It was announced that jointly written by academicians of Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Near East University Assoc Prof Dr Mustafa Yeniasır, Assoc Prof Dr Burak Gökbulut and academic member of Nevşehir University Assoc Prof Dr Adem Öger and titled as “A Comparative Review of Kazakh, Turkmen and Turkish Cypriots on Folk Beliefs and Traditions” has been published in Folk/Literature Journal which is scanned by national and international indexes such as ULAKBİM, SCOPUS, EBSCO and MLA.

According to the press release issued by the Directorate of Press and Public Relations of Near East University, due to the study conducted in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, important commonalities were identified, and relevant evaluations were made. After obtaining the data, the present existence of these beliefs was confirmed as a result of mutual discussions with the data sources.

Important commonalities were identified in people’s beliefs and customs
It was determined that the beliefs and customs of all three regions identified and compared at the end of the research have many similarities and it was concluded that these were the result of a common Turkish culture. The identified beliefs were classified and expressed to be similar in all three cultures. However, some of these beliefs were only identified in two of the research settings. Such that some beliefs and practices in the Turkish Cypriots and Kazakhs were not found in some Turkmens whereas some of them were found in Turkish Cypriots and Turkmens but not in Kazakh Turks. When the beliefs and customs were evaluated in general, the study identified that their origins are based on nature cults such as fire and water, and ancestral cults, the shamanism belief system and on Islam.

Beliefs and Customs Widespread in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are not found so common in the TRNC
As a result of interviews with the participants, it is determined that many of the folk beliefs and customs are still alive today in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. For various socio-cultural reasons in Turkish Cypriots, it was understood that there were weaknesses in the application of customs and beliefs, such as the change of the society and the family structure. In fact, some of the customs and beliefs were identified to be not maintained at all. According to this study, Kazakh, Turkmen and Turkish Cypriot folk beliefs are mainly based on ancient religions, belief systems, and to a lesser extent Islam. These affect all areas of Turkish beliefs, social life and culture.