Animal-Based Folk Beliefs and Traditional Healing in Southeastern Anatolia (Turkiye)

Year 2024, Volume: 8 Issue: 2, 233 - 260, 31.12.2024

Ahmet Gönenç , Sema Ülke , Abu B. Siddiq

https://doi.org/10.55805/kadimsbd.1586243

Abstract

Throughout human history, natural resources have been used to treat illnesses; with animals, their parts, and products playing a significant role in traditional healing practices across cultures. Southeastern Anatolia (Turkiye), a region with exceptional biodiversity and a pastoralist tradition dating back to prehistoric times, has preserved animal-based healing practices that remain integral to its socio-cultural fabric, especially in folk medicine and beliefs. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and oral histories this study documents the role of animals in traditional healing and folk beliefs in Southeastern Anatolia. It identifies over 60 ailments treated with animal-derived ingredients, such as hedgehog fat for diabetes and tortoise blood for different types of cancers. Ingredients from livestock are used for various ailments including cardiovascular disease, while venomous animals like snakes and scorpions are used for treating eye diseases and hair loss. The study also examines the cultural, symbolic, and spiritual meanings attributed to animals, highlighting the deep-rooted connections between animals and folk beliefs. The results contribute to ethnomedicine and cultural anthropology, providing insights into the entangled animal-human-environment relationship in traditional life.

Keywords

Traditional healing, Zootherapy, Folk beliefs, Ethnography, Southeastern Anatolia

Hayvan Temelli Halk İnanışları ve Geleneksel Şifa Uygulamaları: Güneydoğu Anadolu Örneği

Abstract

İnsanlar, tarihöncesinden beri hastalıkları tedavi etmek için doğal kaynakları kullanmışlardır. Bu kaynakların arasında bulunan hayvanlar ve hayvansal ürünler, dünyanın her kültüründe, geleneksel şifa uygulamalarında önemli bir rol oynamıştır. Olağanüstü biyolojik çeşitliliğe ve tarihöncesi dönemlere dayanan aynı zamanda pastoral geleneğe sahip bir bölge olan Güneydoğu Anadolu’daki sosyo-kültürel yapının ayrılmaz bir parçası olarak hayvanlar yer almakta, özellikle geleneksel şifa uygulamalarında ve halk inançlarında köklü bir rol oynamaktadır. Etnografik alan araştırmalarına ve sözlü tarihlere dayanan bu çalışma, Güneydoğu Anadolu'daki geleneksel şifa uygulamaları ve halk inanışlarında hayvanların rolünü belgelemektedir. Diyabet için kirpi yağı ve kanser için kaplumbağa kanı gibi hayvansal içeriklerle tedavi edilen 60 tan fazla tedavi çeşidi bulunmaktadır. Besi hayvanlarından elde edilen ürünler, kardiyovasküler hastalık dahil olmak üzere çeşitli rahatsızlıklar için kullanılırken, yılanlar ve akrepler gibi zehirli hayvanlar ise göz hastalıkları ve saç dökülmesinin tedavisinde kullanılmaktadır. Çalışma, ayrıca hayvanlara atfedilen kültürel, sembolik ve manevi anlamları inceleyerek hayvanlar ile halk inançları arasındaki köklü bağlantıları vurgulamaktadır. Elde edilen sonuçlar, halkbilimi, etnomedikal ve kültürel antropolojiye katkı sağlamakla birlikte, geleneksel yaşamda iç içe geçmiş hayvan-insan-çevre ilişkisine dair içgörüler sunmaktadır.

Keywords

Geleneksel şifa uygulamaları, Zooterapi, Halk inanış, Etnografya, Güneydoğu Anadolu

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