Bartha Júlia: Lâle. Hagyományok a mai török társadalomban, az emberélet fordulóinak népszokásai – Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 61. (2005)

Júlia Bartha Traditions in the present-day Turkish society - Traditions of the milestones of life Szolnok, 2006 Summary You are reading a monograph of the traditions from the cradle to the grave. The book tries to find the answer to the question: how do the traditions survived in the present-day Turkish society? The work includes three main chapters for the discussion of the characteristics of Turkish popular life. The book is first of all recommended to anthropologists; however, it can be enjoyed by anybody who is interested in oriental culture. I. Traditions connected to birth Many things are reflected in the way the family behaves with a child and the status given to him. The nomad cultures show very nice examples of education and bringing the child into the life of work. Expecting and giving birth to a baby is the first milestone of human life. Pregnancy is usually surrounded by several magical events. There is also an attempt to influence the sex of the yet unborn child, because - as we can investigate it in popular culture the birth of a boy is a more joyful event, since it means new strong hands - by time - in the family household. The popular belief has many practices to increase female fertility. First of all, the value of a woman equals her fertility, and being a mother gives her a more prestigious status in the community. Not long ago, at the beginning of the 20

th century, a husband could leave his wife if she was infertile. Women usually try to live up to the expectations of the society, even in the modern age. In Turkey, where a family with strong bonds is the model, the women are not exceptions from it. Turkish women try their best to manage their career and family life together with the support of their larger family. 159