Transcript Water in Turkish traditions.ppt

WATER RELATED CUSTOMS OF
TURKEY
TURKISH BATHS
The Turkish Bath or Hamam is a community stream bath.
Turkish Baths Have a Important Place in Social Life
Traditionally, bathing is a form of social life, and women in
particular celebrate certain important events at the bath.
Traditional bathing ceremonies include the bridal bath
ceremony, which is organized one day before wedding; the
guest bath to which the hostess invites her friends and
relatives to meet a special visitor; and the holiday bath,
which is taken on the eve of religious holidays. In modern
cities, most of the Turkish baths are touristic and are not a
part of the daily life but in small cities and towns,
traditional bath ceremonies are still organized.
• Turkish Baths are like Beauty Salons
• For women, the Turkish bath also functions as a
beauty salon where facial, hair and body care are
available all day long. Some women dye or apply
henna to their hair in the Turkish bath. The
perspiring body is rubbed with hand mitts (kese)
made of silk or linen to cleanse off all the old skin,
and lathered up numerous times to purify it of
toxins. A woman's body is beautified and her soul
is restored at the bath
KIRKLAMA
The pregnant woman gives birth. 40 days later they
go to wash the baby. But at first they put 40
barleys in the water. And they wash the baby with
this water. This is called ‘kırklama’ People believe
nothing can damage the mother and baby in this
way.
STREAM STONING
Nature comes to life in spring. It gives people love
for life. People need to get rid of all the wicknesses.
So they get together on the beach at the seaside.
The Aksu stream flows into the sea at that point.
People throw seven pairs of Stones and a single one
into the sea, river or lake during the Stone Throwing
Ceremony. One says: ‘my pain and my misfortune
run into the sea’ as a prayer. They believe they will
get rid of all the wicknesses in this way. Seven is a
sacred number. The single Stone is the last Stone. It
is for their wish to come true.
MART BOZUMU
The custom called “Mart bozumu” (breaking March)
in Giresun is another of the significant traditions
related to Nevruz. At this time, water from a stream
is fetched and sprinkled through the local houses. A
guest who brings good luck is expected to visit and
say “I am breaking your March”.
Some activities of mart bozumu
Waterfront Customs: The next day, before the sun
rises, people go down to sources of fresh water and
wash their hands and faces and. Girls tie their
thumbs together with a cord and jump into the
water. They cut the cord and throw it into the
water. This is believed to bring them good luck for
the following year
• The next morning, everybody goes to recreation
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and picnic areas, where they play various games
and eat raw meat balls, rice, egg and piyaz (a
savory food prepared with boiled beans).
-Around Tunceli on that day, men smear soot on
their foreheads and go to the water springs.
There they clean those marks off, pray and make
wishes. Other practices aimed at warding off
trouble and difficulty are also to be witnessed.
-In another game called "pamuk igne" (cotton
needle), two girls from the village perform their
ritual ablution and go to a frozen water place with
a pot in their hands. They break the ice and
immerse the pot in the water, recite the Ihlas
sura from the Kuran seven times and remove the
pot.
In Sebinkarahisar, it is beieved that if someone
bathes in a flowing river on the morning of March
22nd that will give him strength and good health.
FILLING ALL THE CUPS AT HOME
WITH WATER
On 21st of March which is accepted as the beginning of
spring all the cups in peoples’ houses are filled with
water, and people stay awake all night. A basin full of
water is also left in the courtyard to reflect the moon,
and people worship all night long. According to local
belief, if someone’s wish has been granted then the water
in the basin will turn into gold.
POURING WATER AFTER THE
TRAVELLER
When a person sets out for longer journeys water is
purred on the ground before him. This should make
the journey go “easy and effortless as running
water”.This is the traditional way in Turkey to bid
fond farewell to loved ones who are setting out on a
long journey by road vehicle. Actually any container
can be used to throw the water from a glass or a
cup would serve just as well. The tradition itself
serves to express a wish that the long journey
NEVRUZ
The word Nevruz is a combination of the words “ nev”
(new) and “ruz” (day), meaning new day. According to
the old calendar, it is the first day of the year and
regarded as the start of spring, when the sun enters the
house of Aries.
The sun gives more light and heat to the southern
hemisphere until March 21, after which this applies to the
northern hemisphere instead. That is why March 21 st is a
day to celebrate for people living in the northern
hemisphere as the symbol of awakening and creation.
One of the customs during the Nevruz celebrations is:
people come together near the river or lake or sea and
makes fire and jump over the fire
TO WALK AROUND THE ISLAND
SEVEN TIMES
• During the celebrations of Hidrellez we see this
practice in Giresun that people circles the island
seven times. If a person circles the Giresun
island seven times by boat God accepts his wish
unles he or she keeps his wish as a secret. In
order to take seven tours around the island, the
people gather at the seaside.
HIDRELLEZ
• In the Black Sea Region of Turkey a festival called 7th
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of May (Mayıs Yedisi) is celebrated.
Seventh of May is the day, Hızır who brings the summer
to the ground and Ilyas ( Elijah ) who brings the
summer to sea comes together. Some practices of the
seventh of May rituals are:
-If one gets into the sea with right step he will be
happy whole year. It is believed that if one swims in the
seventh of May, he would avoid himself from the evil
eyes and bad spells
-If a person sacrifices a sheep near by the sea God will
accept his wishes.
-If a person drinks the tea of fourty different herb, he or
she can stay healty whole year.
-If the sick one takes a bath in that water he will heal.
-If there is no sea near by the region one can obtain the
water form seven different fountains, it will have the
same effect.
HOW PEOPLE MAKE THEIR CHILD
WALK EARLY!!
If a child is unable to walk at the time, if he cant
walk early, their parents do something for him. They
tie the child’s feet to each other. They find two
other children who are able to walk. These two
children run and race around the house. The winner
one cuts the rope around the child’s feet. At that
time the parents owerturn a container full of water.
They believe their child is going to walk soon in this
way
THE FESTIVAL OF ADDING STARTER INTO
THE LAKE TO MAKE YOGHURD
The people in Turkey are very familiar with the jokes
and stories of Nasreddin Hodja. Since their childhood,
people have been hearing these jokes all along. They are
part of the Turkish culture. The whole thing began with a
man called Nasreddin Hodja who has lived in central
Turkey, in the small town called Aksehir. The jokes were
part of his daily life and they became accepted and
welcomed by the public since his time.
He was a man with great humor, he was very clever and
had an answer to almost all the problems and the
dilemmas of his time. Even today, about 600 years after
he has lived and passed away, people in Turkey still laugh
and think about his tricks, common sense, anecdotes and
ingenio
The story of this custom goes back to Akşehir, a small
town in the middle of Anatolis, where Hodja Nasreddin
lives. They see Hodja Nasreddin sitting by the lake, eating
yoghurd and stirring some of it into the water of lake.
They ask him what he is doing.
‘I am adding starter into the lake to make yoghurd!!’ he
answers. Everybody laughs him: but it is impossible to
turn the lake into yoghurt!!
‘ I know it is impossible but what if I succeeded’ Hodja
replies.
Since that day it is celebrated as a custom to add starter
into the lake to make yoghurt.
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