Cataloged from PDF version of article.Shamanistic beliefs were among the most significant elements of pre-Islamic
Turkish culture. With the spread of Islam and Turkish migrations into Anatolia, the
shamanistic elements were gradually replaced by the elements of the new culture based
on Muslim civilization. Despite the fact that Islamization lasted for several centuries,
some old elements have survived until recent times. Traces of these beliefs can be found
in Turkish oral literature, especially in folk tales. Being deeply rooted in the past and
having a great potential of transmission from one generation to another, folk tales
provide useful material for an analysis of the surviving shamanistic elements.
The thesis examines the existing research concerning the relics of shamanism in
Turkish folk culture as such and it reconsiders major questions concerning the traces of
shamanistic elements in Turkish folk tales. As there are only very few studies on the
subject, the work is mainly based on an analysis of the source material through existing
general works dealing with shamanism. The analysis of the universe of folk tales from
the perspective of pre-Islamic beliefs is the focal point of this study. Major and
secondary heroes, their characteristics and supernatural gifts, and the role they play in
folktales are compared to similar characteristics of shamans. Moreover, references to
birds, animals, and the supernatural sources of life are analyzed in order to trace their
possible origin in shamanistic beliefs. Finally, the settings of the universe of the folktales
are examined and the elements connected with shamanism are pointed out. The thesis
advances the claim that shamanistic elements were by no means totally abandoned, but
they have been preserved to a significant extent in Turkish folktales.Sodzawiczny, MagdalenaM.S
