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The purpose of my article is to show, on the one hand, what kind of festivals Lipanaali and Jerusalem toba-Sultakrepa are, and on the other hand, what were the traditional ways of dealing with the trauma of death.Study showed that both holidays are syncretic in nature. By their Christian stratum, they are associated with Easter and its theological meaning.As you know, one of the main human feelings is the fear of death. Being in touch with departed souls, having a connection with them and feeling their presence has a deep psychological beckground. Traditions and religious structures in society enable individual control and manage anxiety through well-established mechanisms. When significant changes take place in society, these mechanisms begin to diminish and collapse.In my opinion, these changes often severely affect structures formed over the centuries, or severely damage them, so that they cannot positively affect the collective psychological balance. Therefore, the tradition should not be destroyed, but developed, adapted to the new requirements of society and transformed into something new that society needs.The strong instinct of birth-death-rebirth desperately pushes a person to reunite death with life and find life in death, conditioned by love. With the help of the holidays of "pilgrimage", the call of God and transcendental forces, with the help of mythical images, man tried to open the doors and destroy insurmountable, "delimited" threshold for creating a single entire space of eternal life. In my opinion, to create the third, as according to Jung, is a result of union of opposites.The study was conducted on the basis of ethnographic materials, ethnological and psychological scientific literature and is an interdisciplinary study.Key words: Trauma of death, tradition, religion, ethnology, psychology
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The present study examines one passage containing the pre –Christian myth of the medieval Georgian hagiographic works –"The Convent of Kartli" –namely the place where the female person is referred to by the word "woman."In Georgian hagiographic works of the early Middle Ages (V-X century), female people are referred to as "mother," "queen."The word denoting the female person in Georgia today is "woman," as well as "lady."In the article presented, a detailed analysis of the sources of various classifications and scholarly works examines the ethno–mythical and Christian etymology of the term 'woman'. The study suggests that, according to pre –Christian Georgian religious consciousness, the term "woman" meant only the female representative who headed the pagan temple (in our opinion the Lunar Temple). In pre –Christian Georgia, the worship of the moon (represented by a white goddess) was widespread, which, in the earlier Georgian hagiographic writings, except for the passages we have identified and studied, do not refer to this term as female.
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According to ancient Georgian written sources and church traditions, Georgia is a countryallotted to the Virgin Mary and isunder her patronage.Based on Georgian ethnographic material and special scientific literature, the article discusses the beliefs of the Georgian people about the Mother of God (Ghvtismshobeli)as a symbol of fertility and reproduction and the protector ofmotherhood.In parallel with the Mother of God, in almost all parts of Georgia there is a pre-Christian female deity, the Mother of aPlace(Adgilis Deda) and its various variants.The paper presents the views of Georgian ethnographers on the syncretization of the cults of the Christian saint -the Mother of God /Ghvtismshobeli and the pre-Christian fertility goddess -the Mother ofaPlace(Adgilis Deda).The article discusses the relevant religious rituals performed during family or village holidays.The Mother of a Place(Adgilis Deda)and the Mother of God (Ghvtismshobeli) are considered the patronsof thehearth andfamilythroughout Georgia. Every village in the mountains of Eastern Georgia had its own Adgilis Deda.At the same time, there wasGhvtismshobeli , which was sometimes presented as a separate cult having a separate shrine, and sometimes as a combined one -Adilis Deda Ghvtismshobeli According to our ethnographic field materials collected in different parts of Georgia in the recent past, the rituals for granting fertility as well as healing a sick child were performed in the name of the Mother of God and are still performed today. The Mother ofGodis of great importance in the religious life of the Georgian people.
