Belief and practices of rites of passages in Tokat Erbaa

This thesis, titled "Belief and Practices of Rites of Passages in Tokat Erbaa" focuses on beliefs and practices related to the rites of passage in Erbaa district of Tokat province. The study includes compiling beliefs and practices, interpreting them with their historical and mythological origins, identifying the changes between past and present customs, transferring them to the text for the transition to the next generations as a cultural heritage, and photographing various applications to ensure concrete. The rites of passage that are the subject of the study are separated and examined as "birth, marriage, military service, pilgrimage and death". These customs were examined in separate sections in the study and they were arranged by dividing them into "before, during and after" sub-sections. All neighborhoods and villages in the Erbaa district of Tokat were included in the scope of the study. Various compilation activities were carried out in the regions covered, and the methods of "observation" and "interview" of folklore were used. The information conveyed by the resource persons who are knowledgeable about the subject were recorded to a large extent, and data was obtained through correspondence in cases where recording was not possible. At the same time, some of the identified applications were obtained through participatory and unattended observation, supported by visuals and included in the study. In this study, only current beliefs and practices related to rites of passage were not identified. Historical data were obtained from some sources and a comparison was made between present and past periods. In this way, the historical change, and sometimes its disappearance, of the beliefs and practices detected were processed. The same or similar forms of some of the rites of beliefs and practices included in the study in the Turkish world and Turkish mythology have been identified through sources. In this sense, various sources were scanned and comparisons were made with beliefs and practices in the district. Preliminary information was given about the titles examined in the study by making use of the previous scientific studies. This information is aimed to gain general knowledge about beliefs and practices. Following this information, beliefs and practices in Erbaa, which is determined as the scope of the subject, were covered. As a result of the study, it has been determined that the customs related to the rites of passage started to decrease and disappear over time. This study aimed to prevent this situation from continuing and to transfer the customs related to the subject to the next generations.