A Look at the Relationship between the Ashik and the Mullah in the Context of Etnoandragogy: The Case of Atabek Countr

Abstract

Education is the task of making a human offspring, which is a biological entity, into an adult human like his/her ancestors by transferring the cultural heritage that belongs to humans. This task of education is pursued in the family, community and school. While education of the child in the family and community is the subject of ethnopedagogy, education of the child at school is the subject of pedagogy. Education does not end when a person reaches adulthood, but continues throughout his/her life. The education of adults who are beyond school age also continues. This education is an informal education. Adults learn on their own, everywhere and using all kinds of tools. This learning can be in the media, street, social spaces, artistic events and places of worship. In previous centuries, officials at places of worship in villages and neighbourhoods were the opinion leaders of the community. Other opinion leaders were the folk poets. These were the instructors who continued the tradition of Dede Korkut by telling stories and singing folk songs. Folk poets remained influential until the middle of the 20th century and played the role of sages who educated and entertained adults in Turkish societies. It is possible to name the instruction they gave as ethnoandragogy. In traditional society, the mullahs and ashiks (folk poets) were generally on good terms with each other and complemented one another. However, they did have disagreements on occasions. In this article, the conflicts of the ashiks and mullahs as opinion leaders are examined.