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Tsetskhlijvari is one of the most important shrines in Mtiuleti (mountain region of eastern Georgia). Basing on the available scanty materials, somehow we tried to reconstruct the holiday linked to the shrine and put forward some of our views on its name and essence. After many years of research and observation based on historical, archival, and field materials collected by me, I concluded that the feast is connected with the Cross of Mtskheta. From the first century to the sixth century we would distinguish three stages in the Christianization of Georgia: first, when St. Andrew, together with other apostles, joyfully tells the Georgians the story of the redemption of mankind by God. Christian communities are emerging at this time. The second stage, when in the fourth century, as a result of St. Nino’s sermons, the king of Kartli Mirian officially declared Christianity the state religion of Kartli Kingdom and institutionalized the church. The Assyrian Fathers who came to Georgia in the sixth century strengthened Dyophysitism and introduced coenobitic monasticism. The second period of the spread of Christianity in Georgia I call the “period of the cross” when similar to the erection of the main cross in Mtskheta, crosses were erected in the places of idols or the places of pagan deity worship, which was followed by the construction of churches or shrines on their sites throughout the country.Therefore, we consider that the general name of East Georgian mountain shrines – jvar-khati (lit. cross-icon) should be related to the “period of the cross” and the Cross of Mtskheta, after which are named most of the main shrines in East Georgian mountains. The term khati (icon) should denote a local shrine, as the “icon”, “replica” of the main, Mtskheta Cross. Hence we think that if Lomisa is the shrine dedicated to the miracle of the Cross of Mtskheta (the Wednesday after Pentecost), Lashari should be celebrated on the feast day of the Mtskheta Cross, initially celebrated on the third Sunday after Easter, Tsetskhlijvari was originally supposed to be the feast on May, 7 or erection of the crosses and, like other shrines, was later associated with St. George’s Day or Epiphany and Sunday of Thomas. We think that common community shrines should have been established in the name of the Cross of Mtskheta. Those are the main shrines of the historical-ethnographic units of Kartli Kingdom and they should be related to the Cross of Mtskheta in the “period of the cross” (fourth – circa ninth centuries).
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In our article we review the anthroponyms and patronyms of the Georgians living in Düzce region. The most part of Muhajir Georgians’ Düzce descendants have preserved the Georgian ethnical selfconcept. The Georgian Muhajirs were Sunni Muslims and, respectively, they had Arabic and Ottoman names, although their surnames were Georgian – either original (the names they had before becoming part of Ottoman culture), or the Georgia names modified in the Ottoman manner. It is worth noting that in the Ottoman Empire people did not have surnames, but peoples of nonTurkish origin (Georgians, Albanians, Bosnians etc.) had the so-called nick-surnames formed from patronymics or names of ancestors who had first converted to Islam. Quite often, non-Turkish peoples, especially noblemen, used eponyms of their former surnames as roots for new ottoman nick-surnames. Today the Düzce Georgians, like the rest of the Turkish population, have Turkish names and surnames, which became mandatory under the Soyadı Kanunu passed by Atatürk in 1934. According to our materials, the anthroponyms (private names) of Muhajirs’ descendants are still Turkish and Arabic (Muslim), while the personal nicknames (laγabebi) are mostly Georgian. It is worth noting that when introducing themselves some Georgians gave us their Georgian first names and old Georgian surnames (although in their passports we found different names). In the article, all the Illustrative phrases in Georgian are transcribed with specific Latin based transcription for Ibero-Caucasian Languages.
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In june 1920, the population of the whole Batumi district welcomed the return of Batumi district to the Democratic Repblic of Georgia with a great enthusiasm. The Georgian army was happily greeted by the population during its march. The delegation of “Liberation Organization of Muslim Georgia” met the army at Bartskhana and congratulated this significant victory on behalf of the whole populations. Memed Abashidze, Jemal Kikava, Mukhamed Tsulukidze and others greeted the army on behalf of delegation. There was a festive mood in the city. A music was playing. Was a real solemnity. In boulard was held a great walk, in which participated a whole population of the city. Meetings were held, where orators were happily speaking about this notable event. It is noteworthy that the meeting was held on the square of Azizie (current Freedom square). Davit Mikeladze delivered a speech about the huge suffer undergone by local population during its long history, despite attempts of conquerors to remove this region from its homeland Georgia, local population did not loose ethnicity, endured massacre, raids, troubles and returned this old Georgian region to its homeland again. In this festival were participating British William Sylvester and Jim Hart. They were surprised by this situation, because, according to William Sylvester, despite the fact that the Batumi district had not been part of Georgia for a long time and the local population was not Christian, they were celebrating this day as a real holiday. And Jim Hart even noted: “I do not know what should have happened here to cause such excitement and celebration among the locals, as it was caused by returning to Georgia”. This real public celebration lasted almost one week. People were given a hope. Everyone was cheerful and happy. Famous social-democrat Benia Chkhikvishili was signed as a special commissioner of Batumi district. He had a large authority over the local party organizations. Upon his arrival in Batumi, he raised the issue of the organization of management board of Batumi. For that purpose, he convened the meeting, Where a discussion was held about methods, which should be used in local management. First, the style of governance introduced by England was needed to be changed. A special attention was paid on Batumi city. It was decided that a city council schould be established to govern Batumi, the city would be headed by Mouravi, accountable to city council.
