| often divide their labour, some remaining to work the land, others going away to earn cash. Brothers may even remain together after the father’s death for this purpose. The Agricultural Bank provides loans at cheap interest rates, and often lend each other money without interest, especially small sums. The village is a network of such small loans. The richer houses are more able to face debt than the poor houses. Chapter XIV. - Religion The ritual practices and beliefs are those of orthodox Islam, and the villagers are pious and knowledgable about Islam. They learn about it from the village imam, and from frequent conversations with each other on religious matters. There are, of course, many individual lapses from piety, but most men do namaz from time to time, and the old men do it regularly. More do it in the winter than in the summer. There is a noticeable correlation between wealth and position on the one hand, and piety and religious learning on the other. The women are much more ignorant than the men and only the old ones do namaz, though young and old are very particular to keep the fast of Ramazan. The belief in the divine revelation justifies and sanctions, not only the moral system of the village, but also the details of practical life, such as personal cleanliness, the system of inheritance, the segregation of the sexes, hospitality to strangers, loyalty to the government and so on. The words for good and bad in conduct are the words for sin and meritorious action, and ritual defects are not distinguished from moral defects. Islam provides a picture of the universe in terms of Allah, its Creator and Ruler, whose will it is a sin to question. Thus Islam provides a single systematic account of and support for all the village institutions, all the rules of behaviour, and the physical universe. Chapter XV. - Social Change Although the westernisation of Turkey should provide an ideal study in social change, it is not possible to say anything definite about it from the study of one village at one point in time. Economic change is proceeding through the impoverishment of the villages by division of the land among children. This is counteracted by greater variety of crops and by assistance with price control and credit from the government, and a steady market for grain. Migrant labour has also increased village income. |
| Politically, the muhtar has lost power inside the village, which is now without political leadership. The power and interference of the central government in increasing. The villagers are nationalist in outlook, and consciously loyal to the government. The kabile is weakening, due to the law and order established by the government. Women are said to be freer than they used to be, and this process seems likely to continue. The household shows little sign of weakening, except that sons may now, by going to town, attain economic independence. There is cultural contact with the cities through the migrant labourers, but what effect this is likely to have is not clear. The village way of life does not seem to the villagers to be changing. It is as yet firm and protected from rapid change by its religious beliefs. Chapter XVI. - The Social Structure This chapter is a recapitulation. The village and the household stand out as social units, in that, in different ways, they are both clearly defined both spatially and socially, and both mean for their members many-stranded relationships. The Quarter is a vaguer group, based on locality, and the smaller neighbourhood groups are even vaguer. The kabile also forms a social group based on kinship, with no definite boundary. Turning to horizontal differences, one finds a lack of formal barriers between people at different levels in the social scale. Status is based on personal prestige, in turn dependent mainly on wealth but partly, also, on piety and morality. The sexual division cuts right across these units and groupings, dividing the village into two inter-connected sets of social relationships. It is important, when using terms such as “structure” and “social unit” not to forget the reality of activities and feelings of the human beings one is studying. TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface |
| Chapter I | Historical and Political Background |
| 1. Geography 2. The Ottoman Empire |
| 3. The Republic of Turkey |
| II | Relation of Town and Village - General Administration |
| 1. Divorce of Town and Village 2. Village Law 3. Village Institutes 4. Government assistance to agriculture 5. Administrative system |
| III | Kayseri and Sakaltutan |
| 1. Kayseri 2. Sakaltutan |
| IV | Village and Households |
| 1. Village and Quarter 2. Households |
| V | Kinship and Neighbourhood: Kabile and Oda |
| 1. Kabile 2. Patrilateral Kinship and Terminology 3. Other Kinship Ties within the Village 4. The Composition of Groups attending “odalar” 5. Personal Friendships |
| VI | Kinship and Neighbourhood: Women and Inter-Village Ties |
| 1. Women within the Village 2. Inter-Village Kinship 3. Locality and Kinship 4. Age and Seniority |
| VII | Men and Women |
| 1. Division of Labour 2. Social Segregation 3. Prestige 4. Conclusion |
| VIII | The Household |
| 1. Husband and Wife 2. Polygamy 3. Cross-sex relationships 4. Women Together 5. Men Together |
| 6. The Division of Households |
| IX | Marriage |
| 1. Summary of Ceremonies 2. Choice of Bride 3. Bride Price 4. Death in Marriage 5. Divorce |
| X | Political and Administrative Organisation |
| 1. Power in the Villages 2. The Muhtar 3. The Council of Elders 4. Funds and Contributions 5. Other Village Functionaries 6. Direct Relations with Government 7. Political Parties |
| XI | Land and Income |
| 1. Agriculture 2. Tenure and Distribution 3. Inheritance and Impoverishment 4. Daughters’ Inheritance of Land 5. Share-cropping and Ownership 6. Income from Farming |
| XII | Occupation and Services |
| 1. Alternative Occupations within the Village 2. Services 3. External Occupations - Migrant Labour |
| XIII | Household Economics |
| 1. Economic Organisation of Households 2. Debt |
| XIV | Religion |
| 1. The Problem 2. Beliefs and Rituals 3. Religious Education 4. Religious Practice 5. Women 6. Religion and the Social Order |
| 7. Morals 8. Theology and Metaphysics |
| XV | Social Change |
| 1. Social Change 2. Economic Changes 3. Political Changes 4. Family and Kinship 5. Cultural Contact 6. Conclusion |
| XVI | The Social Structure |
| 1. Social Structure 2. Social Units 3. Social Groups 4. Stratification 5. Men and Women 6. Other Relations 7. Conclusion |
| Appendix | ‘A’ Turkish Language |
| ‘B’ Kinship Terms ‘C’ Village Households by Kabile ‘D’ Glossary of Turkish Words |
| Select Bibliography MAP 1 - TURKEY MAP 2 - AREA MAP MAP 3 - ROUGH DIAGRAM OF VILLAGE PREFACE The thesis here presented consists of a report on field work in a Turkish village. Although I and my wife went to Turkey in April 1949, I was prevented by personal practical difficulties from beginning field work until the 1st November, 1949. I remained in the village, where I was joined by my wife in the spring of 1950, until the end of August, but of that period, one month was spent in sickness, and another in a visit to Ankara and Istanbul |