Efsanevî Bir Kadın Ermiş ve Acele Bacı Helvası Ritüeli
A Legendary Saint and the Rituel of Acele Baci's Halvah

Summary/Abstract: Rituals are deeds that represent the acceptance, beliefs and values of a society. These beliefs, acceptances and values are important for the ritual to maintain its existence and become approved. Rituals particularly assisted with a myth or a legend can be read as texts with a symbolic narration of a society’s cultural codes. The acceptance of these texts are associated with their functions too. One of these rituals is “Acele Bacı Helvası (Hasty Sister’s Halva)” Ritual, to be reviewed under the title of legends with “Taking Halva to the Soon-to-become-Pilgrim Husband” motive. Assisted with a legend known by the same name, is being practised in several towns including Mersin, Eskişehir, Bursa, Adana, Aydın, Izmir. This study will be trying to provide information about “Acele Bacı/Helvacı Bacı” ritual, assisted with a legend and still being practised today, while also looking to identify the categorization and functions of the ritual. For this purpose, the classification of the rituals of the “Acele Bacı/Helvacı Bacı” is based on the classification of Lauri Honko on the rituals. Regarding the function of the ritual, four functions Özkul Çobanoğlu put forward to examine Hıdırellez and Nevruz feasts are based on. While demonstrating these functions, Çobanoğlu synthesized William Bascom’s four functions of folklore and Emile Durkheim’s synthesis of four functions on social rituals.

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