Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
MILLI FOLKLOR, cilt.17, sa.131, ss.24-33, 2021 (AHCI)
Each society exhibits traditions related to their culture. Traditions composed of different rituals are a part of societies' socialization processes. Culture passes down from generation to generation through learned behaviors. Each culture has its own unique daily rituals. Daily rituals are observed in every stage of life from birth to death. These cultural traditions and rituals affect societies' practices even in health and illness.. Humans go through physiological changes during their life cycle. A few important stages in women's life cycle are premenstruation, menstruation and menapause. There are different cultural practices to increase women's comfort in these periods. This study is conducted to find out cultural practices of Uzbek Afghans living in Hatay which is located east of the Mediterranian Region of Turkey. In this study, resource persons were reached and folk medicine practices in the region were tried to be put forward by interview method. Women from different age groups who know the cultural values of the region are the source of the study. 50 Afghan immigrant women were interviewed in the study. This group of Afghans settled in a town called Ovakent in the 1980s and have been preserving their culture by practicing their traditions since then. The focus of this study is to examine traditional practices of women, which comprise half the Afghan population, related to premenstruation, menstruation and menapause. It is culturally important for women to use the herbal and animal drugs that they make with their home facilities in order to relieve the symptoms experienced during these periods and to spend this period comfortably. It was found that women use natural herbal and animal cures during this period of their life cycle to ease their discomfort. It is seen that these products are used in different forms such as crushing, heating and cooking. Sometimes it is seen that mixtures are made from these products. Massages with various oils are preferred by the locals. The most used goods for remedies are legumes, herbal teas and yoghurt. One of the eyecatching practices is using animal hide in relieving pain. In addition, massages using different oils is a commonly used practice. In conclusion, these Afghan women utilize natural goods used daily in relieving their symptoms.