Abstract
TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE CONTEX OF NATURE-HUMAN RELATIONSHIP IN MERSIN NOMADS
In today's world, where the human population reaches billions exponentially with each passing century, the days when everyone knew each other, lived in close contact with nature and lived in small communities, are now far behind. Orientation to agriculture, urbanization, industrialization and the spread of transportation with the age of technology, the dizzying speed of mass media etc. advances have made the world increasingly smaller. Mankind, who sees himself at the center of life, has moved away from the traditional lifestyle in the face of developments, on the other hand, has come to the point of breaking away from nature and natural life. The increasing population, the spread of waste-oriented consumption habits, the thoughtless use of natural resources and environmental pollution have led to the extremes. Recognizing the extent of the destruction it has caused to nature, human beings, albeit late, have grasped the importance of traditional ecological knowledge in the solution process of the problem and have recently started to focus on the nature-human relationship in the traditional society structure.
In this study, it is focused on communities that lead a nomadic lifestyle in the context of the relationship between traditional ecological knowledge and culture. The nomads encountered in the southern provinces, especially Mersin, were chosen as the study group. By making use of oral and written sources, the nomads' natural assets, celestial bodies, plant and tree species, animals, etc. symbolic meanings that it has loaded have been determined. In this way, the relationship that nomads have with the geography and nature they live in, and how this relationship is reflected in cultural values are examined. In addition, the functional dimension of the nature-human relationship in beliefs and rituals and in daily life was evaluated. In the examinations made, it was seen that the nomads approached all kinds of elements in nature with the sacredness encountered in the animistic period and shaped their lives with great respect for the environment.
Keywords
Ecological Life, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (GEB), Nomads, Folklore, Mersin
