SİMGESEL VE BİÇİMSEL ÖZELLİKLERİ İLE TÜRK KÜLTÜR VE SANATINDA GEYİK FİGÜRÜ

Abstract

Deer, which was frequently depicted in works of art as a totem in early Turkish Culture, attracts attention as a cult image. It is accepted as a guiding, auspicious and holy spirit in our culture. While the deer has taken on a guiding identity with being tracked during long hunts, it has also been accepted as one of the symbols of rebirth with the regrowth of its broken antlers. Among the Göktürks, Alp Bahadır’s journey to the other world with deers by disguising as one, it being shot and sacrificed in funeral ceremonies, and similarly, in Anatolian culture, especially in Bektashism, it is a being whose sanctity is accepted with the concepts of changing its disguise. As in the legend of the Geyikli Baba (Deer Father), deers were kept as companions for the members of the sect. In Anatolian culture, deer also has always been a loved and adopted animal with its similar characteristics. In addition, in Turkish literature, it is identified with the lover who is difficult to reach, with its natural beauty, elusiveness, timidity and elegance. On the other hand, it has become one of the important symbols of some sects in Anatolia, especially Bektashism. It is believed that some of the animal’s powers, such as the ability to change places quickly by disguising as a deer, are passed on to the sect leaders. This ritual is similar to the rapid journey of Central Asian Shamans between two worlds by disguising as a deer. All these changes and transformations in Turkish culture regarding deer have been visualized and depicted in all works of art produced from Central Asia to Anatolia - in a way that meets all the meanings attributed to the deer.

Keywords

• turkish culture
• deer
• central asia
• anatolia
• velayetname
• deer father
• figured ornament.