Animal Cult in the Proverbs of the Shor Turks

Abstract

Proverbs are a type of oral culture that directly affect society, and arewise sayings that the people to whom they belong have gained as a resultof experiences that date back centuries. Proverbs shed light on all areas oflife and carry important information about a people's culture, economicstructure, worldview, societal relations and many other areas. Culturalcodes passed down from generation to generation by proverbs ensure thesurvival of folk culture. Adults make maximum use of proverbs as theyprepare the younger generations for life and educate them. This studyexamines the existence of animals that have become cults and have beenof great importance in the life of the Shor Turks. Although the ShorTurks living in the Kemerovo region within the borders of the RussianFederation are officially Christian Orthodox, they are essentially theoffspring of Turkic shamanism. Many elements of this shamanism havefound their reflection, especially in hunting. Hunting is very importantfrom a religious point of view for the Shor Turks, It is said that "huntingis religion, religion is hunting". For this purpose, hunters performed anumber of religious rituals before and after the hunt. Shor Turks areconstantly in close proximity to horses, dogs, sheep, goats, and otherdomesticated animals as well as deer, bears, wolves, foxes, etc. As such,they have made maximum use of wild animal and bird imagery. They havebenefited from the positive and negative characteristics of these animals.In taiga - steppe culture - it is clear in the proverbs of the Shor Turkshow important some animals are culturally, economically, and religiouslyto the people. Of special importance at the center of Turkish mythologyand socio-cultural life are horses, wolves, birds and deer. Especially theproverbs enriche the oral culture of the animal cult of the Shor Turks. Asa result of the study of the proverbs of the Shor Turks, it is seen that manyproverbs also exist in Turkish culture in Anatolia, unchanged.