ORTA ASYA TÜRK KÜLTÜRÜNDE SAĞLIK VE HASTALIK
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20829065Keywords:
Traditional Medicine, Central Asian Turks, Shamanism, Folk medicine, Sociology of HealthAbstract
All health systems are shaped within the economic, political, and socio-cultural context of the society in which they exist. This is because health and illness are not merely biological conditions but are part of the social structure. In this respect, the origins of traditional medical approaches in all cultures today lie deep within the history of that society. This is also true within Turkish culture. This study aims to examine the understanding of traditional medicine in pre-Islamic Central Asian Turkic societies from a historical and sociological perspective. Based on the premise that health and illness are not merely biological phenomena but are shaped within a cultural, religious, and social system of meaning, this study examines the religious and social foundations upon which health practices in ancient Turkic societies were based. Specifically, the study evaluates the influence of the Shamanistic worldview on the understanding of health, the healing role of the kam/shaman figure, the explanation of illnesses through metaphysical causes, and ritual-based treatment methods. In addition, the study examines the influence of herbal remedies, knowledge of nature, preventive health practices, and nomadic lifestyle culture on health practices, and their reflections in the present day. The study was conducted based on a literature review and historical sociological analysis method. As a result of the study, it is revealed that the traditional understanding of medicine among Central Asian Turks developed a holistic approach based on the human-nature-spirit relationship, and that this approach has left significant traces on the health culture of contemporary Turkish society.
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