Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Milli Folklor, cilt.18, sa.141, ss.145-153, 2024 (AHCI)
Clothing has formed one of the important cultural elements with distinctive features that determine the social identity and status of individuals in ancient societies. Clothing also reveals the artistic and material wealth of societies and tribes. When the cultural history of the Turks is examined, it can be seen that the richness, which is diverse in a wide geography from Central Asia to Anatolia, and over a long period of time. The clothing products of the Turks are different from neighboring tribes and nations in terms of the main materials used and clothing styles. The main material of the clothing of the Turks, who adopted the nomadic lifestyle, was the clothes made of wool and leather, and leather and wool were used for the production of almost all kinds of clothes. However, along with the settled lifestyle, it has been seen that silk fabrics are widely used in the clothing of the Turks. The clothing of the Turks has changed depending on the lifestyles they have adopted in the historical process, the geography they live in, their religious beliefs and the changes in the tribes and nations they interact with. However, the headdresses, belts and belts worn on the head of the Turks appear as a constant element from Central Asia to Anatolia. Balbals from the Kökturks (552-744) contain important information about the dressing style of the Turks. Looking at the balbals, it is seen that the Turks wore trousers and jackets suitable for the lifestyle of the steppe and belted over the jackets. In addition, various written documents, archaeological records and wall paintings from the Koço Uyghur state (844-1368) and Shazhou Uyghur state (840-1226) periods provide important information about the clothing culture of the Uyghurs who adopted the settled lifestyle. In addition, wall paintings have a unique value. The Uyghurs, whose portraits were drawn on these wall paintings, were separated from other ethnic groups due to their main features in their clothing. One of these striking features is the belts and sashes used by Uyghur men in their clothing. The custom of tying belts and sashes was also widely used in the periods after Islam and constituted an inseparable part of the Turkish clothing culture. Divanü Lugati't-Türk, written by Kaşgarlı Mahmut, gives very important information on this subject. The use of belts and sashes in clothes is also encountered in later periods. Sashes were widely used in Anatolia and Central Asia before the spread of Western-style modern clothing. The sashes, called pota or bel-baġ/belvaġ in New Uyghur language, were widely used by Uyghur men living in East Turkestan, for maintain-ing body temperature and carry necessary items in daily life before Western-style suits and jackets became widespread. In addition, sashes appear as one of the important elements emphasizing the social identity of men in Uyghur culture. The subject of the study is to reveal the functions and symbolic meanings of the sashes, which are used in Uyghur traditional men's clothing in the historical process, especially on the basis of their usage among Kökturks, Uyghurs, Karakhanids, Anatolian Turks and Uyghur Turks. The aim of the study is to examine the function and symbolic meanings of the sashes used in Uyghur traditional men's clothing from the historical-comparative method through the vocabulary compiled about the sashes, and reveal the continuity of Turkish culture in the historical process by supporting the obtained results with historical, archaeological, and cultural sources.