Легендите, свързани с тюрбето Йеди къзлар в Маниса (Република Турция)
The Legends Related to Yedi Kızlar Türbesi in Manisa (The Republic of Turkey)

Summary/Abstract: The paper is dedicated to the legends of the Seven maidens related to Yedi Kızlar Türbesi in Manisa, the Republic of Turkey. The two versions of the legend are distinguished – historical and mythic-ritualistic. The author shows how the historical version is not based on historical facts. The second version is compared to legends, recorded among the Turks from the Eastern Rhodopes, Bulgaria. In this way the similarity in the ideas about the Seven maidens in both regions is indicated. A comparison with a legend from Ossetia confirms the hypothesis that the Seven maidens were first a personification of the Pleiades. Owing to its peripheral position vis-à-vis the central religious issues, this cult was preserved during the Christian (Byzantine) and Muslim (Ottoman) period, thus presenting the opportunity for a manifestation of religiosity among women.

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