Beşkaza nomads: An analysis of language and culture

The word yoruk that derives from the verbs yorı- in Old Turkish and yörü- in Chagatai and Old Anatolians Turkish is a term designating nomadic life in Anatolia. Turkmens who are the members of the Oghuz Tribe, living a nomadic life and travelling between summer pasture and winter quarters due to their dealing with animal husbandry are called as Yoruk. The name yoruk has started to be used to classify nomadic with the Ottoman rule in Anatolia. Nomadism is kept alive in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions with the effect of climate and geography. The region known as Telmossoss / Meğri in the Lycian period, which we know today as Fethiye, was allocated to five kadis after joining the Menteşe Principality in 1286 and is called Beşkaza, which means the place of five kadis. Yoruks that have been surviving in the region for many years draw attention with their nomadic lives and dialects. It is seen that some old Turkish components are still exist in their dialect characteristics because they lived in a closed group for a long time. This thesis' aim is to describe the dialect characteristics and cultural elements of Beşkaza Yoruks. In the first part of the study, the cultural life of the given group will be explained by giving general information about Beşkaza region and Yoruks. To describe the characteristics of the dialect, dialects of Beşkaza were collected in Seki, Temel, Söğütlüdere, Gerişburnu, Köndeş, Kürdük, Gacak, Döğer, Dont, Karaçulha and Boğalar villages of Beşkaza. Phonological and morphological characteristics of Beşkaza dialect are given in the second part of the thesis. In the last of the study, there is a dictionary that we created based on the texts compiled from Beşkaza dialect. The transcribed version of the given collation texts is available at the end of the study. Keywords Beşkaza, Anatolian dialects, yoruk, nomadic life