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Many dress accessories were not only fulfilling a functional purpose, in fact, they had a symbolical meaning and communicational significance, unequivocally perceived by all the members of the contemporary society, while, of course, also allowing some particular individual aesthetic preferences of the wearer, whether it be male or female, whom they were defining within their age, family status and social class. This category also includes specific headgears, objects of artistic or craftsmanship character referred to as headbands, more precisely Hungarian partas. The aim of the paper is to illustrate a more complex picture of the findings of female headgears, more specifically decorative headbands or partas, which we interpret within a wide context of related sources of period clothing and and of a deeper symbolical meaning. This is all being carried out within the context of previous exploration and also newly recovered archaeological findings while using an interdisciplinary research. The practical outcome of this project is a creation of an analogical copy of a specific archaeological find of a Hungarian parta that comes from a double-nave Church of the Elevation of the Holy Cross in Ruská (Eastern Slovakia).
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Various theories have emerged as a result of evaluations and studies on nationalism. Among these theories, "primordial theory", "modernist theory" and "ethno-symbolist theory" came to the fore. Primordial theory argues that nations come from the same lineage and share a common religion, language, culture and history. In this theory, there are “naturalistic”, “biological” and “cultural” perspectives. According to modernist theory, nationalism is a social necessity of that period. In this theory, nationalism is evaluated together with the modernization process, which affects social, political and economic developments and changes. In the ethno-symbolist theory, nationalism, ethnic origin and cultural characteristics of nations are emphasized. National symbols are frequently encountered in Turkish oral and written cultural products. Symbols reflecting Turkish nationalism are widely used, especially in Minstrel Literature, a product of Turkish Folk Literature. These symbols appeal to the subconscious of the Turks with their deep meanings. Each symbol has its own semantic national value.The "Turnalar" epic of Ozantürk emphasizes the shared cultural heritage of the Turkish people. In the epic of Turnalar, which consists of three separate works connected to each other, the Turkish communities that make up the Turkish World are described. In the first of these texts, the Turks of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Uzbekistan, Turkey and of Turkmenistan are mentioned. In the second text, Turkish tribes living in a wide geography including countries such as Iraq, Iran, East Turkestan, Crimea, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Yakutia / Sakha, Chuvashia, Altai Republic, Tuva Republic, Khakas Republic are presented. In the third text, the Turks living in countries such as Greece / Western Thrace, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova / Gagauzeli, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania, Croatia, Macedonia, Hungary, and Turks who struggle for existence" along with the Turkish presence in Europe are spoken of.The epic of "Turnalar" is a work of Bayram Durbilmez, who also wrote poems in minstrel manner under the pseudonym Ozantürk. Durbilmez is a scholar known for his works in the fields of minstrel literature, tekke-sufi literature and folklore of the Turkish World. This scholar is also known as a Turkist, nationalist intellectual who has served as a member of the board of directors, chairman of the board of directors and a delegate to the headquarters in various non-governmental organizations, foundations and associations that defend Turkish nationalism. The fact that he usually uses the pseudonym Ozantürk in his poems shows that Durbilmez has a nationalist attitude also in the world of art.In this article numerous national symbols that occurs in Ozantürk / Bayram Durbilmez's epic "Turnalar" about the Turkish World and that are shared by Turkish states and communities that exist across many geographical areas will be analysed. The national symbols in question are evaluated within the framework of nationalist theories, some of which through the primordial theory which states there are natural nations, some of which through modernist theory that emerged with the effect of modernization, and some of which through the ethno-symbolist theory that adopts ethnic cultural values. There are also symbols that are evaluated within these three theories. While determining the nationalist attitude in the epic, the scientific foundations of nationalism will also be tried to be shown through the mentions of the poet's academic studies on the Turkish World.
