The effect of social and cultural change on Kırşehir abdals

The word "Abdal" has changed many meanings in the historical process. Sometimes he changed the story of Anatolia, sometimes he became a dervish, sometimes he was a fool, sometimes he was strange and sometimes he became a nightingale. Even looking at the proverb"Abdal would have known the truth" and the proverb "when Abdal gets on a horse, he thinks he has become a gentleman. When the turnip is added to meal, it thinks it becomes oil", it will be possible to understand this difference in meaning. When we look at the current life of the Abdals, who have an important place in Turkish history, it is observed that they lost their status an became lonely, and they struggled to survive with the music they made. Even their success in saz and vocals is a legacy of this isolation. Because the abdals expressed their situation with their instruments and words.Thanks to these artistic talents, they played a leading role in making Kırşehir the first city from Türkiye to be included in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2019 in the field of music. Abdals, who were recorded in the intangible cultural heritage provincial inventory, suddenly gave Kırşehir an important status in the international arena, which was not sufficiently recognized even at the national level. In this way, Abdals played the most important role in the sustainable development of the city with their music. The aim of this study, is to reveal the impact of the social and cultural change from the past to the present on the Abdals, who have a national and international musical reputation and are an Intangible Cultural Heritage element, their efforts to continue their music, their quality of life can be strengtened with existing projects and to determine their expectations from the authorities. In this direction, various news revealing the socio-economic status of the abdals were examined. Within the scope of qualitative data analysis, in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 abdal. Within the scope of quantitative data analysis, a research questionnaire on living standards was applied to 84 abdal. Various suggestions were made based on the data obtained as a result of the research