Intergenerational cultural transmission practices among Ahiska Turkish migrants living in Bursa (The case of Zümrütevler neighborhood)

This study examines the intergenerational cultural transmission practices of Ahıska Turkish immigrants living in the Zümrütevler Neighborhood of the Yıldırım district in Bursa. Displaced by the 1944 deportation to various countries, the Ahıska community began migrating to Turkey particularly from the 1990s, and efforts were made to integrate them into the social structure. In this process, concepts such as cultural memory, identity, and belonging became central for the community. The research was conducted using qualitative methods; participants reached through snowball sampling were interviewed in depth, and observation and document analysis were also employed. The data were analyzed within the theoretical framework of Assmann's Cultural Memory Theory, Bourdieu's Habitus Theory, Hall and Bhabha's identity theories, Berry's acculturation strategies, and Coleman and Vygotsky's social capital and social learning approaches. Findings were organized around six main themes: silence and invisibility in cultural transmission, migration-shaped practices, hybrid identity, transmission through family and community, preservation of religious values, and cultural sustainability. The study shows that Ahıska efforts to preserve cultural values serve not only to remember the past but also to reproduce identity. After migration, transformations occurred in women's roles, ritual practices, and religious life, with hybrid identity structures particularly emerging among younger generations. While family and religious institutions play a central role in transmission, urbanization and modernization challenge these processes. Participants expressed concern over the potential loss of culture, emphasizing associations, religious education, and community solidarity as ways to maintain cultural resilience. In conclusion, the Ahıska Turks act as cultural agents who not only sustain the past but also reshape the present and future, contributing to the literature on migration sociology and identity studies.