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The concept of “levirate” is the name given to the tradition of a woman whose husband dies, marrying one of her husband’s remaining male relatives in its broadest sense. There are many components shaping the cultural context that feeds the levirate, but the most important is the secondary sphere in which women are positioned. Women are considered as property of men within this sphere. The house chosen by the wife is the house of the husband. However, the way to gain a legitimate position in that house is to maintain the role of an active bride. The key to this legitimate continuity is the levirate. Since widowed women do not initiate a legal claim process under oral law, it has become even more difficult to stop the process leading to the levirate because the custody of the man’s family is accepted as legitimate in traditional culture. Levirate marriages constitute a policy of the Turkic States, and they have enabled them to become a dominant/power in the region by establishing kinships. Because, the woman to be married was chosen to serve a political interest in previous Turkic States. The deterioration of the state order was prevented after the death of a husband, the woman was not allowed to return to her own family, and the state order was maintained by remarrying from within the dynasty. The present study, the practice of levirate, which is one of the forms of marriage that finds application in traditional societies, focused on the nine levirate marriages of the ruling class in the Mameluke State, revealed that, unlike the levirate marriages in Turkish political life before, the marriages were not made on the basis of establishing a political bond.
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In this paper the author plan to explore the ethnic phenomenon in the region of Dobrogea in a diachronic perspective. Dobrogea is considered to be an interesting example of „protocosmopolitanism”, with many ethnic groups living together side by side and finding means of accommodating each other. The sociological context in which this work is set is that of new ethnicities, revived identities. Raluca Petre relied on the theory of Barth to „read” the ethnic dynamics in a historical perspective, specific identity lines and borders developed.
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Before August 23, 1944 there were a lot of signals and suspicion among the German population in connection with a sudden and radical twist in their lives. There were only two alternatives in case of a change in Romania’s war policy or of the country’s occupation by the Soviet Army, (or both): to stay or to leave. The Soviet authorities immediately took a firm stand against an evacuation or a transfer of the German population from Romania to Germany. They preferred to deport those people to the USSR.
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Mankind believes in the magical power and protection of names and search for ways to harness this power to keep their newborn babies alive. One outcome of this pursuit is the Turkic ritual of “selling the child.” This ritual is performed to protect the newborn from evil beings. This ritual, which can also be seen in Slavic folk beliefs and practices, is the subject of this study. The objectives of this study are to compare similar and varied aspects of thise ritual as observed in two different cultural circles and arrive at a conclusion regarding human attitudes and behaviors, pertaining to this ritual during the transition from archaic to modern times. The material, belonging to different cultures and languages needs to be examined by researchers specialized in different fields. The study has been limited to scientific works in printed and digital media of the Turkic and Slavic cultures. Researchers found relevant resources for the study by searching for keywords related to the topic. After finding the resources, they reviewed the documents and subsequently conducted content analysis. People believe that the mythological female character called “Albastı/Alkarısı” among the Turks and “Boginka and Veştitsa” among the Slavs, as well as demonic beings, haunt pregnant and postpartum women and intend to kill the embryo or fetus during pregnancy and the newborn during puerperium. According to this research, the purpose of the “selling the child” ritual among the Turks and the “obman” ritual implying “misleading/deception” among the Slavs is to pretend to change the parents of the newborn and thus to protect the newborns from the evils that are thought to be caused by the hostility of the evil spirits toward their parents. Researchers discovered a striking connection in the meanings of the names given to the child at the end of the ritual, such as Satı, Satılmış, Prodan (sold), Kuplen (purchased), Nayden (found), Nenaş (not ours), and Kraden (stolen).
