Türk Folklor Araştırmaları Derneği Dergisi

Öz

Holiness is one of the most important phenomena that has shaped human
life from pastto present. Human values were determined according to their
relationship with the sacred, and social laws continued to exist according to
their harmony with the sacred. The phenomenon of holiness, which deeply
affects/directs people and society, has also found its reflection in literary
works. From the first religious and literary products, myths, to modern
stories, every narrative has maintained its relationship with the sacred to a
greater or lesser extent. In this study, the phenomenon of holiness is
discussed in the sacred stories of primitive societies in myths, heroic
stories in epics and folk tales mostly shaped around love. The phenomenon
of holiness has been evaluated mostly through the relationship between the
heroes in the stories and the sacred and the way these stories are perceived
by the public. However, the plots in the stories, the concepts of time and
place have also been used as important indicators for understanding the
connection between the sacred and the story. These three types of folk
narratives followed each other chronologically, and there are many texts
related to each of them. The limits of the study necessitate making
evaluations on certain examples. For this reason, a sample text reflecting
the typical characteristics of each genre was selected for evaluation.
Accordingly, the Altai creation myth (Verbitskiy variant), the Oghuz Kagan
Epic (Uyghur variant) and the story of Kerem and Asli were evaluated in
terms of their relations with the sacred. As a result of the study, it was seen
that all three folk narrative genres examined had different relationships with
divine powers. When compared to the previous one, each narrative/story's
ties with the sacred become weaker - in terms of plot, people, time and
place. In the first narratives, direct relations with the gods/sacred were
provided by intermediaries later on. Scientific and technological
developments, industrialization, urbanization phenomena have brought new
knowledge theories along with social and cultural life; this has brought a
new and different dimension to the perception of sacredness.