Açıklama
In Turkish art, fruit motifs occupy a significant place as visual expressions of fundamental cultural themes such as fertility, abundance, and the cycle of life. These motifs, employed across a wide range of artistic fields—from weaving and textiles to architecture, painting, literature, and embroidery—constitute tangible reflections of cultural memory and belief systems. In this context, the selected motifs not only represent aesthetic preferences but also convey the practitioner’s worldview, life expectations, and relationship with nature.
In the Mersin region, pears, which grow naturally in the wild and are locally referred to as “wild pear” or “mountain pear,” have served both as an important food source and as a source of artistic inspiration in weaving and embroidery. Abundantly found in the region, pears appear as the “armutlu” motif in rugs woven on traditional ıstar looms, while in cross-stitch embroidery they are directly referred to as “pear.” As a tree known for its abundant fruit and longevity, the pear tree has traditionally been associated with soil fertility, livestock productivity, and abundance in general, serving as a kind of indicator of environmental quality along the paths traveled by nomads.
Within this framework, a comprehensive field study is being conducted in the province of Mersin to identify the symbolic meanings of pear motifs used in traditional handicrafts and textiles, since art can express traditional ecological knowledge of meaningful components and linkages between people and nature.
The study combines a theoretical analysis based on a literature review with empirical evidence collected through fieldwork. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach, it makes visible the relationship between cultural structures, nature, traditional ecological knowledge, and sustainability. The results allow to make visible the contribution of combining the cultural, symbolic, and ecological layers of meaning embedded in the pear motif within the context of local handicrafts. At the same time, the results allow to identify the specific topics Yörük people have about safeguarding and valuing Traditional Ecological Knowledge as a social-ecological contribution.
| Anahtar Kelimeler | Keywords | Cultural sustainability, Culture-Nature relationships, Intangible cultural heritage, Yörük culture, Traditional Ecological Knowledge |
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