【亚洲·土耳其】美达说书艺术 Arts of the Meddah, public storytellers（2008年）

“Meddahlik是一种土耳其戏剧形式，由一个叫meddah的说书人表演，在土耳其和讲土耳其语的国家都有实践。古往今来，由于亚洲、高加索和中东各国人民在这个广阔的地理区域内的互动，类似的叙事体裁蓬勃发展。

从历史上看，梅达人被期望照亮、教育和娱乐。这些讲故事的人在商队、市场、咖啡馆、清真寺和教堂里表演，在以文盲为主的人群中传播价值观和思想。他们的社会和政治批评经常引发关于当代问题的热烈讨论。meddah这个词是从阿拉伯语maddah借来的“赞美”，可以翻译成“讲故事的人”。meddah从流行的浪漫故事、传奇和史诗中挑选歌曲和喜剧故事，并根据具体地点和观众改编他的材料。然而，表演的质量在很大程度上取决于说书人和观众之间营造的氛围，以及梅达将模仿、笑话和即兴表演（通常与当代事件有关）结合起来的能力。这门艺术非常重视修辞学的掌握，在土耳其受到高度重视。

尽管一些梅达人仍在一些宗教和世俗庆典上表演，并出现在电视节目中，但由于大众媒体的发展，尤其是咖啡馆里出现了电视机，梅达人已经失去了许多原有的教育和社会功能。”

2008年度列入人类非物质文化遗产名录。

来源：联合国教科文组织亚太地区非物质文化遗产国际培训中心

Meddahlik was a Turkish theatre form performed by a single storyteller called a meddah and practised throughout Turkey and Turkishspeaking countries. Through the ages, similar narrative genres have flourished due to interaction among the peoples of Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East within this wide geographical area.

Historically, meddahs were expected to illuminate, educate, and entertain. Performing in caravanserais, markets, coffeehouses, mosques and churches, these storytellers transmitted values and ideas among a predominantly illiterate population. Their social and political criticism regularly provoked lively discussions about contemporary issues. The term meddah, borrowed from Arabic maddah “to praise”, can be translated as “storyteller”. The meddah selects songs and comic tales from a repertory of popular romances, legends and epics and adapts his material according to the specific venue and audience. However, the quality of the performance largely depends on the atmosphere created between storyteller and spectators, as well as the meddah’s ability to integrate imitations, jokes and improvisation often relating to contemporary events. This art, which places great value on the mastery of rhetoric, is highly regarded in Turkey.

Although some meddahs still perform at a number of religious and secular celebrations and appear on television shows, the genre has lost much of its original educational and social function due to the development of the mass media and in particular because of the appearance of TV sets in cafés.

Included in the list of human intangible cultural heritage in 2008.

Source: UNESCO International Training Center for intangible cultural heritage in the Asia Pacific Region