Examination of the Reflections of Hıdırellez as an Intangible Cultural Heritage Element and Proposal of a Sustainable Model for the Turkic World

Project no. 24121 · Status: Kapanmış · 2022

Summary

One of the intangible cultural heritage elements belonging to the Turkic World, Hıdırellez (Spring Festival) traditions, was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This project encompasses the reflections of these traditions in the digital newspapers of Republic of Türkiye and Balkan countries where Hıdırellez celebrations continue today, and proposes an original model to be developed for the Turkic World based on the results.In this project, a total of 12 countries within the Turkic World has been included in the research, consisting of the Republic of Türkiye and 11 Balkan countries where Hıdırellez celebrations are held: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Greece. Employing a qualitative research method, the study has followed the case study model, and the reflections of Hıdırellez traditions in different countries has been examined through content analysis using the three most visited digital newspapers of the mentioned 12 countries. Within this scope, a total of 719 news articles from 36 digital newspapers were analyzed between the years 2017 and 2023, covering the seven-year period since Hıdırellez was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.Based on the research findings, an original model proposal has been developed for the sustainability of Hıdırellez within the Turkic World.This study holds unique value due to its comprehensive examination of 12 countries encompassing the Turkic World, which has not been previously explored in a holistic manner, and its interdisciplinary approach, bringing together academics from the Department of Folklore of the Institute of Turkish World Studies and the Faculty of Communication at Ege University.

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