The Song of Mezıtha the Deer Cult in Adyghe and Abhaz

Abstract

In mythological ages, many animals and the motifs related to these animals illustrates themselves primarily in oral then in written literature and in intangible cultural heritage elements as the elements of religious beliefs which change depending on life. As it is generally used in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, "Circassians are Adige, Abkhazians (Abaza)" before being expelled from their homeland by Tsarist Russia, the deer cult that belongs to them was kept in the oral cultural repertoire of the people of the region as an indicator of the ancestors' culture and belief in nature. Sacred deer or deer horns found in mythological gods such as Mezitha and Sozeris(Sozeress), Nart epics, hunting and hunting narratives related to Mezitha with deer horns, fertility ceremonies, folk songs; finds in the Kotrama(Kostromsk), Oshad, Kelermes and Ulyap 1 kurgans indicate the deer cult that took place in ancient culture. The deer cult also moved from the Caucasus to Anatolia with the exile of the Circassians. Although it is not considered an element of pagan belief by new generations, a sanctity is attributed to deer antlers. So much so that deer antlers are stored in the mosque, the holy shrine of their new religion, or in haystacks - as their ancestors did. In the 21st century, belief of ancestors continues to be expressed in the form of paintings, sculptures, carpets, door decorations and superstitions.