Folk culture research of Mut district in Mersin province

This study titled "Folk Culture Research in Mut District of Mersin Province" focuses on the fundamental components of the life cycle in the Mut district of Mersin and the surrounding villages. These components include transition period rituals such as birth, circumcision, military service, marriage, pilgrimage, and death, along with beliefs and practices associated with these periods, festivals, ceremonies, celebrations, folk beliefs, characteristics of traditional cuisine, folk knowledge, games, entertainment, sports activities, folk literature products, and living and non-living entity names. The study consists of nine chapters. The first chapter outlines the purpose, methodology, and scope of the study, focusing on the historical and geographical features of the Mut district. In the second chapter, life cycle rituals such as birth, circumcision, military service, marriage, pilgrimage, and death, along with their related beliefs and practices, are discussed. The third chapter focuses on religious holidays, national holidays, sacred months, days, and fertility ceremonies. The fourth chapter explores folk beliefs in subheadings. The fifth chapter delves into types of foods and their preparation methods. The sixth chapter addresses folk knowledge. The seventh chapter is dedicated to games, entertainment, and sports activities. The eighth chapter is allocated to anonymous folk literature, including examples of both verse and prose, as well as troubadour literature. The ninth chapter, on the other hand, constitutes the last part of the study, "names". It includes the classification and organization of information from written and oral sources. A detailed examination has been made on this information, and an effort has been made to associate traditional customs and beliefs with old Turkish belief systems. At the end of the study, a dictionary containing words specific to the region, photos and a map of the district are included. In addition, the historical change and current situation of the practices in Mut district and its surroundings have been evaluated.