A Research on the Functions of Kazakh Şeşendik Sayings

The most important role of a society's perception of life and the transfer of cultural codes, which have been shaped over thousands of years on the basis of lifestyle, to future generations belongs to the molded words and narratives that occur within the oral tradition. In this context, it is possible to find the traces of the life style, social norms and understandings they have developed in their own way, within the oral literary tradition of Kazakh Turks, although they are within the Turkish culture and civilization circle. One of the important genres in the oral tradition of Kazakh Turks is "Şeşendik Sayings". In the beginning of literary studies, the products belonging to this type, which is called "biylik /beylik sayings”, on the grounds that the expression "Biylik / Beylik" evokes the old Kazakh social order / feudalism, it was regarded as contrary to Soviet cultural policies and was called as "şeşendik sayings" in the Soviet Period. Researches to be done on words of Şeşendik will make an important contribution to revealing the cultural values of Kazakh Turks, such as their; social structure, lifestyle, perception of life and legal order and so on. Functional Folklore Theory is one of the most widely used theories in folklore studies today. W. Bascom, who sets up a model on the functions of folklore products, mentions four functions that folklore considers as important among its many functions. İlhan Başgöz adds the "protest function" as the fifth to these four functions. In this study, in the light of the four functions of folklore identified by W. Bascom and the "protest function" added by İlhan Başgöz, the words of şeşendik told by the Kazakh Turks have been examined. As a result of the study, the words of şeşendik, expressed by William Bascom and İlhan Başgöz; supporting values, social rules and customs; educating young people by transferring education or culture to future generations; have been observed that they fulfill the function of escaping from personal and social pressures, and protesting