Gunef

Çerkes müzikleri (Circassian music) refers to the traditional and modern musical practices of the Adyghe/Circassian peoples of the Northwest Caucasus and their large diaspora, especially in Turkey. Its core is dance- and ritual-centered: swift, noble couple dances such as Qafe (Kafe) and shared pan‑Caucasian forms like Lezginka are performed to driving ostinati and asymmetric meters. Signature instruments include the shichepshin (a bowed spike-fiddle used for lyrical, ornamented melodies), pkhachich (wooden clappers that supply the crisp beat), and, from the 19th–20th centuries, the garmon/accordion (Adyghe: pşine), which became the principal dance accompanist. Vocals appear as solo laments, toasts, and narrative songs (often in Adyghe/Kabardian), with melodic modes close to natural/harmonic minor and Dorian and a strong taste for modal cadences and ornamental turns. In diaspora settings (Ottoman/Turkish, Jordanian, Syrian), Circassian music retained core dance identities while absorbing timbres and forms from surrounding traditions. Today it spans village ensembles, state folk orchestras, and studio-produced folk-pop that preserves the dance grammar and characteristic rhythmic lift.