Shamanism in Turkish novel

Shamanism is the oldest form of belief concentrated around shamans who mediate between spirits and people. It is believed that everything has a soul in this belief system which has the idea that the universe is divided into divisions like sky, earth and underground. From this point of view, the cause of every event, whether positive or negative, is seen as souls. For this reason, in Shamanism it is extremely important to travel to the sky and underground realms, to communicate with the spirits here, to respect the souls on the earth, and not to hurt them, and in this direction, the Shamans have a great duty. Shamanism, the most important belief in Turkish culture before the adoption of Islam, continued its influence among Turks even after the adoption of Islam. Shamanism, whose traces can still be found in Turkish culture despite the long time passed, is also valuable in terms of folklore studies and has provided a rich material to many researchers in this direction. Shamanism, in which we encounter traces in Turkish literature as well as research books in theoretical level, is especially encountered in Turkish novels. This belief, which has a great influence on Turkish culture, is at the basis of the novels in almost every aspect, including the state of the pre-Islamic period in its novels and the way it is reflected to the present day after Islam. In this study, the novel written by the author is focused and the reflections of Shamanism in Turkish novel are examined. The reflections of this belief on the contemporary novel have been revealed considering the symbolic meanings of the concepts in shaman mythology. The ways in which Shamanism is handled in the Turkish novel have been evaluated in detail. Keywords: Shamanism, Islam, Turkish Literature, Turkish Novel, Mythology.