Cults maintain of Turkish identity in North Macedonia

From the second half of the IV. century, the pre-Turks called Hun, Avar, Proto Bulgar, Pecheneg, Oguz, Caspian and Cuman Turks began to settle in the Balkan geography, and these settlements continued with the Seljuk Turks until the XII. Century. With the dominance of the Ottoman state in the region, the Turks in Anatolia were also settled in the Balkan region, so that the Turkish presence in the region was the dominant population. With the collapse of the Ottoman state, the migration from Macedonia to Turkey caused the Turks, who had a settled and dominant population, to become a minority in time. In different regions of North Macedonia, Turks have continued their existence with different religions and nationalities. While there are intercultural interactions in North Macedonia, which includes multiculturalism, Turkish language and culture has managed to preserve itself. In Turkish culture, there is a belief that "cult" is a way of respecting the ancestors and the elements of nature, which are believed to be divine, and that these elements are a means to reach God. It is possible to see cults in the transition periods of life, in celestial events, in feast ceremonies and celebrations, in the detection and treatment of diseases in folk medicine, in many practices in tombs and places of visit, and in folk narratives. Cults that are secret or open in every moment of life are important elements that make up identity. The preservation of cultural, national and religious elements, which are expressed as elements of common identity, and their transmission over generations are realized through memory. Cults are transferred through memory within the circle of culture through imitation, with the meanings attributed to objects, with narratives about people and events considered sacred. In this thesis, the traditional world views of the Turks, their beliefs in all periods of their lives, the implicit mythical elements in the narratives, the functions of the cults in the survival of the identity of the Turks of North Macedonia, who have become a minority in a geography that has been a Turkish homeland for more than a thousand years, have been analyzed depending on the written sources and the information obtained in the field research. According to the analysis, one of the functions of cults in the connection of common identity expressions with memory is to ensure that identity is preserved and kept alive. Just as there is no culture without memory, one cannot speak of an identity without culture. Cults in all areas of life are a part of identity thanks to mimeric, objects, communicative and cultural memory that covers all memory types. Cults, symbolized in ceremonies, places and narratives, in the mimeric memory learned through imitation, in the memory of objects reminding the past and ancestors, especially in the communicative memory that is effective in remembering the recent past, ensure that the identity remains alive in the cultural memory. Cultural memory, which includes other memory types, gives meaning to cults and expresses them by enlivening them. Community memory has no neurological foundations and cults in narratives, ceremonies and rituals that provide the transfer of cultural memory are important elements that guarantee the continuity of identity. In order to see the place of cults in memory, cult elements identified were tabulated under the headings of "objects and cults", "cults in ceremonies, places and narratives". The tables and interpretations created in the thesis will provide benefits ort he studies to be done in the context of "identity and cult".