BİZ BİLİNCİ VE AİDİYET OLGUSU BAĞLAMINDA ALTAY TÜRKLERİNİN CILGAYAK BAYRAMI

Abstract

The celebrations / ceremonies / festivals and rituals that bring societies together also make it possible for people who make up a society to have a common historical existence via their deep meaning systems. At these meeting points, humans have the facility to widen and merge with the social horizon that is beyond individual identity. In the social sense, societies uniting around collective consciousness and sense of belonging establish themselves as ontological beings through the memory created by language, communication, objects and ancestors. As a matter of fact, meeting points such as festivals, ceremonies, celebrations and the transitional periods (namely birth, marriage and death) carried out by individual identity in the light of rituals play a dominant role in keeping the common identity alive and transferring it to future generations. The community provides a new dimension to the human relationships that have lost their values through a mythical refinement and renewal process at such times of collective acts. The ritual practices, which are demonstrations of human gains in the social sense accompanied by rituals, are indicative of the extent to which societies grasp time as a cycle of life. The Altai Turks transfer to future generations cultural value systems that they have held in their ancestral memory from the past to the present by means of the celebrations / rituals and festivals that provide national awareness and unity solidified at the moment. They gather under a single roof in ceremonial practices and communication channels, turning to the voice of the unifying spirit of their ancestors. In this context, the most important element of the unity of the Altai Turks in terms of adherence to the values and transferring them to future generations is the Cılgayak Festival. Cılgayak is “foot/head of the year”, which means to set foot in the new year. The Altai Turks celebrate the Cılgayak festival in March, with the melting of the snow, in accordance with the emergence of the new moon. In this regard, Cılgayak festival is noteworthy as it signifies Altai Turks’ adherence to the values and transferring them to future generations. Cilgayak Feast, which is described as awakening of nature, is important in terms of integrating oneself with nature and adding spirit to nature's vitality. This study will focus on the functions of Cılgayak festival in creating and sustaining national consciousness based on public knowledge creation activities which are gained from periodical field works in the Autonomous Republic of Altai.