Folk beliefs in Uşak and its vicinity and evaluations of these beliefs in terms of religious history

From the first man to the present day, people have always felt the need to believe in things and to accept them as sacred. As a result of this need, people have adopted many beliefs and practices in all areas of their lives, especially in their daily lives, and have ensured the continuation of these beliefs and practices by transferring them from generation to generation. Uşak province is a residential area that has hosted important civilizations since the first known periods of history. As in every region of Anatolia, there are many beliefs and practices in the Uşak region that have a very old history and affect people's lives. These beliefs and practices are evident at very important turning points in life such as birth, marriage and death. In addition, there are many beliefs and practices that make people's lives easier on many issues in their daily lives and that emerge as a result of their experiences with beings in nature. When we evaluated the information we obtained while researching the folk beliefs living in the province of Uşak during this study, it was determined that these beliefs and practices were formed by the influence of the pre-Islamic traditional beliefs of the Turks. In addition to this, we can say that the beliefs that Islam regarded as prohibited started to be abandoned during the Islamization process and this kind of beliefs and practices still continued. Beliefs that are not contrary to the religion of Islam continue to be kept alive by the people by assuming an Islamic identity and are embraced as the common values of Muslim Turkish culture. In the study, considering that it would not be very useful to only identify the folk beliefs living in Uşak and its surroundings and transfer this information, these beliefs and practices were also evaluated in terms of the History of Religions.