Water in Turkish folk culture

From the first day of world history, water is the main element that everything exists in nature needs to survive. It is impossible to sustain a life withouth water. This situation gave water a vital necessity compared to other elements of nature. Over time, this superiority has become a holiness and water, which is a natural necessity, has become a cultural value as a result of its relations to believes and faith. In most cultures of the world, the view of water and its function are similar. No matter what item of faith is, water has always been a symbol of creation, purification, divinity and death. These symbolic meanings have made water the main element of many belief systems. Due to the roles of water in the world mythologies and celestial religions meanings have gained universality and created the concept called water symbolism which helps water to become a cult. Water is both a life and a cultural treasure for the people of Turkish world. In this study, which focuses on the place of water in Turkish folk culture, Turkic speaking people's view of water is analyzed through beliefs and practices of Turkish belief system. In this study, text centered research methods were used and the guthered knowledge data were evaluated in terms of function by using the comparative method. My study has been prepared with the aim of determining and analyzing the place of water in many fields from Turkic myths to literary creations. This study will contribute to the belief-based cultural studies that will be conducted. Keywords: Turkish cult, Water, Belief, Folk Belief, Literature.