The life and personality of Mustafa Uçar as an educator and his contributions to Erzincan folklore

This research is aimed at making an introduction of Mustafa Uçar with his diverse qualifications as a teacher, doctor, sculptor, farmer, musician, theater player, author, journalist, poet, repairman and folklore expert, who has played a major part in sustaining and promoting Erzincan folk culture and devoted himself to his students and public values as an idealist educator, also contributing to solving the village problems starting from the day he had graduated from the village institute and began working in the village. Mustafa Uçar was born in 1928 in Çatalarmut village of Erzincan. After completing his primary education in the village, he entered Sivas Pamukpınar Village Institute in 1944. He graduated from the institute in 1948 and started teaching. Uçar got married to Mahinur Gündoğan, a relative of his, in 1949 and had five children, namely Mehpare, Adnan, Hülya, Süheyla and Ayla. Uçar started teaching in Sansa village of Erzincan. He continued his profession for 42 years. Then he retired from his position as the Director of Central Erzincan İnönü Primary School. His name being integrated with İnönü Primary School, Uçar was elected as the teacher of the year in Erzincan in this period and was granted and award in Ankara. Uçar received musical education from his father Recep Uçar and learned to play bağlama, mandolin, oud, accordion and rhythm. Besides, he had an intense interest in folk dances and worked as an instructor of Erzincan folk dances, trained dance groups and entered competitions. Being closely interested in Erzincan folklore as an amateur compiler, Uçar collected and published his works in books. These are; Apparel, Folk Dances and Folk Songs in Erzincan, Life and Works of Hafız Ömer Vasfi Efendi, a Sufi Poet in Erzincan, A Bunch of Customs from Erzincan, Pilgrimage Guide for Hadj Candidates. He set up a museum named Erzincan Culture House where he exhibited items representing the concrete culture of Erzincan. Uçar lost his life in 2002. Keywords: Mustafa Uçar, biography, teacher, Erzincan folklore