Transitional period rituals in Turkish epics (Kyrgyz, Bashkurt, Kazakh and Altay)

Human life is a process of change and developmentthatbeginswithbirth and continuesuntildeath. Thisprocess has importantsubprocessesthatserve as thresholdsthroughwhichindividualsmovefromonepreviouspositiontothenext. Thesephases, calledtransitionperiods; Itcoversallprocessesrelatedtobirth, marriage and death. Whilepeopleblessthetransitionperiodswiththeirtraditionalbeliefs and practices, they alsotrytoprotectthemselvesfromthenegativities they believe they will be exposedtothemostduringthesephases. The ritualsperformedare of greatimportance in spreadingthewholesocietytogetherwiththeindividual and ensuringthatthenewphase is internalized and experiencedwithoutanyproblems. Epics, whichareold oral narrativegenres, alsohave a greatrichness in terms of transitionperiodrituals. Itseemsthatmanytraditionaltransitionperiodsplayed a significant role in continuingthehistoricalcycle in differentparts of thewider Turkish world. Folk beliefs and traditionalpracticesrelatedtotransitionperiods in theseinfluentialKazakh, Kyrgyz, Altai and Bashkirepicswereanalyzed and common and differentsectionswereevaluatedbased on selectedsampletexts. It is importantthatthefindingsobtainedbothpreservesimilarpractices in the Turkish world and showthepointwherethe rot in thepaststarted.