A Study on Wolf in Turkmen Folklore in Khanaqin District, Diyala Governorate

Abstract

A wolf is a living being that has been able to maintain its existence among Turks from ancient times to the present day. It has been entrusted with roles such as protection, treatment, the fulfillment of wishes and demands, and brings blessing and happiness. Whereas the Turks who live in different regions gave the same importance and belief into it, and at the same level, show us the extent of his great and important place in their intellectual system and beliefs. As the Turks believe and think that they have been originated from the wolf and have preserved this belief over many ages and different countries have established and narrated a different story about the wolves, they still maintain its existence in different fields according to what was reached in different studies. Iraqi Turkmen separated from the Turkish culture physically during the fall of the Ottoman Empire, but the Turkmen are one of the Turkish societies that have been able to preserve their culture, intellectual system, values, customs, traditions, national identity and all that carries the national identity elements that they inherited from their ancestors; as the geography in Iraq ruled over the Turkmen living with different nationalities and societies. Living together with these nationalities and societies has not socially and culturally weakened them. In contrast, having a rich and rooted culture enabled them to influence these nationalities and societies. In this study, the topic of the wolf is addressed in the folklore of Turkmen in Khanaqin, Diyala Governorate. Sixty-one proverbs, three children's games, and sixty-three beliefs are collected from oral sources and were grouped and dealt with separately. The texts of the proverbs that we have collected are written down by preserving the accent of Khanaqin's Turkmen. On the side of each text, the proverb is written in the modern Turkish language as well. In conclusion, the results that we have reached are evaluated based on the material covered and studied.