In this neighborhood, the sound of the drum has not been heard for 3 Ramadans.

06.03.2025 10:10

In the Umurbey neighborhood of Edirne, there have been no drummers available during Ramadan for the past three years due to low tips. The neighborhood headman, who is protesting the situation, stated, "They say, 'We can't do this at 3 or 4 in the morning.' They are trying to go to larger neighborhoods. We have a population of about 3,900. We haven't heard any drum sounds here for three years. At this rate, our tradition will come to an end."

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In the Umurbey neighborhood of Edirne, there has been no Ramadan drummer for 3 years due to low tips. In a neighborhood where the majority are low-income, no one has wanted to play the drum during Ramadan since 2022. The neighborhood headman, Turhan Özgünden, who is trying to keep the tradition alive by drumming with the local youth, expressed his frustration about the situation. Özgünden, who brought the issue to the attention of the governor's office and municipalities, did not receive any results.

"THERE IS NOT MUCH TIP FROM OUR NEIGHBORHOOD"

Stating that they entered this Ramadan without a drummer in the neighborhood, Headman Turhan Özgünden said, "Three years ago, our drummers did not want to play here because there is no salary or a certain amount of money given. Since there are only collected tips, not much tip comes from our neighborhood either. For this reason, they did not accept. In 2022, we tried to continue our tradition with the youth. Later, we could not do it in 2023 and 2024. We requested institutions to take this on; we wanted the governor's office, municipality, foundations, or an institution like the Red Crescent to provide a salary to drummers at least once a year during Ramadan. We have not received any positive response to this request," he said.

"70% ARE LOW-INCOME PEOPLE"

Özgünden stated that 70% of the residents in the neighborhood are low-income, saying, "The people we asked do not want to do it because there are no tips and no extra money. They say, 'We cannot do this at 3 or 4 in the morning.' They are trying to go to larger neighborhoods. We have a population of about 3,900. Mainly, 70% of the neighborhood consists of low-income people. They work in jobs like daily labor, dishwashing, and cleaning stairs. They struggle to make ends meet. Generally, they do not open their doors much and naturally do not want to give tips. Even if they do, they give small amounts like 5-10 lira, which does not satisfy the drummer," he said.

"LET THIS TRADITION NOT END"

Özgünden called on the authorities, saying, "We are calling out to institutions that can take this on. Let this tradition of ours not end; there has been no sound of drums here for three years. If this continues, it will reach a point of complete disappearance. This is currently my problem, the problem of this neighborhood, but in the future, it will also be a problem for other neighborhoods with poor economic conditions. Gradually, our drum tradition will be finished at this rate," he said.

"I CANNOT ACCEPT NOT PLAYING THE DRUM DURING RAMADAN"

Ahmet Örs, a resident of the neighborhood, expressed that the absence of drummers has saddened them, saying, "We have not had a drummer for 3 Ramadans; unfortunately, this is really a sad situation for us. Because this is a tradition. I cannot accept the idea of not playing the drum during Ramadan. Our headman has really made applications to the relevant places, but we have not received a response so far, which really saddens us. Our request is just for a drummer, nothing else at the moment," he stated.

"I DO THIS WITH SOME PEOPLE'S MONEY AND SOME PEOPLE'S PRAYERS"

Ekrem Daval, who has been a Ramadan drummer in the Abdurrahman neighborhood for 15 years, expressed his satisfaction with his own neighborhood, saying, "I have been doing this job for 15 years. I do it with some people's money and some people's prayers. Whatever Allah gives, they give from their hearts. I am satisfied with this neighborhood. People give as much as they can. Whether it is enough or not, we say we do our job. We are not going to take from people's pockets by force. They give what they can from their hearts, and we say may it be blessed. I also understand the friends over there; the salary they receive may not be sufficient, but I am satisfied with my neighborhood," he said.