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The Qashqai refer to nomadic people who speak Turkic and live in southwestern Iran, primarily in Fars. Besides Fars, they are dispersed throughout Bushehr, Isfahan, Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh, and Boyer-Ahmad. Today, this tribe is composed of six major clans: Amele, Dereşorlu, Şeşbeyli, Farsimedan, Küçük Keşküllü, Büyük Keşküllü. In terms of culture and customs, the Qashqai are similar to Turks living elsewhere in Iran and abroad. Like many Turkic-speaking communities, handwoven handicrafts have been an integral part of their culture, and over time, some beliefs have developed about the art of weaving. The proverbs, songs, poems, and expressions they use are partly influenced by shamanism and partly by their local culture. Accordingly, this study intends to determine the beliefs of the Qashqai regarding handwoven art. A field study was conducted in the province of Fars in Shiraz, Marvdasht, Firuzabad, and Farashband. The beliefs associated with Qashqai handwoven products fall into two categories: a) a reflection of the struggle against supernatural forces such as death, the evil eye, ill omens, and bad luck; b) the practice of appealing to supernatural forces; appealing for help from Imam Ali, asking for assistance from the angels, and making wishes. Study results indicate that beliefs about death, colors, the evil eye, wishing, and confronting the devil are mostly linked to Qashqai’s shamanistic beliefs. On the other hand, their beliefs concerning time and the sky, asking for help, and demonstrating power are largely shaped by the region in which they were settled.
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The strongest element of Shi‘ite popular religiosity is the mourning ceremonies performed in Moḥarram. ʿĀšūrā and similar religious ceremonies allow Shi‘ite Muslims to renew their ties with the twelve Imams, especially Imām Ḥusayn (d. 61/680) and to keep their collective memories alive. These ceremonies that constitute an important component of private religiosity have a comprehensive social and political aspect. One of the most important examples of this in contemporary Iran is the religious associations (hey’at, plural hey’athā) composed of people who came together to perform religious ceremonies. Religious associations are a unique phenomenon produced by Iranian society in the modern period though the Fotowwa tradition (Javānmardī) has a strong influence on them. They are remarkable in terms of bringing people from different economic and social classes together on a common platform. Religious associations are dynamic structures with high mobility due to their civil and informal nature. This dynamism enabled them to play a key role in the Iranian Islamic Revolution and the Iran–Iraq war. As social conditions and styles of religiosity have changed, nature of religious associations has also changed; therefore, the authority wants to take them under control. This study reveals the social and political influence of popular religiosity by addressing the historical and religious origins and structure and social functions of the religious associations in addition to their relationship with politics.
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The paper argues that Bulgarian studies should be divorced from the paradigms of Slavic, Balkan and European studies and be relocated, in order to let the discipline articulate suppressed historical perspectives and achieve better standing within a global distribution of academic labour. The author analyses a recent collective volume in Black Sea studies (‘The Black Sea as a Literary and Cultural Space’, 2019) and discerns some research perspectives that are worth adopting for the mentioned relocation. The article’s overall intention is to juxtapose and partly merge the research agendas of Bulgarian studies and Black Sea studies, or at least to provoke a relevant interest in the academia. Such an intention can be primarily grounded in a macrohistorical generalisation: three, out of altogether only four, centres of worldling for Bulgarians from the 9th century onwards were located in, or at least gravitated to, the Black Sea basin (Constantinople, Istanbul, and Imperial Petersburg / Soviet Moscow), and were for the most time Black Sea (co)hegemons.
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During the Hallstatt period in Central Europe, profound cultural, economic, and social changes occurred. This is due to the emergence of new technologies ‒ primarily iron metallurgy. Another element is the vicinity of the dominant economic system, i.e., the broadly understood Mediterranean civi-lization, especially the Etruscan cities in Italy. These asymmetrical relationships forced social changes in the areas north of the Alps. An important factor was probably the slave trade, which forced violence and armed struggle. This resulted in a progressive militarization, which is visible through the construction of defensive settlements and the strengthening of farms. The consequence was extreme social stratification and the domination of aristocratic elites. Thus, the stability of such a system depended on the relationship with the dominant partner. In a situation of disruption of relationships, a crisis must have arisen, resulting in the collapse of this culture model.
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Pusztay János: És a magyar nyelv? A Magyar Nyelv Múzeumáért Alapítvány: Széphalom, 2021. 236 oldal
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Review of: Germans and Poles in the Middle Ages. The Perception of the „Other“ and the Presence of Mutual Ethnic Stereotypes in Medieval Narrative Sources. Hrsg. von Andrzej Plesz - czyńsk i und Grischa Vercamer. (Explorations in Medieval Culture, Bd. 16.) Brill. Leiden – Boston 2021. 433 S., Kt. ISBN 978-90-04-41778-6. (€ 229,99.)
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