Arabic female given name meaning "a fragrant tree."
2. camels are notorious for their resistance to jump over a ditch = an impossible task to get one to jump a ditch; A Turkish and Kurdish proverb says, "It’s easier to make a camel jump a ditch than make a fool listen to reason."
3. Baris: the guy who wrote the song, Barış Manço.
4. caravan: in USA, a towable house or camp trailer