TURKISH RELIGIOUS DANCES AND ANIMAL SYMBOLISM IN ANATOLIAN DANCE TRADITIONAL

Abstract

Dance, which emerged as an entertainment element today, was seen as an element of worship in primitive times. The dances, which were performed to please the gods or to protect them from their wrath in the first years, aimed to reach the god and become one with him in the following years. In order to achieve this goal, people imitated nature and animals in their religious dances. People observing the behavior of animals sometimes felt fear and sometimes admiration for them. This feeling of fear and admiration has revealed the human effort to identify with the animal and acquire its virtues. They believed that acquiring these features could only be achieved by imitating animal movements. This situation is also supported by the figures and hymns of the religious dances exhibited today and the words these hymns contain. For this reason, this study aimed to find answers to questions such as which Turkish religious dances in the Anatolian area are, the animals symbolized in these dances and what these animals mean in Turkish-Islamic culture. In order to achieve this aim, document analysis and critical discourse analysis techniques, which include the examination and analysis of written and visual materials related to the subject, were used by applying the qualitative research method. In addition, the images of the religious dances in question were added to the study with the QR code system. In our study, Turkish religious dances in the Anatolian area and the animal symbolism seen in these dances were discussed. Keywords: Mysticism, Religious Dance, Animal, Symbolism, Ritual.