WEDDING CUSTOMS IN THE TRADITIONAL CULTURE OF THE TOWN OF KIBRISCIK, THE CITY OF BOLU

Abstract

Wedding ceremonies bearing cultural elements inside have a significant place in getting to know a community. Wedding ceremonies are perceived as a holiday feast in the village environment. In the formation of national structure, wedding ceremonies show functional activity in order to gain many values and attitudes. The history and economic structures of the societies define the forms of settlement, forms of production and traditions partly in the form of marriage of cultures. In the current study focusing on the wedding customs in the traditional culture in the town of Kıbrıscık, the city of Bolu, such customs as deciding on a girl, requesting her as a bride, engagement, henna night before and during the wedding ceremonies and the customs after the wedding were investigated. In this study, source people were interviewed through question and questionnaire and source books were used. With the first Turkmen settlement in Anatolia, the Turkmen settlement began to be established in the province of the peninsula, and the social life, traditions and customs of the city, as well as cultural life, were shaped around Turkmen culture. Wedding customs peculiar to the region have been used even though they are in low frequency but most of them are forgotten. The knowledge obtained from the people in the region showed that the wedding customs applied before gradually turned into current modern wedding styles with an effect of urbanization in daily life. The purpose of the current study was to convey the wedding practices in the traditional culture of the town of Kıbrıscık, the city of Bolu to the coming generations and in this way make a contribution to Turkish culture. It is necessary to observe how wedding customs have changed from the past to the current time and document the wedding applications having a very important place in the culture of a community. In this sense, nearly forgotten wedding traditions both in the past and the current time in the region of Kıbrıscık which is thought to be a sample were chosen as the topic of the current study. Within the framework of the knowledge gathered from the people living in the region, wedding customs were given in detail in its known order. At the end of the study, local people changed their traditions by keeping up with the technology. It is necessary to observe how marriage customs changed from the past to the current time, to make the documentation of marriage applications which are of a significant place in social culture. In this sense, marriage traditions that are about to disappear and the marriage traditions in the region of Kıbrısçık which is regarded to be a good example from the past to the present time comprises the subject of the current article. The customs of marriage in the region are being applied very few but most of them are forgotten. The knowledge obtained from the people in the region shows that the marriage customs applied in the past have gradually turned into modern sense of marriage by staying away from the traditions with the effect of urbanization in the life of people living there. It is believed that the subject matter is worth investigating in terms of unearthing these values that are about to disappear and documenting them. The material of the research is made up interview forms, audio recordings used at the interviews made with source persons in the region face to face and the literature with regard to the subject and the region. To what extent the people in the region preserved the marriage traditions from the past to the current time was investigated and the talks recorded were evaluated. In the process of evaluation, the data collected was documented in chronological order. In the current study with the subject of the marriage customs in the traditional culture of the town of Kıbrısçık, the city of Bolu, the customs of asking for the girl’s hand in marriage, engagement, henna night, wedding and other customs made after the marriage that are followed in this process were investigated. Field study methods were used in the study. One to one interviews were made with the source people in the region of the study and their voices were recorded. The literature regarding the subject was review. The recorded information was evaluated and the current study was carried out. Marriage traditions are applied in different types and with different rituals in every region of Anatolia. These differences determine the economic structure of people, their lifestyles, historical process and the type of the marriage customs based on their traditions. The marriage customs of Kıbrısçık people having a Turkmen culture are made in such a chronological order as asking for the girl’s hand in marriage, engagement ceremony, the period of engagement, wedding and veiling. These are given as follows; After deciding on the girl, the family and relatives of the young to get married go to the bride’s house. It is called “dünürlük” (affinity). After a short chatting, the reason of the visit is explained. The visitors say these: “We came here by digging the crocus, in dusty roads, with the order of Allah and the words of the Prophet to ask for the hand of the girl for our son”. Upon these words, the mother of the girl answer: “If it is the fortune, it comes from India or Yemen, what to do if it is not the fortune to the man”, which means asking for permission for a few days. If the answer is positive, two families come together to decide the day of the betrothal. After determining on the betrothal, boy’s side buys the needs of the girl for the engagement. The engagement is announced to the immediate vicinity and they are invited. Everyone goes to the girl’s house together. Everybody there dances in local folkloric songs. The boy and the girl are worn the rings and they are given the gifts. The date of wedding is decided by the family elders. The date of the wedding is announced to those to be invited and given gifts (fabrics for dressing, clothes, socks a

Özet

Kültürel unsurları içinde barındıran evlilik törenleri, bir topluluğu tanımada önemli bir yere sahiptir. Evlenme törenleri köy ortamında bir bayram şenliği olarak algılanır. Ulusal yapının oluşmasında birçok değer ve davranışın kazanılması yönüyle evlenme törenleri fonksiyonel etkinlik gösterir. Toplumların tarihi ve ekonomik yapıları yerleşim şekilleri, üretim şekilleri ve gelenekleri kısmen kültürleri evlenme biçimlerini belirlemektedir. Bolu İli Kıbrıscık İlçesi geleneksel kültüründe evlenme adetlerini konu alan bu araştırmada, evlilik törenlerinin öncesinde ve evlilik sürecinde, evlenecek eşi seçme, kız beğenme, kız isteme, nişan, kına gecesi, düğün ve düğün sonrasında yapılan adetler incelenmiştir. Alan araştırmamızda görüşme, soru-anket yöntemiyle kaynak kişilerle görüşülmüş ve konu hakkındaki kaynak kitaplardan yararlanılmıştır. Anadolu'daki ilk Türkmen yerleşmesi ile birlikte Kıbrıscık ilçesine de Türkmen yerleşimi başlamış ve ilçenin sosyal yaşamı, gelenek ve görenekleri ile kültür hayatı da Türkmen kültürü etrafında şekillenmiştir. Yöreye özgü evlenme adetleri günümüzde az da olsa uygulanmakta fakat çoğu unutulmuş durumdadır. Yöre halkı ile yapılan görüşmelerden elde edilen bilgiler eskiden uygulanan evlenme adetlerinin halkın günlük yaşamında kentleşmenin de etkisiyle birlikte yavaş yavaş geleneklerden uzak günümüz düğün anlayışına doğru kaydığını göstermektedir. Bu makalede Bolu İli Kıbrıscık İlçesi geleneksel kültüründe evlenme ilgili uygulamaların sonraki nesillere aktarılması ve böylece Türk kültürüne katkı sağlanması amaçlanmıştır. Evlenme geleneklerinin geçmişten günümüze nasıl değiştiğini gözlemlemek, toplum kültüründe çok önemli bir yere sahip olan evlenme uygulamalarını belgelemek gerekmektedir. Bu düşünce ile unutulmaya yüz tutmuş evlenme gelenekleri ile bir örnek oluşturduğu düşünülen Kıbrıscık yöresinde geçmişten günümüze evlenme gelenekleri makalenin konusu olmuştur. Makalede yörede yaşayan halkın verdiği bilgiler çerçevesinde evlenme adetleri sırasıyla ayrıntılı olarak aktarılmıştır. Çalışma sonunda yöre halkının görülmüştür. teknolojiye ayak uydurarak geleneklerinin değiştiği görülmüştür.