THE PLACE OF GRAPE IN TURKISH FOLK CULTURE AND IN CONTEXT OF MYTHOLOGY / TÜRK HALK KÜLTÜRÜNDE VE MITOLOJIK BAĞLAMDA ÜZÜMÜN YERI

Abstract

The grape grown since the pre-historic eras has adistinct part within the verbal cultural tradition as wellas being an important health source meeting thenutrition need in Turkish folk culture. The grape thatwas the theme of folk songs, riddles, proverbs, idioms,tales and legends in folk literature was also used with itsboth curing and symbolic meanings in having a child,marriage and wedding customs, drinking wine, dowrytradition, folk beliefs and folk medicine in our folklore. In the researches carried out depending on the factthat the grape, raw material of the wine, is accepted asthe drink of the Gods in mythology and it is mentioned inTorah, Bible and the Psalms of David as the sacred drink,it was determined that in Turkish culture and mythology,the grape is the symbol of beauty, fertility, blood, soul,love and health.