Tire region legends compilation and analysis study

Tire district of Izmir has played an active role in the permanence of Turkish-Islamic culture in its geography as it has hosted many civilisations throughout history. It has had a rich cultural accumulation in its history from being the capital of Aydınoğulları to being the most favourite place of the Ottoman Empire. As a result of this, its oral and written literature tradition and oral culture products have a very rich appearance. Legends, which are one of the genres reflecting this cultural accumulation, reveal the belief and thinking system of Tire district of İzmir and the behavioural patterns related to it. In the introduction part of our study, the subject, importance, purpose and method of the study are mentioned; in the first part, brief information about the geographical structure and history of Tire district where legends are formed is given, and the studies on legends and Tire folklore are mentioned. In the second chapter, the views put forward in the West and in Turkey about the type of legend are discussed and firstly the definition, characteristics, classification and function of the legend are emphasised. In the third part, the structure of 70 legends compiled from Tire through interview technique and written sources such as books and theses were first analysed, and the classification of legends made in the West and Turkey were examined and classified in terms of subject. The motif structure was analysed based on Stith Thompson's 'Motif Index of Folk Narratives'. In addition, Tire legends were examined in terms of content, and then determinations were made about their function. In the fourth part, 70 legend texts, most of which were compiled by interviewing the informants and some of which were identified from various written sources, are included. In the conclusion part, the determinations made in other sections and parts of the study, the findings and results obtained are evaluated collectively. The study is completed with oral and written sources.