ANADOLU’DA MERYEM ANA İLE İLGİLİ YİYECEK VE İÇECEKLER
FOODS AND DRINKS RELATED TO THE VIRGIN MARY IN ANATOLIA

Summary/Abstract: Some of the qualities attributed to the Virgin Mary, an important religious figure, appear in a number of traditional practices, especially in Anatolian folk culture. From food and tableware to folk medicine practices, the name of the Virgin Mary is frequently mentioned in Anatolia. However, since the studies focusing on the Virgin Mary are mostly in the field of theology, there are very few studies that offer examples of her traces in tradition and the unification she creates across cultures. In Turkey, there is no academic study on the place of the Virgin Mary in Anatolian food culture. In this study, the dishes that are named after the Virgin Mary or prepared on special occasions related to her in the Armenian and Greek food culture, with a special focus on Christianity, are examined through interpretation and analysis. First of all, what the concept of “food” means for human beings is emphasized, and then the connection between the concepts of food and religion is evaluated. Functional theory, a context-centered method, was utilized in this study. Then, in the first group, meals in which feelings of happiness, joy and gratitude are shared in an environment are analyzed, while in the second group, meals that contain feelings of mourning, longing and sadness are emphasized. In addition, in which environments and in what kind of context the sampled dishes were consumed were revealed.

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