The life, art and poems of minstrel Fatma Taşkaya

An important part of Turkish culture, the tradition of minstrelsy, has a deep-rooted past. The tradition of minstrelsy appears to us as a tradition that has its own unique set of rules and within this set of rules is passed down from generation to generation. Minstrels, who are masters of oral tradition, have managed to be the voice of the people for centuries. By addressing social and political issues in their poems, they draw attention to the ills of society. Unfortunately, the tradition of minstrels is losing popularity with the passage of time. Among the provinces that organize meetings and festivals to continue this tradition and pass it on to the next generations, Adana is in the first place. The history of minstrel tradition of Adana dates back to a long past. Minstrels such as Karacaoğlan and Dadaoğlu, who have deeply influenced the tradition, were influenced by the Adana/Çukurova culture. They, just like the contemporary minstrels, were the voice of the people. There are a number of studies on the minstrel tradition of Adana and the minstrels of Adana. However, most of these studies deal with male minstrels. The lack of studies on women in this tradition is cause for problems in the transmission of the tradition. This study was made to draw attention to this problem and to provide information about female minstrels of Adana who contributed to this tradition. It was also created to trace the contributions of one of the important female minstrels from Adana, minstrel Fatma Taşkaya, by examining her 111 poems in detail in terms of form and content and to prove her existence as a woman in this tradition. The information gathered in this study qualifies as a scientific study in light of the written and oral sources.