Symbolic function of accessories and jewelry: The example of Neo-Shaman culture

The symbol, derived from the Greek word "sumolon", is the thing that the abstract meaning it represents and its counterpart in the concrete world meet and merge. In other words, he defines it as "everything that represents something other than itself". In the Symbolic Interactionist Theory, the symbol; It is defined as "any gesture, sign or object that signifies something". People communicate not only with other people, but also with objects and most importantly with themselves. This communication is uninterrupted and continuous. According to symbolic interactionist thought, the task of the sociologist is to examine communication and the factors that enable it. That is, symbolic interactionism includes interactions that are related through the use of mutually intelligible symbols. However, the core of Symbolic Interactionist Theory is abstraction. At the center of the concepts of symbol and meaning, it focuses on interaction (action, human as actor) and the symbols associated with them (their meanings). Humans are the only ones who use symbols among creatures. The only entity that can produce culture by attributing meanings to the abstacted symbols is the homan being. People who use symbols attribute a meaning to everything and act accordingly. This is vital for the formation of culture. As an active, interpretive and activist subject, man creates cultural layers and makes his actions permanent through symbols and meanings. Culture is the main material that gives life to symbols, symbolic relations and meanings given to symbols. While symbolic objects differ from culture to culture, they also serve as a mirror of the socio-cultural life of that period. However, unfortunately, due to the cultural degeneration that has emerged with the development of technology, the symbolic resources that will connect the past to the future have begun to lose their importance and value. When we consider the shaman culture from this perspective; it is one of the great systems designed by the human mind in various parts of the world, independently of each other, in order to add meaning to events and to dominate over these events. It ıs important to reveal how the jewelery, which is the indicator of the symbols used by each society, the enviroment in which they live and their communication and interaction with each other, is cultural transferred to the present day, what it turns into today and how accosories and jewelery function in life. In this study, we will examine the meaning and responsibilities of accessories and jewelry in shaman culture, which are; emotions such as fear, courage, status such as marriage, nobility, etc. As determining objects, we will try to reveal the connections between the past and the present, which is a movement called "New Age or Neo-Shamanism", by considering it sociologically. For this purpose, after explaining the methodology of the research in the introduction part of the study, the conceptual framework of the research will be emphasized in the second part. Then shaman culture will be examined. Finally, Neo-Shamanism culture will be examined through symbolic interactionism. Keywords: Jewelry/Accessories, Culture, Shamanic Culture, New Age/Neo-Shamanism, Symbolic Interactionist Theory