Tepreş Festivities in Sungurlu

The Hıdırellez section of the book 2006 Yılında Çorum’da Yaşayan Geleneksel Kutlamalar (Traditional Celebrations Living in Çorum in 2006), published by the Turkish Folklore Society of Hitit University, includes a record of Tepreş Şenlikleri (Tepreş festivities) from Sungurlu. It was collected in Sungurlu on 14 May 2006 from three informants. According to the record, the Tepreş festivities, attended by many people in many parts of Turkey, are celebrated in Sungurlu every year in May and June, organised by branches of the Crimean Turks Culture and Mutual Aid Association (Kırım Türkleri Kültür ve Yardımlaşma Derneği). What follows is based on this record.

Tepreş day and Hıdırellez

According to the record, among the Crimean Turks the first Friday after Hıdırellez (the spring festival of 6 May) was formerly fixed as “Tepreş” day; if Hıdırellez itself fell on a Friday this was taken as a very good omen, and the day was even called “Kıdırlez Cuması” (Hıdırellez Friday).

Before Tepreş, houses are cleaned from top to bottom, clothes are cleaned, and food and drink are prepared; the record says it is thought that Hızır (the figure associated with Hıdırellez) will not visit homes that are not clean. Special clothes and shoes are bought for the day; according to the record, all these preparations aim at meeting Hızır. Like Hıdırellez celebrations, Tepreş is held in green, wooded places, by water, beside a tomb or the shrine of a holy figure, and especially on a hill (Geleneksel Kutlamalar, p. 27).

The baht açma (fortune-opening) rite

The record describes baht açma (opening one’s fortune) rites as one of the customs widely practised at Tepreş, performed in the belief that as nature and all living things awaken in spring, people’s fortunes will open too. On the night before Tepreş, young women who want to test their fortune and see their marriage prospects open gather in a green spot or by water; they put belongings such as rings, earrings and bracelets into a clay pot, tie its mouth with muslin and leave it at the foot of a rose bush. Early in the morning they go to the pot and pray, then the “niyet çömleği” (wish pot) is opened; rhymes are recited as the items are drawn out, and comments are made about the owner of each item according to the rhyme.

According to the record, the practice may vary from place to place, and recently the rite has been held “only to open the marriage prospects of girls who have stayed unmarried” (Geleneksel Kutlamalar, pp. 27-28). The same book’s Oğuzlar Hıdırellez record also mentions wishes drawn from pots; see Hıdırellez Traditions in Çorum.

The festival programme

According to the record, the Tepreş festivities in Sungurlu are well attended. The festival opens with children’s contests; attendance peaks around noon, and all guests take their places in the picnic and festival area. The opening is made with speeches by the association’s chairman and the “Tepreş Ağası” (master of the Tepreş). The programme continues with young people performing Crimean folk dances, followed by the little ones; a choir sings Crimean folk songs.

In the “Tataraşı” contest, the dishes made by the women are ranked by a jury, and gifts large and small are given to everyone who takes part. After the contest young people wrestle in traditional kuşak güreşi (belt wrestling), and the programme continues with activities such as tereke tırmanma, tug of war, testi sındırma (jug breaking) and kalakay çevirme (Geleneksel Kutlamalar, p. 28).

Rhymes and şınlaşma

The record gives examples of the rhymes recited at the festival and of the şınlaşma, exchanges between girls and boys. The rhymes are written in the record in the local way of speaking; they are not reproduced on this page (Geleneksel Kutlamalar, pp. 28-30).

Notes

The book gives the record in the informants’ words; the programme described is the practice in the year of collection, and the record does not say where in Sungurlu the festival takes place. For the Tepreş festival held in Kalecikkaya village in Alaca see Kalecikkaya Tepreş Festival. For other records in the same book see Aşure Day, Muharrem and Gadir-i Hum Customs in Çorum, Koç Katımı and At Kesme Ceremonies in Çorum and Koyun Baba Commemoration and Pilaf Day in Osmancık.

Sources

• M. Öcal Oğuz and Tuğçe Işıkhan (eds.), 2006 Yılında Çorum’da Yaşayan Geleneksel Kutlamalar, Hitit Üniversitesi Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi Türk Halkbilimi Topluluğu Yayınları: 6, Ankara 2006, pp. 27-30 (Tepreş Şenlikleri recording). https://hacibayram.edu.tr/api/files/1/Hac%C4%B1bayram%20AHBV/thbmer(tr-TR)/GELENEKSEL%20KUTLAMALAR.pdf